Gv#001

Thailand Edition vol. 1

Destinations Niagara Falls Mallorca

Features

Ireland ’s Races and Links Golf, Chateaux & Champagnes

My Top Ten

Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki’s TOP 10 courses

Play

the beverly hills lifestyle of thailand

Estonian Golf & Country Club

magazine of the gm group golf vacations thailand vol.1 november-december 2013 / 180 baht

13

11

01

Golf History with Peter Alliss

the first

Mixing the old with the new, an iPad application that has the familiar voice of BBC’s Peter Alliss narrating golf ’s multi-faceted history.

You could read a book,

or many books for that matter but wouldn’t you like to know exactly what happened, when it happened and how in a single click? Adorned with a multitude of information and pictures, some very rare, Golf History with Peter Alliss lends an easy look at a very long and complex history dating back to the 1300s attributing the Dutch as originators of the game. In all,

there are 400 stories, 500 photographs and over 100 videos narrated by the famed “Voice of Golf” whose name is credited together with the application, there are also discussions by historians from the home of golf in St Andrews providing critical information, some personal, some anecdotal, that will pique the interest of golf geeks the world over.

We introduce Golf History with Peter Alliss as this issue’s the first because we believe that, foremost to the game’s enjoyment, or enjoyment of anything for that matter, you must first know what it is that you’re enjoying. Don’t you agree?

Download “Golf History with Peter Alliss” by search “Golf History” on the iTunes App Store.

8

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Contents

36

48

62

76

JOURNAL 28 An interesting year at the Majors, the rise of Chinese golf design and golfers, Asian hospitality in Switzerland and the future of golf carts, according to Mercedes Benz.

62 MALLORCA The largest island in the Balearic archipelago and located in the Mediterranean, Mallorca offers sunshine a plenty and top class golf.

COVER STORY 36 TOSCANA VALLEy Khao Yai's first truly exclusive development project where landscape and architecture are totally inspired

by Tuscan style.

LEGENDS 44 J.H. TAyLOR A member of the Great Triumvirate who played a big part in lifting professional golf from miring in ignominy to the prosperity and fame that they now enjoy.

ON THE COVER Golf Vacations thailand Edition Vol.1 noVEmbEr-dEcEmbEr 2013 toscana VallEy Khao yai

GOLF VACATIONS THAILAND VOLUME 1 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2013 Thailand Edition vol. 1

Destinations Niagara Falls Mallorca

Features

Ireland ’s Races and Links Golf, Chateaux & Champagnes

My Top Ten

Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki’s TOP 10 courses

Play

the beverly hills lifestyle of thailand

Estonian Golf & Country Club

01

magazine of the gm group golf vacations thailand vol.1 november-december 2013 / 180 baht

13

11

01

TOSCANA VALLEy, kHAO yAI, NAkHON RATCHASIMA, THAILAND

THE INTERVIEW SERIES 48 TED PARSLOw The local-expat, the Australian architect who moved to Malaysia more than 20 years ago discusses his lifework prior to the CIMB Classic at KLGCC. DESTINATION FOCUS 56 NIAGARA FALLS Apart from being one of the world’s most notable waterfalls, Niagara can boast of having John Daly trying to drive it across as well.

MY TOP TEN 70 JOE OzAkI One of Asia’s golfing legends and Royal Trophy captain shares his favourite courses with us.

COLLECTION 76 A TIME TO SEA Our next photo-story sees marine life juxtaposing with luxury watches to tell time.

THE 18TH 82 IRELAND AND HORSES Known for tough links, fighting elements and Guinness, Ireland presents another adrenaline pumping experience – horse racing.

THE 19TH 88 GOLF, CHATEAUx, CHAMPAGNES Imbibing in the famous region’s finest bubblies and at the same time, discovering it has more than its fair share of golfng beauties.

SPECIAL STORY 94 kHAO yAI Ranked as the world's 7th best source of ozone, Khao Yai is a natural heritage that offers endless choices of natural attractions and fun activities.

Contents

110

116

136 ResoRt Golf Club 10 8 RANChO ChARNVEE RESORT & COUNTRY CLUB nestled in the hills of khao Yai, this is the place that tastefully offers luxury lifestyle and full facilities for outdoor adventures.

GM MULTIMEDIA PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED Chairman & CEO : Pakorn Pongvarapa Executive Vice President : Finance Pornjitt Pongvarapa Executive Vice President : Editor niPan kulprasoot Executive Vice President : Business Development ritnarong kulprasoot Executive Vice President : Marketing Suebwong kaewthipharat General Manager : Panuwat Pongvarapa Finance Manager : wiMonLak asaiphanit New Media Director : PeSiLP Pongvarapa Executive Art Director : PrateeP Putchimtuck Accounting Manager : niCHaPa buparanond Editor-in-Chief : Suebwong kaewthipharat Editorial Staff : SiraYa Pongvarapa Computer Artist : PraSit anakananthpun Advertising/Marketing Manager : kongwarong Somsa Advertising/Marketing Staff : SantiPat Suksinchai Production Manager : ratana khow Marketing Development Manager : rattiYa Somchit Color Separation : kanoksilp (thailand) tel. +662 215 1588 Printing : Sirivatana interprint tel. +662 675 5600

CHoICe ResoRt 110 ESTONIAN COUNTRY CLUB a european tour stop with a second 18-hole and hotel in the works, this challenging layout offers an opportunity for midnight golf as well.

Golf ACAdemy 114 SwING PhILOSOPhY Swing tips by tim Mahoney, Director of education at troon golf academy. dINING 116 BANGkOk'S TOP 20 RESTAURANTS an introduction to the restaurants listed among the top 20 from the bangkok restaurant Charity week 2013.

ColleCtIoN 128 ZEN NExT a look at thailand’s premiere super luxury onsen condominium.

143 132 GASTRONOMY Fancy fine dining for Sunday brunch or never-ending special meals during the upcoming festive season? we've got you covered!

134 FAShION this season we go on a journey to the magic mountains with Louis Vuitton F/w Collection.

136 MOVE unveil the new spectacular novitec rosso widebody kit for the Ferrari F12 berlinetta.

138 TIME introducing H. Moser & Cie's new campaign and signature: VerY rare.

140 ELEMENTS OF STYLE Here is where you will marvel at all things stylish; from cool gadget to chic wardrobe.

143 GOLF golf is gold, or rather akira aDr Vintage's 24k version of it.

144 MOMENTS Marriott the President's trophy 2013.

176 ThE LAST PUTT a story on the unbeatable bobby jones, both in golf as well as life.

Editor's Page Let’s go!

“Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.”

- Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

Growing up with a passion for reading, I’ve read all kinds of things ranging from newspapers, poetry, martial arts fiction, romantic novels to suspense and translated literature. What struck me the most and has always been my source of inspiration is ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ (I’ve read the book twice and seen the film 3 times). In my early teenage years, I started dreaming of travelling around the world. Today, after having been to over 60 countries, I’ve learnt that travelling is more than just going to places. It’s meeting new people, learning about other cultures and languages, experiencing food, drinks, architecture, arts, music and so much more.

When I first met the people from Golf Vacations Singapore Edition, I felt the excitement and the feeling that this is the kind of magazine that Thai readers need for an inspired lifestyle. There ought to be passion in living because life is not just about those digits in your savings account. This is especially true to those whose hobby is golfing.

Golf Vacations is not the usual technical how-to guide for serious golfers, but a celebration of a fulfilled life, full of inspirational dreams.

Throughout 26 years of publication starting from Singapore to Hong Kong, China, Czech Republic, Malaysia and finally Thailand, millions of readers have been inspired by Golf Vacations to “get out there” and “live life.” Now it’s your turn.

Let’s go!

Suebwong Kaewthipharat editor-in-chief

SingApore

Company: Pacom Media Pte Ltd Address: 801 Toa Payoh Lorong 7, #06-08, Wearnes Building, Singapore 319319 Tel: (65) 6323 9600 publisher: Karen Chan Managing editor: Benny Teo

ChinA, hong Kong & MACAu

Company: Senasia Publication Group Ltd Address: Unit 832, 8/F, Metro Centre II, No. 21 Lam Hing Street, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2570 6123 Website: www.senasia.com.hk publisher: Alan Mok Managing editor: Alex Tam

CzeCh republiC

Company: Resort Media s.r.o.

