Less than a year since breaking onto Bali’s golf scene with a course unlike any other in Southeast Asia, Bukit Pandawa Golf & Country Club is in the running for a significant international award — ‘World’s Best Par-3 Course.’
The imaginative collection of 18 championship-standard one-shotters on the southernmost tip of Bali is one of four courses up for the accolade, which will be announced in November at the annual World Golf Awards in Portugal.
“Just to be in the mix (for this award) is an accomplishment in itself,” said Stephen Banks, general manager of Bukit Pandawa Golf & Country Club. “We’re still so young, but our expectations here are sky high. So we like our chances.”
Opened in October 2016 as the only 18-hole par-3 course in Southeast Asia, Bukit Pandawa Golf & Country Club is the flagship course of AccorHotels in Asia and the recreational centerpiece of Bukit Pandawa Resort & Golf, a 150-hectare development taking shape on a spectacular limestone clifftop overlooking the world-famous surf breaks of Bukit Peninsula.
From the back tees, the par-54 layout plays 3,027 yards and offers Indian Ocean views from 15 holes.
One of those holes is the 148-yard 13th, which is framed by three bunkers and features curved stone walls in the foreground and a traditional Balinese kul-kul tower in the background.
“I think the world — and the game — needs more Bukit Pandawas,” said the course’s creator, Bob Moore of California-based JMP Golf Design Group. “It’s a great alternative to the traditional 7,000-yard course and five-hour round. And it’s way less intimidating for beginning golfers and families.”
The ‘World’s Best Par-3 Course’ will be determined by the results of an online survey accessible at WorldGolfAwards.com until Oct. 1.
Turtle Hill Golf Club in Bermuda, Cromwell Golf Course at Nailcote Hall in England and The Zhang Lianwei Course at Mission Hills Shenzhen in China are also up for the award.
Pandawa Golf & Country Club www.bukitpandawagolf.com