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Golf in Bali

Bali, the 'Island of Gods, is fast developing a reputation as a popular golfing destination and it certainly offers an experience that you won't find in too many other places around the world. The Bali Handara Kosaido Country Club, one of four golf courses in Bali, is located in a volcanic crater. Yes, a volcanic crater! And, sitting as it does more than 1000 metres above sea level, the Bali Handara Kosaido Country Club is, quite simply, blessed with the perfect climate for a round of golf on this beautiful tropical island.

The course is one of the most challenging in all of Asia, the 18-hole layout on the scenic shores of Lake Buyan being surrounded by lush tropical rain forest and from the course you get stunning views created by volcanic cones and a deep crater lake.

There's also something to remind Scottish visitors of the 'Home of Golf' as a bunker on the 15th, a 500-yard par 5, is designed to be like the 'Principal's Nose' on the Old Course at St Andrews. If you're a Greg Norman fan, then you'll certainly want to visit Bali on a golfing break as the 'Great White Shark' designed the Nirwana Golf Club. Norman has come up with a course which is one of the most visually spectacular in Asia, the Australian having incorporated rice terracing and creeks to create a golfing gem.

Three holes are played by the cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean and the twelfth hole, which overlooks Tanah Lot temple, is expected to become one of the most photographed holes in the world. Another cracker is the Bali Golf & Country Club, which hosted the Alfred Dunhill Masters in 1994 - just three years after it opened - and has been ranked among the top five courses in Asia. Visitors here will experience three distinct playing environments due to the fantastic setting of the course. Holes one through to nine play inland and uphill through dense tropical vegetation and provide magnificent views of Nusa Dua below, the Indian Ocean and, on a clear day, a view of the distant mountains.

Then you play through an area of tall coconut palms before heading towards the beach and back again, with the wind sometimes a major factor when playing the closing two holes. The course, which was designed by Robin Nelson and Rodney Wright, features creeks and canyons and offers visitors a truly unique golfing experience. Also on the south-east coast is the nine-hole course at the Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur. This is a mostly flat course with trees as the main hazards. Bali is rich in custom and is graceful, charming and peaceful in its surroundings. With sloping rice fields, romantic sunsets, colourful and lovable people on one hand and vast, dramatic views with wide open spaces on the other, it is an ideal holiday destination.

Find out for yourself why it's known as the 'Island of Gods' . . . and take your golf clubs with you!