Address: Škroupovo námestí 1255/9, 130 00 Prague 3, Czech Republic Tel: +420 271 773 934 Website: www.golfvacations.cz publisher: Vera Hartmanova Managing editor: Cenek Lorenc

MAlAySiA

Company: Big Shot Media Sdn Bhd Address: 31-5, Block E1, Dataran Prima, Jalan PJU 1/42, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Tel: +603 7880 2788 publisher: Louis Foo Managing editor: Tony Francis

ThAilAnd

Company: GM Multimedia Public Company Limited Address: GM Group Building, 914, Rama 5 Road, Dusit, Bangkok 10300, Thailand Tel: +662 241 8000 Website: www.gvthailand.com Website: www.gmgroup.in.th e-mail: thepooh.gvthailand@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/golfvacationsthailand publisher: Pakorn Pongvarapa editor-in-chief: Suebwong Kaewthipharat

Contributors luann alPhonso

Senior writer at The Peak, Features editor of August Man and now a freelancer.

18

Tony smarT

JusTine moss Owner of Jay Jay Communications, radio host, professional voice coach, media trainer and professional host and writer. Born in Britain, bred in Australia, and now relocated to Singapore. Aside from being an avid golfer, Justine's other passion is luxuriating in ultra luxe hotels and spas.

Long-time contributor of Golf Vacations, edited golf publications in Malaysia, a 3-handicap golfer looking to qualify for the European Senior Tour. An Englishman who often says he's been lucky enough to play golf all over the world and once lived in Mauritius.

Tom PeTers

Chris Folley

A long-time Canadian newspaper man with The Halifax Chronicle Herald since 1968 and is now semi-retired. He has worked in sports, news, business desk as reporter, editor and columnist and a contributor to Golf Vacations for over 10 years.

Asst. Chief Sub-Editor at the Evening Standard in the UK, Chris also writes the travel section mainly on golf and sports related subjects for the Standard.

Prior to that, he had been production editor at the Reading Evening Post and Chief Sub at The London Newspaper Group.

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

MUCH MORE THAN GOLF COURSE

Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club

18 holes of Charmpionship Golf Course and European Country lifestyle for your great memorial Pakchong Nakornratchsrima Thailand : www.ranchocharnvee.com : Tel. 044-756-210-3

Contributors andreW marshall Paul marshall

Andrew is a professional freelance travel writer for 20 years with over 50 countries under his belt. He works closely with his photographer brother Paul, particularly on golf.

Andrew lives in a 17th century cottage on the outskirts of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire and can be found walking the Pennines with his partner Amanda on most weekends.

Ong Weisheng

Benny TeO Managing Editor of Golf Vacations and GolfPunk Singapore with over 13 years experience in publishing, he is a 10-handicapper who trawls the world casting his iron-shafted net, metaphorically speaking, in a life-long search for the finest golf experiences in the world.

Previously the in-house stylist for Hubert Burda Media he has dealt primarily with fashion, accessories, watches, jewellery and personalities in the luxury segment. Weisheng is now a freelance artist who contributes to styling the Collection section in Golf Vacations.

narOng rOOjum Editor and General Manager of Thailand Restaurant News Magazine, the first food-service magazine in Thailand. He has decades of experience in media production (radio/TV program) and organizing food service seminars, SME seminars and food competitions.

Paul is a professional photographer living in Stockholm with his wife, daughter and Welsh springer spaniel. He freelances with various reportage and portraiture work for various publications in Sweden, including golf, and works with his brother Andy on many of those.

20

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Postcard

22

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

the rise okanagan valley, british columbia

Photography by david j. whyte Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

23

The First Luxurious Onsen Condominium in Thailand

Type S

Type M

The First Onsen Condominium in Thailand which is located at Khao Yai (Nakhon Ratchasima Province). Super luxurious onsen condominium under the concept of Elegant Tranquility with a unique Japanese Modern architectural style, zen-inspired design, authentic Japanese onsen and 360-degree panoramic view of Khao Yai.

Sales Gallery ZEN NEXT @Khao Yai (Opposite Khao Yai Kitchen) For more information, call 084-710-7777, 084-810-7777, 0-2332-2333 www.zennext-condo.com

*Images for advertising purposes only. Completed product may differ from artist’s representation. The developer retains the right to change or modify any details for any reason and without prior notice.The Owner; K.D. Asset and Development Co.,Ltd. Registered capital (Bant): 150,000,000.- (Fully paid up).Head offce located at no. 199/85 Moo 14, Bang Phli Yai Sub-district, Bang Phli District, Samutprakarn 10540. Managing Director: Mr.Theadsak Boontos.

Zen Next project will be constructed as a Residential Condominium on the land little deeds no.56156 and 77064, total of 2 plot(s) approximately land areas: 3 Rais, Thanarat Rd. Moo See Sub-district, Pakchong District, Nakhonratchasrima. Currently, the land is under obligations of Thanachat Bank Public Company Limited. Construction permit pending, Construction expected to start from April 2013 and expected to be completed in October 2014, The company reserves the right to make any changes without prior notice.

Type L

Regular

1

© tOM BReaZeaLe

© DaviD J. Whyte

cartogolf

3

2 4

5

Top 5 Golf Hotels Introducing the finest luxury stays that offers world class golfing experiences.

1

2

3

4

5

GleaneaGles Hotel

sandy lane ResoRt

Mission Hills, Haikou

Pan Pacific, niRwana Bali

evian Royal ResoRt

Located in the heathland of Scotland, this is the finest hotel that the north has to offer since its inception in 1924.

Enjoy the old charm of Scottish hospitality coupled with three championship golf courses – King’s, Queen’s and PGA Centenary, the last of which is designed by Jack Nicklaus and will host next year’s Ryder Cup.

26

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

An address in Barbados with celebrity weddings a norm, Sandy Lane’s laidback beachfront property belies its pedigree when it comes to the two 18-hole courses that resides there – The Country Club, which played host to a WGC event in 2006, and The Green Monkey, an ultra exclusive course carved out of an old limestone quarry featuring a dramatic bunker in the shape of the local primate.

China has many, very large golf clubs and Mission Hills is the largest of them all.

Their Haikou property, located in the tourist haven of Hainan Island offers luxury in largesse quantities and is almost a township unto itself.

Of its 12 courses, its Blackstone course has hosted celebrities both sides of the divide and a World Cup in 2011.

The sight of immense rice padi fields interspersed with views of the ocean and the Tanah Lot temple makes this a natural space for relaxation. Pan Pacific’s foray into luxury resort living compels the visitor to enjoy Bali in all its glory while also fighting the elements on-route to completing their 18-hole wonder.

A unique proposition with two hotels – Royal and Ermitage – a casino, a spa based on that famous bottled l’eau mineral and a newly renovated golf course that will host the 5th ladies Major as the Evian Championship unfolds September 12-15, 2013. Evian Royal Resort intertwines with the township that is vian-les-Bains with a unique charm that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Journal ★ Comments

Miracle at Muirfield

The Open at Muirfield reminds us again of what it’s really like to play the game it’s meant to be played.

The Claret Jug was the one trophy experts said Lefty

couldn’t win. In 18 previous Opens he’d recorded two top tens and missed four cuts including last year. He was also reckoned to be psychologically damaged by losing the previous month’s US Open to Justin Rose, his sixth runners-up finish in his national championship.

However, Mickelson is truly an amazing fighter, and the week before the Open, he proved his mettle by winning the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, some way north of Muirfield in the wilds of Inverness. That he followed that with an incredible 66 Sunday at the main event sorted out some demons along the way. And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

A lot of people probably think of Mickelson as just another millionaire professional golfer, especially after that controversial statement he made about moving out of California due to tax increases for the wealthy. But behind that statement, and the millions he’s rightly earned, Mickelson is really a straight up candid guy – remember his comment on unattractive Irish women? To be fair, he was only 21 then with a PGA Tour title under his belt and still an amateur - who has suffered through intense pain in his private life. Some, more emotional, like Amy and his mum being diagnosed with breast cancer one after the other; while another resulted in actual physical suffering in the form of psoriatic arthritis. Not once had he complained throughout this period, and remarkably, continued to plough on week after week on tour.

