Nirwana Golf Course adds a touch of Bali

Nirwana Golf Course adds a touch of Bali

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Balinese terraced rice paddy fields have
been integrated into the overall design concept of the Bali
Nirwana Resort Golf Course, setting it apart from other golf
courses in the world.

Rice would be planted at different times of the year in
various parts of the 18-hole, par-72 course, greeting golfers
with a kaleidoscope of colors.

Designed by one of the golf world's living legends, Greg
Norman of Australia, construction of the course began two years
ago.

The layout is part of the 121-hectare Bali Nirwana Resort,
which will boast a five-star 292-room hotel, 190 timeshare suits,
316 resort homes, 152 villas, a thalassotherapy spa, four outdoor
tennis courts, two badminton courts and two air-conditioned
squash courts.

The new course is unusual in its use of rice terraces as
roughs. Norman might have been thinking of the 12th hole at the
Augusta National Golf Club Course in Augusta, Georgia, when he
designed the course's 12th hole.

While the American hole boasts "hidden hazards", its Balinese
counterpart will be no less notorious with the deceitful rise and
fall of the wind and the harrowing three to five meter high
sloping coastline at the 12th hole.

The course will also offer breathtaking sunsets overlooking
the Indian Ocean, with the Tanah Lot temple in the near distance.
Golfers will enjoy the beauty of the course which is carved out
of rice terraces and set against a spectacular backdrop of
volcanic peaks and the Indian Ocean.

"It's beautiful and it will become one of the most perfect
courses in the world I have ever designed," the 41-year-old
Norman said Friday while making a final inspection of the layout.

But the resort has not been saved from controversy. In
February 1994 thousands of local people protested against the
multi-million dollar resort. The protesters were concerned that
their most sacred temple Tanah Lot would be affected, and were
reluctant for development to proceed.

Tanah Lot is a Hindu sanctuary, considered to be one of the
six most holy temples in Bali. Built in the 15th century, the
temple is located in Tabanan regency, 40 kilometers south of
Denpasar. For many Balinese, the US$200 million project
threatened the sanctity of the temple. Protests, demonstrations
and parliamentary debates on the luxury resort project have
continued since construction began.

"We highly respect local culture and will do our utmost to
preserve it. I respect the people they way they respect me for
letting me design the layout of the golf course," said Norman.

Bali Nirwana is scheduled to be completed by mid April, and
will be the first membership golf club in the region. It plans to
limit the number of members to some 200 at a price of US$48,000
each.

Bali Nirwana Resort Golf Course will be the fourth golf course
in Bali after the Bali Handara Course in Bedugul, the Bali Golf
and Country Club in Nusa Dua and the Denpasar Golf Club.

It will be the fifth course in Indonesia designed by Greg
Norman. The other four are the recently completed Riverside
Course in Bogor, the Dago Pakar Resort in Bandung, West Java and
the Tering Bay Resort on Batam island. (rsl)