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)