So, the best guy won at Muirfield. Most of the golfing world celebrated Mickelson’s victory, including me, a Brit who craved for Lee Westwood to win. Sadly, watching him collapse (again!) on the final day was painful. Westwood has now recorded eight top three finishes in majors without a ‘W’ but who knows, by the time you read this, he may already have taken the Wanamaker Trophy at Oak Hill?

Golf aside, this year’s Open saw two contentious issues emerge – one of which was slow-play penalty, and the other, the age-old tussle of having it at men’s only clubs. To me, the slow play penalty is a more serious, highly contentious issue because there have been only two this year in Majors; a one shot penalty given to 14-year-old Guan Tianlang of China at the Masters and the same given to 21-year-old Hideki Matsuyama of Japan at Muirfield. Both instances were criticized as being unnecessarily harsh, and both were handed out to young Asian players. It’s not as if there aren’t plenty of non-Asian slow players at the top of the game and in a field with only 7 of them making the cut (18 in total), they can hardly be accused of being responsible for singlehandedly

28

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

2013 Open ChampiOn ameriCan phil miCkelsOn.

holding up play. Kudos to Matsumaya then for finishing the tournament at 2-over par, tying for 6th place together with world number one Tiger Woods. Imagine, if he had not been slapped with that penalty, he’d be tied for third.

Mercifully, the issue of Muirfield being a men’s only club didn’t escalate to the scale of Martha Burk’s protests against Augusta National in 2002 – that issue being resolved with the said club now accepting women’s members. But, with three men’s only member’s clubs on the Open rota (Royal Troon and Royal St.George’s are the other two), some may start decrying the need for some sort of resolution. However, as Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson pointed out at Muirfield, “Single-sex clubs are in a very small minority in the UK, with half of them being women-only.” So, what gives?

In the interests of fairness, if we’re going to scrap men’s only golf clubs completely, it must also be so for the fairer sex.

Alternatively, the R&A could consider adding a women’s only club to the Open rota. Welcome to the 2050 Open at Sunningdale Ladies Golf Club. You think?

To read more of Tony Smart’s writing on golf visit his website at www.tonysmart.org.uk.

By tO n y s m a rt

Journal ★ Design

Mission Hills Newest Designers The world’s largest golf club gets not just one, but two current world’s top players to redesign its Duval Course.

David Duval may not have

made news for a very long time, but now, he has, albeit indirectly. More than a decade back, Mission Hills Golf Club contracted the 2001 British Open winner to be a part of their mega project that involves 10 different designers for 10 different courses in the Shenzhen and Dongguan iAn Poulter And Justin rose region in southern China.

In 2004, the course opened with co-designers Brian Curley and Lee Schmidt overseeing most of the project. It was a Par 72 course that measures 6,966 yards and features numerous water hazards, deep groundcover and a mixture of long, short and multi-angled dogleg holes. The frontnine climbs to a secluded natural valley in the northeastern part of the site, and the finishing holes tumble down to the spacious Dongguan clubhouse for that after game respite.

Hole 3 existing

Hole 3 After

But all that is about to change in a matter of months. On June 27, the mega club announced that two of the world’s most finest match play golfers and long-standing friends will come together to rebuild the Duval course into a dedicated Match Play course at Mission Hills.

Their names? Ian Poulter and Justin Rose. Obviously, this project has been steaming for some while already as the new Poulter-Rose course will be ready and on full exhibition on October 28 at their Dongguan site. The pair, who between them have won the WGC HSBC Champions (also at Mission Hills) and the US Open in the last 12 months, are also recognised as match play specialists and were key figures in last year’s European Team Ryder Cup victory.

Although the course redesign, like the original, will largely be undertaken by Brian Curley from the highly acclaimed Schmidt 30

and Curley design team, current world no. 3, Rose was quick to add, “We’ve had a number of discussions with Brian Curley and I look forward to coming to Mission Hills in October and seeing the end result.

Fellow Englishman Poulter also commented, “It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of match play so was more than happy to be involved in the project. We want to create something that presents some exciting risk and reward opportunities incentivizing aggressive play that you only really get on a match play course.”

The emphasis of the remodel will be to make use of the fantastic bones associated with the current layout, its treelined corridors and majestic views. The course will see the introduction of some stunning visuals that incorporate more rugged bunkering and native grass and transitional edges that will seamlessly blend into the outer boundaries.

Speaking about the new design, Curley said, “While there will remain a strong emphasis on playability and width, we envision a more punishing course that is ultimately more interesting and demanding, yet a fun playing experience.”

Other enhancements include more bunkering along the centerlines of play and greensites will see an introduction of additional features to both punish and reward. The tee surfaces will be expanded significantly, resulting in long ribbons of tight mow rather than individual tees, thus creating many more options for hole length including the opportunity to have many drivable par 4's and reachable par5's.

Tenniel Chu, Vice Chairman of Mission Hills Group added, “Mission Hills is continuously striving to create new interest and enjoyment through the game to enhance the golfing experience for our members and guests. We look forward to welcoming Justin and Ian back to Mission Hills in October and witnessing a very exciting showcase of Match Play golf.” www.missionhillschina.com

By Benny teo Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

dtac provides learning without limits for Thai kids with the launch of “1 Million Hours for Thai Children – Internet for All” project Thai kids can enjoy a new method of learning whether studying at a school upcountry or in a remote area both students and their teachers will have equal access to valuable information and knowledge on the internet through the “1 Million Hours for Thai Children – Internet for All” project.

Mr. Jon Eddy Abdullah, CEO of Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (dtac) formally launched the initiative project by having Group Captain Anudith Nakornthap, Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) presided over the launch event.

What’s the idea behind the “1 Million Hours for Thai Children – Internet for All” project?

Jon: Thailand's “mobile” internet penetration is still very low, with around 26.5 million internet users or around 30 percent of the total population while Thailand’s fixed-line internet penetration is as low as 10 percent. On the other hand, the mobile phone penetration is 136 percent, which means mobile network technology presents an excellent opportunity to increase internet penetration in Thailand. As part of

the 1 Million project, dtac plans to provide “equal internet access for all”, especially in the education sector, in order to support sustainable development and a culture of lifelong learning. Previously, dtac found that many schools in provincial areas lacked internet access while others had internet but it was too slow. This lack of communications infrastructure gives rise to the so-called Digital Divide. dtac is committed to realizing its vision of “Internet for All”, anticipating that within three years all Thais will have equal access to the internet, and that this in turn will lead to a better quality of life and improve overall levels of competitiveness in the country.

What is dtac doing for children in this campaign?

Jon: dtac’s “1 Million Hours for Thai Children – Internet for All” project will connect Thai children to the Internet for free at 200

schools, enabling around 80,000 students to use the service within 2014 or equivalent to one million hours. The project will be expanded over the next three years benefiting over 2,000 rural schools and around 1 million school children. For this project, dtac has partnered with the Bureau of Technology for Teaching and Learning, Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) under the Ministry of Education to select the schools for participation in the project. The project aims to provide internet access to the first 86 schools within this year as part of the celebrations to mark His Majesty the King’s 86th birthday anniversary.

Other than this project, does dtac have any other activities ongoing at present?

Jon: Surveys undertaken by the Mirror Foundation in 2010-2011 found that around 80 percent of Thai children have engaged in online chat with strangers and 13 percent of those have viewed pornography.

Additionally, the latest surveys conducted by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Rajanakarindra Institute under the Department of Mental Health revealed that this year as many as 2.5 million Thai children out of a total of 18 million had become seriously addicted to games. In light of this worrying situation, dtac is committed to help solve the problem and wishes to demonstrate its responsibility as one of the organizations working towards greater internet usage. The internet can be a doubleedged sword for Thai youth if used with ignorance. dtac consequently

launched its Digital Responsibility project in which a team of dtac volunteers, Under the “Do Good Deeds Every Day” initiative, visits schools and provides education on 1) Basic training for using computers and the internet, 2) How to use the Internet in effective ways to develop learning and improve society, and 3) The risks of the internet and how to be safe. Ultimately, what dtac really wants is for young Thai people to have a strong understanding of the online world with a high degree of responsibility for themselves and society in general. Online, children and young people should be introduced to the beneficial aspects of the Internet but should also understand and be able to manage the risks in using the Internet safely and effectively. dtac’s emphasis on digital responsibility is integral to the “1 Million Hours for Thai Children – Internet for All” project.

