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Royal Tanglin?

With the closure of the Seletar Base Golf Course, there really isn't much avenues for us non-handicappers (only in golf: handicapped when one don't have a handicap) to play cheap and good local courses. There's the Executive Golf Course at Mandai, but we'll probably queue up for 2 hours under the hot sun. There's also one at Eng Neo. But I heard from Hazeman that it isn't too impressive.

Then while jogging along Napier Road, the Royal Tanglin banner kept screaming at me. From the website, it seems like a very short course. But I guess the attraction is that it's near town and it's great for us time-starved urbanites, as it takes only 1 hour to complete. In addition, it is located at the chic Dempsey Rd area. Great place for post game drinks.

How about a game there in the near future?

Check it out:
http://www.royaltanglin.com/

The Luxurious Ria Bintan Resort

First up, congratulations to the Hazeman, for his job promotion. And as a result of that, we had a nice Ria Bintan golf treat that was generously promised to us way back during the Phuket golf trip.

Ria Bintan is really a breath of fresh air compared to the "rustic" Sebana Cove we've visited 2 weeks ago. Well, at $145 for a Sunday afternoon game, it is significantly more expensive. But if you have the cash to splash, the entire experience is certainly worth it.

Ferry Ride

Bintan gives people the impression that it's more "High Class" compared to Batam or Kota Tinggi. And even from the ferries, it really shows. The ferry operators to Bintan offers nice, big and brightly lit fast crafts, not the dark and dinghy catamarans filled with gambling aunties and uncles. They even have a snack bar on board, completed with LCD TVs showing the TV Mobile channel. Ferries to Bintan = first class.

Club House

Regular readers of my blog know that I always like to review the club house. The one at Ria Bintan is pretty spectacular. You can sit down at the cafe and admire panoramic view of the golf course. Food is pretty good, but rather expensive. A plate of Nasi Goreng Istimewa costs SG$7.50 here, while a jug of beer is SG$25. On to the locker room...

I'd dare say, the locker room is one of the best in the region. It provides ample space for you to change, it's nicely ventilated with the air conditioning just tuned right, it has marbled sinks and counters giving it a luxurious look, showers are spacious, fixed with rain shower faucets. Toilets are clean and inviting. It's so inviting that SW can't resist letting go a big one there.

Golf Course

With the prices that they are charging, I don't expecting anything less than well-manicured greens. Thankfully, I'm not disappointed. The course offers a number of tee-off spots; red, white, blue and black. The distances off the white tees are reasonable, with the furthest par 5 hole at 493m. Par 4s are about 300-380m, pretty par-able for reasonably good golfers. My favorite hole is the par-4 8th. The signature 9th is also not too bad. Playing with the sea as your backdrop is indeed, bliss.

Hole 8, with the greens over looking the South China Sea

Last Words

Ria Bintan offers the complete package. Albeit expensive, you'll feel that the money is well spent. If I'm feeling rich, I'd definitely come back again.

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