Journal

★

Home Away

The Chedi at Andermatt

Buying property in Switzerland is tricky business, but with this hotel-residential offering in the Swiss Alps, it is now possible.

In Asia, holiday homes are usually a by-product of

practical intentions, be it a child studying overseas or within the region of a foreign office that requires frequent presence. But where is the fun in that? An exciting option currently up for grabs is The Chedi Andermatt, a five-star hotel and residential development by Orascom Hotels and Development and managed by Singapore-based General Hotel Management Ltd (GHM). Both firms of repute, they will ensure that this luxurious Swiss real estate encapsulates the best of Asian hospitality and contemporary European splendour – with no restrictions to foreign buyers.

The reason we hyphenate that last phrase is because traditionally, Swiss Federal law disallows the purchase of local residential property by foreigners without a special permit. But all that is set to change within this exclusive hamlet. This rare exception, granted in 2007 by the Lex Koller Act, allows international buyers of The Chedi Andermatt the same rights and obligations as Swiss buyers, until 2030.

The rustic town of Andermatt, itself a historical site located within a valley in the Gotthard region with rumours of a lost treasure in early 1600s, is nestled comfortably between the crossroads of numerous major cities. The closest airport located in Zurich, sits approximately 1.5 hours away by car, followed by Basel and Milan, at approximately two hours each.

“This development is a testament to the levels of exclusivity found in other Chedi resorts,” says Olivier Croonenberghs, of Swiss Finance & Property. “We have 24-hour butlers and concierge and offer secluded privacy for our more conservative owners.”

The Chedi Andermatt will be the first landmark of a larger 1.4 million sqm project, which will include an 18-hole championship golf course planned by celebrated German course designer, Kurt Rossknecht, plush villas, a shopping promenade and delectable restaurants.

Jean-Michel Gathy of Denniston International Architects and Planners, who counts the St Regis and One & Only properties among his extensive architecture portfolio, has thoughtfully composed both traditional and modern elements of a contemporary ski resort into The Chedi Andermatt. Which is fitting, considering that there are three major ski areas that occupants of the valley will be privy to within the next 10 years: Gemstock for experienced skiers; Natschen for families and beginners, and neighbouring Sedrun. In all, approximately 130 kilometres of piste will be made available for skiers of varying abilities.

For serious lovers of Alpine country, seven lofts and six penthouses are available on the market with a ticket price

32

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Hotel PersPective winter day view.

aPres ski Bar.

ranging from US$3million to US$11million. But for those who simply want to get away from it all, a selection of one to two-bedroom apartments, sized between 110 and 306sqm can be purchased from US$1.8million to US$3million, with an approximate loan to value of 50 percent. The first phase of one-bedroom units is set to open by December 2013, followed by completion of the second phase in early February 2014.

Future home owners can also take part in a rental program managed by GHM, which not only helps offset utility and maintenance costs, but also ensures that the apartment is well kept at all times. www.thechedi-andermatt.com

By lua n n a l P H o n s o

The Pleasure of Living Exclusive Gastronomic Experience

by Michelin Star Chef

SCB FIRST Privilege Banking let privileged customers be the first to indulge in a superior gastronomic experience with exclusive dinner prepared by a Michelin star chef, together with a live opera performance at Elements restaurant, The Okura Prestige Bangkok.

The FIRST experience started with an opera performance by Fivera, Thailand's first and only pop-opera.

as PĂŠrigord truffle, foie gras and sea bass imported from France, all expertly prepared and presented with high level of creativity and imagination.

Michelin star chef Thomas Kammeier from Berlin then worked his culinary magic on a 'Food is art' dinner concept. Guests were pampered with a six-course dinner full of fresh ingredients, such

This was a FIRST exclusive experience of life's pleasure that we've selected for our distinguished customers.

Get ready for more FIRST TO LIVE exclusive activities coming soon.

Journal ★ Luxury

A Luxury Cart

Finally, an innovation that all golfers will enjoy.

Apart from Phil Mickelson’s stunning victory,

the Open at Muirfield also sees another, somewhat more practical sensation in the form of a vehicular transport device most commonly known to amateur golfers worldwide as the golf cart.

Mercedes Benz, the luxury German car manufacturer and proud sponsor of the Open Championships, as well as the other three majors in the professional rota, has unveiled an innovative “Golf Car”; a term used aptly by Gorden Wagener, Vice President Design at Daimler AG, the parent company that owns the Mercedes marque.

But its widely accepted name is called the ‘Mercedes Benz Vision Golf Cart’. Inspired by entries from all over the world

a USB interface, and control options within a touch include music and loudspeakers, air-conditioning, a head-up display that shows the course layout, game or weather conditions, as well as Bluetooth telephony communication.

Inside, the cart shouts Mercedes Benz with elegant and ergonomically shaped seats that are heated as well as ventilated and can be adjusted electronically using the Mercedes-typical controls on the side of the seat for heating or air-conditioning wherever you are.

The optional lightweight doors are another special feature.

A click-in function al- lows these to be very simply fitted if the weather is not so good and a retractable lightning rod is included in case of a storm. In bright conditions the windscreen

Gorden WaGener reveals WinninG desiGn at Muirfield.

of golf and automobile. Fans took part in an international competition by submitting their ideas for a golf cart of the future. This invaluable input provided the basis for a visionary golf cart design study created by the Mercedes-Benz design de- partment. As well as reflecting the innovative and forward-thinking ideas and wishes of golf players, the study includes the characteristics and technologies of a MercedesBenz. The winners then received an exclusive invitation as VIP guests to the Open Championship.

If you ever get a chance to ride, or better still, own one of these beauties, it is powered by a battery that is kept continuously charged by a solar module integrated into the roof. The vehicle is controlled via a joystick mounted on the centre console, thereby making it possible for either passenger to drive.

With a touch screen monitor, virtually all aspects of the cart can be controlled without extra buttons. “Simplicity is the key,” says Margarete Wies, Head of the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center in Carlsbad, California, which also happens to be where the world’s finest golf brands churn out newer and more technologically advanced equipment in their labs.

Also incorporated on-screen is a multimedia panel that includes a rotatable docking station for an iPad or iPhone and 34

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

can be darkened at the touch of a button, while it also features windscreen wipers with rain sensors, thus ensuring that they activate as soon as it starts to rain. In addition, the space behind the seats is ideal for stowing umbrellas.

One very commonly expressed request from the international entrants to the competition was, quite simply, to have plenty of stowage space. The Mercedes- Benz Vision Golf Cart therefore includes a whole range of stowage facilities. As well as the trunk compartment underneath the stowage area for the two golf bags, there are two dashboard compartments. There is also a small fridge fitted beneath the centre console, while cup holders between the seats will keep drinks hot or cold.

Now, the only question is, can we take this out on the road?

Oddly, with indicators, headlamps and tail lights, the answer is quite possibly, yes. www.media.daimler.com/sport and www.mercedes-benz.com

By Benny teo

GOLF VACATIONS THAILAND is pleased to

welcome the return of Thailand Golf Championship 2013, one of the greatest golf events in Asia by giving away free passes to view the event.

Get a chance to win a 4-day pass to Thailand Golf Championship 2013 by answering just one question on www.facebook.com/ GolfVacationsThailand today until 30 November 2013.

Only for the first 100 winners!

December 12-15, 2013 Amata Spring Country Club, Chonburi

Cover Story

Toscana Valley

where truly unique moments never end.

T e x T by S i T T i c h o k e A ru n S i r i p r AS e rT p h oTo g r A p h y by n AT T e e n i yA m A bh A r, yo n gy u T n o m k l A n g, bu S A ko r n be n j A k u l

36

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

One of the things that come to mind when we think of Italy is Venice, the capital of the Veneto region, which is also referred to as the “Queen of the Adriatic�. However, the charm of Italy does not stop there. In the central part of the country, 2 out of 3 regions are plateaus, while the west is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea in which the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa is located and delivers a historical significance towards the Renaissance period. In addition, there is the Tuscany region widely known for its beautiful scenery.

You no longer have to go all the way to Italy to appreciate the nature, architecture, and atmosphere of Tuscany. The city popular for its historical significance is now replicated to a valley surrounded by forests of natural heritage, called the Dong Phaya Yen Mountains, which is located in Khao Yai, the 7th best ozone source in the world. It is only a 2-hour drive from Bangkok on the Thanarat road. Turn left towards the 3052 highway to Wang Nam Keaw district, drive past Kirimaya and Chateau de Khaoyai then you will find the Toscana Valley - the magical land where people who enter would not want to leave.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

37

Town Square

38

Take a relaxing stay in a hotel located in the center of the valley with a European community feel. The hotel’s Tuscan-style architecture is decorated with natural materials, sand stone, and terracotta roof tiles with simple features yet still maintains its Italian beauty. Be awed by the various shops, restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, and mini marts surrounding the Town Square, ready to satisfy the different lifestyles of customers as if living in a Tuscan town.

If you would like a more romantic, Italian atmosphere to spend time with a loved one, you can try a Tuscan-style hotel located in the center of Town Square. The interior is laid out with concrete polished with stucco paint, and decorated with wooden furniture that gives a smooth, warm and relaxing feeling. Each room presents itself with different colour tones and complete amenities. Every corner on the property enables you to feel and appreciate the nature for maximum relaxation. You can get even closer to nature with the spacious balcony and watch the morning sky while taking a sip of your hot coffee.

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

La Casetta

If you prefer to live in a private and peaceful village surrounded by mountains, Toscana Valley’s La Casetta is the place for you. La Casetta, or the cottage, gives residents the ability to adjust their moods as needed. In addition, La Casetta meets the preferences of families with its spacious designs and high ceilings. You can opt to stay in a guest room with a loft where your kids can have their own space on the loft floor. The tone of the interior reflects the exterior, with emphasis on wooden furniture, giving a warm and relaxing feeling, and comfort.

The view of nature can be seen from all angles.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

39

Golf Course

Golfers will enjoy the challenging, hilly terrain and the climate of Khao Yai which allows them to play all year round. Toscana Valley’s golf course is a world-class 18 hole course. It was jointly designed by Bob McFarland, a prolific American golf course designer, and the engineering and architecture team of Toscana Valley who possess the needed technical and geographical knowledge. Together, they have worked for a perfect, attractive and balanced golf course.

The course starts with a par-4 hole at 352 yards; 2nd hole par 5 at 517 yards; 3rd hole par 4 at 330 yards; 4th hole par 3 at 141 yards; 5th hole par 4 at 362 yards; 6th hole par 4 at 327 yards; 7th hole par 5 at 504 yards; 8th hole par 3 at 131 yards; 9th hole par 4 at 310 yards; 10th hole par 3 at 158 yards; 11th hole par 4 at 337 yards; 12th hole par 4 at 339 yards; 13th hole par 3 at 153 yards; 14th hole par 5 at 493 yards; 15th hole par 4 at 350 yards; 16th hole par 4 at 342 yards; 17th hole par 4 at 293 yards; and 18th hole par 4 at 540 yards. The total distance of the course is 5,979 yards with 72 pars. The most difficult holes, in order of difficulty are 18th , 2nd and 14th.

40

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

41

Details and Perfection

One of successful people’s life goals is to find “the best home in the best location”. It is undeniable that good health comes from inhaling fresh air, consuming clean water from natural sources, being surrounded by a green environment, and having access to beautiful view. Based on the belief, Toscana Valley offers superior service by emphasizing on every possible details, starting from drawing plans for the house, looking into the access to the scenery, and the utilization of spaces. The houses’ designs combined together have resulted in the village’s unique look of which received the Best Landscape Architectural Design and the Best Residential Development (Khao Yai) awards from the Thailand Property Awards 2013 as well as Highly Commended Condo Development award from the Asian Property Awards 2013.

42

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Clubhouse

After a strenuous day of golfing or a whole day of other fun activities, recharge your energy and enjoy life by tasting Toscana Valley’s renowned Italian dishes, try the spaghetti pacchio, made with Italian-style black pasta, onions and smoked ham, or the Toscana pizza topped with seafood and olives on thin and crispy pizza crust. For the health-conscious customers, enjoy the fruit salad with shrimp served in taro nest, and follow with healthy watermelon smoothie. End your meal with a panna cotta which is made from butterfly pea gelatin, known to help nurture the heart, or a warm almond brownie stuffed with chocolate lava. Altermatively you can also enjoy Thai cuisine like Rad na si krong moo (Stir-fried fresh rice noodle in thick pork ribs sauce), or indulge yourself with fresh, smooth-tasting seafood that comes in your Tom Kha Talay (Coconut seafood soup with galangal) and finish with tropical fresh fruits. www.toscanavalley.com Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

43

Legends A member of the original Great Triumvirate, along with Harry Vardon and James Braid, J.H. Taylor almost single-handedly lifted the repute of professional golf from the ‘Second-Class Citizens’ that they were in. - By To n y S m a rT

J. H.

The Golfing Pioneer

John Henry ‘J.H.’ Taylor was born into a working class family in Devon, England, in 1871, J.H. Taylor was no stranger to poverty and once famously said that, “once you’ve felt the cold chill of poverty, it is something you never forget”. His family was very poor and his father was a labourer who took what work he could get in an era when no work meant no pay. His mother took to washing laundry and occasionally, as a last resort, accepted “parish pay” - a donation from her local church.

Taylor’s father died when he was an infant so he was obliged to start earning a living when he was just 11, working as a caddy and labourer at the Royal North Devon Golf Club (also known as Westward Ho!). Soon afterwards he joined the green keeper’s staff, learning about course maintenance and layout, a move which laid the foundation for his skill as a golf course designer in later life. At 19, he turned professional and worked at several clubs including Burnham & Berrow, Royal Winchester and Royal Wimbledon before eventually settling in 1899 at Royal Mid-Surrey when he was 28. He stayed at Royal Mid-Surrey until he retired in 1946.

44

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Getty ImaGes

Taylor

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

45

Getty ImaGes

While that sounded much like the life of a club professional, Taylor’s story was anything but that. It didn’t take long for him to make his mark as a playing professional as he won the first of his five Open Championships at Royal St. Georges in 1894. Indeed he was a contender in the Open from age 22 in 1893 when he finished tied 10th at Prestwick, and that illustrious career lasted until age 55 when he tied for 11th at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1926.

His four other Open victories came at St Andrews in 1895 and 1900, Royal Cinque Ports in 1909, and Royal Liverpool in 1913. And when Taylor wasn’t winning the Open he was giving the others a serious run for their money, finishing runner-up five times, third once, fourth twice, and in the top ten a further nine times. Even in his 50s Taylor recorded three top six finishes between 1922-25.

Taylor also finished runner-up to Vardon in the 1900 U.S. Open and his other nine tournament victories included two French Opens, a German Open, a Dutch Open, and two “News of the World” Match Play Championships, the last of which was an important professional golf tournament at that time.

But it wasn’t just on the golf course that Taylor, with his magical golf, cool demeanour and immaculate dress sense, worked hard to transform the image of professional golf. At the time he was, and still is, regarded as the pioneer of British professionalism and had helped start the British Professional Golfers’ Association, the first of its kind in the world in 1901, and being its first chairman. He did a lot to raise the status of the professional golfer and in the words of the late, great Bernard Darwin, “turned a feckless company into a self-respecting and respected body of men.” Darwin later wrote of Taylor that “he was a natural speaker, a natural fighter and a natural leader. He would have made his mark in any walk of life.”

Taylor also spoke publicly on behalf of professional golf, helping to raise its profile. In addition to forming the British PGA, he was also a tireless champion of golf through the formation of the Artisan Golfers Association and the Public Golf Courses Association, and he was instrumental in obtaining permission, and then in designing the two public golf courses in Richmond Park, London.

46

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

And so it became, J.H. Taylor, the designer, whose dedication to the game was so great that all through his playing career he was also involved in designing or co-designing some 40 courses across England including Royal Ascot (1887), Royal Winchester (1889), Purley Downs (1894), Andover GC in 1907, Frilford Heath’s Red Course in 1908, Pinner Hill GC in 1927, and Batchwood Hall GC in 1935. He has been attributed with being the inventor of the ‘dogleg’ hole, although holes of this form had existed on many courses (e.g., the seventh at the Old Course at St Andrews and the fourth at Prestwick Golf Club) before Taylor began designing courses.

Some of Taylor’s design work can even be seen at Royal Mid Surrey, which he undertook whilst he was a professional there, his most enduring contribution being to shape the club’s two courses. Not only did he oversee the completion of the Inner Course but, together with the head green-keeper, Peter Lees, he was responsible in the early part of the last century for the club’s famous humps and hollows.

In 1933, Taylor achieved the distinction of captaining the Great Britain Ryder Cup team at the Southport & Ainsdale Club, the only captain on either side to have never played in the matches.

Yet, despite his lack of Ryder Cup experience and the fact that his opposing captain was the great Walter Hagen, Taylor led his side to a 6½-5½ victory, becoming only the second of three Team Great Britain captains to ever win the Ryder Cup, and the proud nation’s last Ryder Cup victory for 24 years.

Most of Taylor’s later life was dedicated to teaching, making clubs, designing golf courses and writing books, including one on his career entitled ‘Golf: My Life’s Work’. He wrote several outstanding books on golf in the days before the advent of ghostwriters, and wrote every word himself. First Editions of these books today are highly collectable and worth several hundred pounds each. The clubs which he made in Sheen, near Royal Mid Surrey, with his partner George Cann were of high quality, exported around the World, and are now also very sought after by collectors.

In recognition of his achievements and contribution to golf, Taylor was made an honorary member of the R&A in 1949, and was elected president of Royal Birkdale in 1957, a course he had co-designed with F. G. Hawtree in 1889. In his retirement, he was also president of Royal North Devon Golf Club, entering a clubhouse he would not have been invited as a young man.

And in 1975, 12 years after his death, he was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame with this dedication: “Taylor’s accuracy was legendary. At Sandwich, where he won his first Open by five strokes in 1894, he would have the directional posts removed from the blind holes out of fear that his drives would hit them and carom into bunkers.”

Golfers everywhere are indebted to J.H. Taylor for his instrumental role in laying the foundations of the modern game.

His final years were spent back in his native village of Northam, Devon, overlooking Westward Ho!, and enjoying the view he called “the finest in Christendom”. His death in 1963, just short of his 92nd birthday, marked the passing of the last of the great golfers from the 19th century and this year, the 50th anniversary of his death, golfers everywhere should offer up a silent prayer for a great man who helped make the game accessible to all and sundry.

Interview Series

Ted Parslow,

Design Kingpin of Southeast Asia Being close to the ground makes all the difference between a good design and a great one. By Be n n y t e o

48

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

49

PREVIOUS PAGE - OPENING PICTURE: Sky Oasis in Kunming.

TOP PICTURE: IOI Palm Garden Golf Club

“In late 1989, they were just beginning work on a project in Malaysia, so Ted Parslow decided to spend more time there and accelerate their involvement whilst checking out on the ground what was happening with regards to golf course development in Malaysia and in Asia generally.”

50

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

40 years ago, Ted E. Parslow decided that playing professional golf was not going to work out for him. Geoff, his younger brother, had more talent and went on to a professional career but on a particular day in 1973, they both got together and formed an alliance to the effect of looking to build quality golf courses.

As a young teenager with a love of the game, he could hit the ball half decently and thought to play for a living but when Geoff, as a 13-year-old who had played for only 6 months, shot 68 in a junior tournament, he realized that while dedication was not an issue, talent might be.

Eventually however, the brothers combined and with the golfing eye of Geoff and a technical, civil engineering scrutiny of Ted, E&G Parslow began with no real job in tow but with a lot of passion driving the brothers forward.

“We formed the company together back

in 1973. Geoff assisted greatly in getting the first few projects that got our company off the ground,” recalls Ted. Initially, Ted worked full-time as an engineering project manager to fund their new company. Their first projects were simple, designing a few bunkers and the extension of an irrigation lake to get started.

But their first major break came in 1976 when selected to design a new 18-hole golf course on the Murray River bordering New South Wales and Victoria. The course is known as Rich River Golf and Country Club.

This was followed by a second 18 holes in the early 1980’s.

“I concentrated full-time on golf course design from the mid 80’s undertaking a further project on the Murray River called Murray Downs Golf and Country Club, and projects in Canberra and Queensland. In the late 80’s, tourist projects generally reliant on Japanese investment were booming along the

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

51

“The best situation on a golf development project is to be close at hand so that visits during construction can be weekly or in some cases daily. I am sure this is a major reason why we have undertaken so many projects in Malaysia and Singapore.”

TOP TO BOTTOM: Saujana Golf and Country Club; Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club

coast of Northern New South Wales and Queensland and we became heavily involved with two, namely, Gold Coast Golf and Country Club and Pacific Downs.”

But his optimistic start was thwarted by unforeseen economic circumstances. Construction works had just commenced on both projects when there was a partial collapse of the Japanese stock market. The very next morning, all Japanese personnel had disappeared from the project offices, never to be seen on site again.

Consequently, both projects folded and they were left with fees unpaid and no work to do. At that time in late 1989, they were just beginning work on a project in Malaysia, so Ted Parslow decided to spend more time there and accelerate their involvement whilst checking out on the ground what was happening with regards to golf course development in Malaysia and in Asia generally.

He quickly became busy with new golf course projects in Kedah (Darulaman Golf and Country Club) and Johor (Sebana Golf and Marina Resort). At that time, Jason Winter, the third and final element of the cogwheel at E&G Parslow, was completing his final year at university in Tasmania, and he expressed interest in potential training and employment as a golf course architect.

“His timing was excellent,” Parslow says. “I met him at a golf convention in Tasmania near to where he lived and was able to offer him a job, initially part-time. Further work pressures quickly produced a need for his involvement to be full time, initially based in our Melbourne office. A requirement to have someone work full-time on site on a project in Sarawak brought Jason to Malaysia and he has been here ever since.”

Moving to Malaysia was a stroke of genius for at that time, the relative low cost of living, cultural mix and proximity to other places in Asia allows him to build a reputation for consistently good golf designs with a knowledge of doing business here that is otherwise unbeknownst to those who worked mostly in West.

“I believe I have integrated well – more a local than an expat these days,” laughs Ted, continuing, “I believe it helped. It certainly helped me in not having to travel so far to the projects. The best situation on a golf development project is to be close at hand so that visits during construction can be weekly or in some cases daily. I am sure this is a major reason why we have undertaken so many projects in Malaysia and Singapore. Our presence here also enabled our early involvement in projects in China due to our contacts with Malaysian entrepreneurs becoming involved in that region.”

52

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

FROM TOP: Wu Yi Shan Golf Club; KIngs Cove Metung.

But the mega pie that was to be the Chinese golf market had turned out to be a little more difficult to deal with than Malaysia and Singapore. Communication was an issue, especially in the early years when golf was about to boom in what is today the world’s second largest economy. And sometimes developers would have preconceived ideas, which may be inappropriate to the work, but Ted was quick to stress that, “this is a worldwide problem for designers, certainly not just here.”

Wu Yi Shan Golf Club, in Nanping, is a classic example where they entered into a contract, prepared the concept, but were then terminated when the client jointventured with two other groups, one of which included an in-house, inexperienced designer. A year later, E&G Parslow received a desperate email requesting help.

“We were able to respond, spent considerable time on site and were able to modify the design considerably as construction progressed so that the site was enhanced rather than compromised by the imposition of the course,” says Parslow.

While this was a success story, eventually, many were disappointments where they have almost completed, then abandoned on legal grounds or passed to others following changes of ownership. For the past two years, they have not done any active work there with Sky Oasis in Kunming being the last when it opened in 2009.

Nevertheless, E&G Parslow continued to make their name in Southeast Asia with the renovation of Singapore’s National Services Resort and Country Club first getting worldwide recognition as an Audobon certified golf course as well as the International Environmental Leaders in Golf Award for his work in the club’s Kranji Sanctuary Golf Course.

Recently, three projects in particular have caught notice. Jurong Country Club, also in Singapore, has had a long-term battle with flooding and maintenance and Parslow’s work there not only turned the swamp-siding back nine into a resilient track that can withstand the constant thunderstorms that sweep through this tropical equatorial island, he has also transformed an otherwise old layout into a modern golf course that challenges competitive golfers and also lets weekend members enjoy their round, all the while maintaining the unique nature of its two nines – the shorter front being hilly and tight, while the back opens up into part-links style, long-hitters paradise.

The second reconstructive work that was to rise to acclaim were the two courses at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. Back in 2006, Sime Darby, then new owners of KLGCC saw that the East and West courses had deteriorated over the years and wanted it upgraded significantly. The E&G Parslow office located at Bangsar Baru was merely 10 minutes away and when they were awarded the project, they made almost daily visits to the site.

In October this year, the par 71, 6,246-yard East Course will play host to the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia tournament defended by current women’s number one, Inbee Park of South Korea. The West Course will also host the first US PGA-sanctioned, FedEx Cup event in Asia with the CIMB Classic, which will see current Open champion and world number two, Phil Mickelson tee it up for precious FedEx Cup points accruing to the 2014 PGA Tour season later in the same month.

This is a source of pride for the veteran designer.

“Of course it is satisfying to have major tournaments played on a course that you have designed particularly when you have put so much thought into the playability and strategic aspects as applied to tournament play. We are pleased to be assisting in some changes at the moment that will enable high Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

53

54

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Murray Downs Golf and Country Club.

quality practice facilities on grass for the players and the opportunity for close up viewing of the practice sessions by the patrons,” effuses Parslow.

That said, the final and most recent project of particular note has been at a club that has seen many important tournaments held there, including the European Tour-sanctioned Maybank Malaysian Open. While the Palm course at Saujana Golf and Country Club had been headlining this 36-hole property, the Bunga Raya, or ‘Crocodile’, course has seen many changes since it was first built by Ronald Fream.

At the time of opening, the total area of the overall development was large and planning for future housing was far into the future. There was a large area of land far from the clubhouse and entry area that was quite hilly, which gives this otherwise shorter and tighter course a lot of leeway for redevelopment.

Parslow explains, “Two holes in the original layout were established in that area. Later, we took those holes out and incorporated two alternative holes within the general confines of the layout. Later again, we designed, I think, four holes in the hilly area but that design was not proceeded with. Recently, to consolidate a large area for housing development within the Saujana property, we designed eight holes into the hilly area.

“It was a challenge to insert these holes into an area that was unsuitable from the natural terrain point of view.

Extensive earthworks were required. The course today is designed to be long and challenging for the better players but more forgiving for the poorer golfer than the original layout was. The bunker style that is quite dominant that we used at KLGCC, Tropicana Golf and Country Resort and IOI Palm Garden Golf Club was softened here at the request of the client but nevertheless, still aesthetically impressive.”

While these remarkable projects have given the company an enviable calling card, it is perhaps something from an earlier time that would give Ted Parslow the most satisfaction. Murray Downs Golf and Country Club was the one project that saw him involved in every aspect from design and supervision, through project management to dealing with aboriginal sacred site disputes. Throughout, he was supported fully by the local development group that became and remained his friends. The course is considered to be among the best resort courses in Australia.

“In the climate of today’s more complex organizational management, total involvement is a rarity. KLGCC would probably come next, from the company point of view, since Jason and Geoff were able to be on site almost daily and therefore able to tweak even the smallest details,” explains Ted. Today, the elder Parslow wants to reign in his time and indulge in the very activity that got him started in the first place – golf. Ultimately, Winter will gradually take over the general running of the company and with his involvement increasing, they are talking of a change of name to something like ‘Parslow and Winter Golf Design’ so that his major involvement can be more clearly recognised and Ted Parslow can once again, dream of playing professional golf, although, he’ll be the first to admit, that would probably remain just that: a dream.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

55

Destination Focus

Niagara Falls Thousands of tourists visit the Niagara Falls every season but the truth of the matter is, they’ve got some great golf as well.

The Canadian side at least according to our proud Canadian correspondent.

- By to m p e t e r s

56

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

It was a tempest in a teapot!

Swirling winds, heavy water spray and the thundering sound of millions of gallons of water pounding over Horsehoe Falls, one of three and the largest falls that collectively compose Niagara Falls in southern Ontario, Canada.

The other two falls being the American Falls and the smaller Bridal Veil Falls are both on the American side of the USA and Canadian border that cuts through the region.

On a warm May afternoon, dozens of passengers hung tight to the side rails of the Maid of the Mist, the small, two-deck tour boat that manoeuvres so close to Horsehoe Falls you swear you could almost touch the raging torrent. The passengers, shrouded in blue, plastic ponchos with hoods in a useless effort to stay dry, squeal and scream as the mist raises hundreds of feet into the air and the wind generated by the falls strengthens, ballooning the ponchos while these tourists, with everything digital, try to capture the event.

The ordeal at the falls, a massive and incredible natural wonder, lasts only a few moments but the swirling green waters, churned up by the powerful water flow, leaves an indelible memory.

It was my first warm weather visit to the Niagara Peninsula, one of Canada’s major lush fruit growing regions and really I wondered why I had not been here before considering it is in the heart of my own country.

Ontario, by the way, is also the home of PGA player Mike Weir who in 2003 became the first left-handed golfer to win the Masters at Augusta and the first Canadian to win a major championship. Weir beat American Len Mattiace on the first hole of a playoff and then enjoyed the ceremony in Butler Cabin as he got his green jacket from Tiger Woods. Weir’s business interests have expanded over the years, and like Australian golfer Greg Norman, is into wine making. More pertinently to us, Weir’s line of wines is produced in conjunction with winery Chateau des Charmes at Niagara-on-theLake.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

57

“McBroom gave the big bombers lots of room to show off but still keeps the riskreward element as exemplified by the 8th, a monster 500yard par 4 where long hitters can cut the slight corner on the right. But if the accuracy isn’t there, there are six bunkers ready to grab the ball. The Par 72 course is a good test even from the white tees at 6,185 yards.”

58

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

In my younger years, I thought of Niagara Falls as a place for only honeymooners and although it still is a popular spot for newlyweds, there is such a variety of attractions that make Niagara Falls and nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake such a relaxing and enviable place for a vacation. Also a place of historical significance for Canada, it was within the Niagara region that the Battle of Chippawa was fought in July 1814 between the Americans and British. It was just one battle in the War of 1812.

But our main focus of the visit was golf and there are plenty to savour with about 30 courses in the region, and if you want to package golf with accommodation, the Best Western Cairn Croft in Niagara Falls is the local leader in this department.

This resort hotel is located within 20 minutes of several courses and features an attractive indoor tropical courtyard with lush trees and landscaped gardens, heated pool and hot tubs. Notably, there are four courses here that are recommended - Battlefield and Ussher’s Creek, collectively known as Legends on the Niagara and owned and operated by the Niagara Parks Commission; Whirlpool, a Stanley Thompson creation; and Thundering Waters, John Daly’s only design in Canada. The Legends also has a 9-hole, executive course called Chippawa.

The Legends and Whirlpool are public courses while Thundering Waters is semiprivate but open to green fee play. Battlefield is a creation of Canadian architect Doug Carrick who was in tune with the design philosophies of one of Canada’s foremost designers Stanley Thompson, which simply states: “Let the land dictate.”

The course stretches over 7,300 yards from the tips but you can play it as short as 5,500 yards with four tee areas to chose from.

The course is fairly generous in landing areas off the tee but still requires some tactical play if you choose to cut some corners and play those risk and reward shots.

Also Carrick, on some holes like one, two and four, made extensive use of bunkering to add to the challenge. In all, there are nearly 90 bunkers on the course. On other holes, water also comes into play. The seventh hole, a 423-yard Par 4 from the back, had a dogleg shaped around a small lake. And the eighth hole, a 190-yard par 3 from the tips, is nearly all carry over water with a small bail out area short and to the right of the green. The 9th is another water hole with a more severe dogleg around the lake than hole seven. Bite off as much of the corner as you think you can

chew. The inward nine holes are more tree-lined with the 18th a great finisher. A par 5, 556 yards from the back tees and a dogleg right shaped around more water. A tremendous driving hole that plays even longer into a wind.

Ussher’s Creek is the design of another Canadian architect, Tom McBroom. My personal note on McBroom courses is he likes lots of big sand traps and big greens. Almost 7,200 yards from the back tees, the course has some similarities to Battlefield in that there are few elevation changes if any and generous landing areas. McBroom routed his design very nicely around some water with holes 6 and 7 good examples, a 439-yard par 4 and a 186-yard par 3.

McBroom gave the big bombers lots of room to show off but still keeps the risk-reward element as exemplified by the 8th, a monster 500-yard par 4 where long hitters can cut the slight corner on the right. But if the accuracy isn’t there, there are six bunkers ready to grab the ball. The par 72 course is a good test even from the white tees at 6,185 yards.

The 9-hole executive Chippawa course at The Legends is a creation of both McBroom and Carrick. The course was designed to complement the two larger layouts and measures 2,159 yards, plays to a Par 30 and actually has two holes that measure out at 390 yards. The Legends complex has a full service pro shop and restaurant, plus first rate practice areas for all aspects of the game.

And just this year, the Niagara Parks Commission announced the opening of the Rick Smith Golf Academy. It is the first signature golf academy in Canada by the famed PGA Tour instructor. Programs, with all the latest in technology and top instructors, are customized to fit all golfers.

John Daly’s Thundering Waters, his first signature course in Canada, has undergone some changes to a couple holes since it was first opened in 2005 but all in all, it is stll a good test and a surprisingly tight one that Daly features as a risk/reward type course. As a side note, on the day the course opened, Daly put on a driving display and attempted to drive a golf ball across Niagara Falls to the American side, a distance of 342 yards but over thunderous waters and who knows with what kind of updraft. Clad in his brightly coloured trousers, Daly hit 20 balls but failed to make a successful drive. His second shot did hit the rocks on the U.S. but fell short of the target.

However, you don’t need to have Daly’s booming drives to play Thundering Waters.

There are five tee decks at each hole with the longest yardage at 6,530 yards. But you do

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Battlefield Course; Whirlpool Aero Car ; Aerial view of The Legends Clubhouse.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

59

60

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The Legends - Battlefield Course, 18th Hole; Sunrise at The Legends Clubhouse; Golfers at The Legends.

need to have accuracy because with nearly 100 sands traps and water hazards on the majority of the holes, there is not a lot of margin for error.

And combine the sand and water with narrow landing areas and greens with lots of swales and undulations, it all makes for a very enjoyable round of golf although the risks I took didn’t offer me much reward.

There are many good solid holes on this golf course with some of the more notable ones at 4, 11 and 16. The 4th is a 472-yard par 5 that could yield a birdie as easily as a bogey or worse. The landing area is narrow as is the entire fairway.

There is a water hazard up the left side and the green is long and narrow with some good swales.

The 11th is one of the risk/reward Daly feature. A short 328-yard par 4 with a dogleg right around sand and trees, there is also water on the right. The green is guarded left front by sand traps it’s like throwing darts. The 16th is a solid Par 3 of 170 yards. The green is long and narrow but golfers are firing into the narrow portion.

There is water guarding the entire front and traps in back and to the right. Bailout is minimal.

Of the four courses, Whirlpool really grabbed my attention. It would be fair to say that the majority of golfers don’t really care who designed a particular course or any course for that matter.

But there are times when a course, whether you care about the architect or not, will catch your eye or heighten your sense of enjoyment of the game while playing it.

Canadian architect Stanley Thompson’s designs are good examples. He had a knack of assessing the land and instinctively knowing how the design should be routed. Thompson, who in 1930 had partnered with Robert Trent Jones Sr. to form the firm Thompson, Jones & Co., was particularly known for letting the lay of the land dictate design. Thompson didn’t believe in moving a lot of dirt or building artificial mounding if he could avoid it.

The designer of such great Canadian tracts as Banff Springs and Jasper in Alberta, St. Georges in Toronto and The Highland Links in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and of course many more throughout the Western Hemisphere, finished his long distinguished career with this Whirlpool gem.

Opened in 1951, it is high regarded as one the country’s top public golf courses by a number of golf publications. Located against a backdrop of the Niagara River’s whirlpool rapids and Niagara Gorge, this course has a lot of maturity and natural beauty. The course has plenty of challenge and certainly forces a strategic style of play. What I really liked was the fact Thompson didn’t block the front of the greens with sand traps or any other hazards. There are lots of traps

but always to the sides or back of the greens or lining fairways.

The par 72 course is in a park-like setting and in 1996, the parks commission hired R.M. Moote & Associates to undertake a renovation of the sand traps, design new forward tees and practice areas. The reputation of the course has since gone global and with Niagara Falls an international tourist destination, it doesn’t take long for word to get circulated.

Every hole on this course is different and pleasing to the eye. The second hole, for example, is a straightaway par 4, 415 yards from the back tees. The narrow fairway is tree lined and to the right of the green is a small pond, a water spray coming up from the centre of the pond and all surrounded by colourful, flowering landscape.

And not uncommon in Thompson’s designs are back-to-back par 5s. The fourth hole is 509 yards, a good birdie chance for long hitters and the fifth measures 536 yards. There are lots of birdie opportunities on this course that measures just over 7,000 yards from the back tees and 5,000 from the forward tees. If there was ever a course you should pick the right distance for your game and truly enjoy the round, this would be it.

Aside from golf, Niagara Falls and the Niagara-on-the-Lake region are full of attractions such as museums, shopping, parks, hiking, biking, rivers and whirlpools to explore, War of 1812 bicentennial events, botanical gardens, live theatre, and of course lots of restaurants.

In addition to the great food at the various golf clubhouses, we were spoiled with a great dining experience at Peller Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake. A delectable five-course meal can include beef brisquet, pan seared perch, lobster bisque, oven roasted beef strip loin and pistachio and olive oil cake and of course, each course pairing with the appropriate wine. Also outstanding is the mouthwatering lamb shank at Windows by Jamie Kennedy with a picturesque setting by the window overlooking the falls.

www.niagaraparksgolf.com www.niagaraparks.com

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

61

62

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

OPENING PICTURE: Aerial view of the front nine at Alcanada Golf Club.

THIS PAGE FROM TOP: Alcanada Golf Club - Par 5. hole 13; Clubhouse at Alcanada Golf Club.

A destination that conjures dreams of sunny summer breezes amidst lush, heavenly greens for an ultimate golfing indulgence.

- BY To n Y s m a rT

Destination Focus

Mallorca

As you look out the window flying into Palma airport in Mallorca, you will see a beautiful golf course. This wondrous sight sets the tone for the rest of the journey and it is called Son Gual. Set among gently rolling hills and olive groves in beautifully manicured ground that is at once Augusta National as well as Scottish links, Son Gual is one of 18, full 18-hole golf courses here in Spain’s largely untapped golfing destination.

Owned by German businessman Andreas Pamer who contracted threetime German amateur champion and course designer Thomas Himmel to create this masterpiece, it opened for play in 2007 and is included in the ‘Rolex World’s Top 1,000 Golf Courses’ guide. Arguably the finest that the region has to offer, this par 72 layout, which measures 7,223 yards from the back tees but a more manageable 6,527 yards from the yellow, or visitor’s tees, is a stunning course with challenges everywhere.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

63

64

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

LEFT: View from the first tee at Son Gual; BELOW: Par Hole 9th at Son Gual.

Water comes into play on 10 holes especially at three of the par 3s - the 122-yard (all measurements from the yellow tees) fifth, which is entirely over water; the 185-yard ninth, where everything slopes towards the lake on the left of the green; and the 181-yard 17th, again almost entirely over water but this time with a couple of deep bunkers between the water’s edge and the green.

Water is also seriously in play at the par 5 12th, the par 4 13th, and the 526-yard uphill par 5 final hole where you drive to one stretch of fairway, hit your second across water to another island of fairway and then play your approach to the green over the same water hazard which

zigzags the length from tee to green. Tough finishing hole and of course your exploits here are in full view of golfers who’ve finished their rounds and relaxing with a cold drink on the clubhouse patio.

It is interesting to note that as well as buggies for hire, Son Gual has Segways as well, and if you’ve never had a go, where better than wide open fairways to try it. There are also 58 fairway and greenside bunkers littered around the course, some of them quite vast as at the 160-yard par 3, 15th where the only bunker stretches from beside the ladies tee all the way to the edge of the green. Deep rough and more than a 1,000 olive trees add to the challenge and even when you reach the putting surface you can’t relax as these greens are fast and undulating,

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

65

Clubhouse and practise green at Son Gual.

and a couple of them measure more than 45 yards from front to back. And yet, tough as it is, Son Gual is a pleasure to play. Another is Alcanada Golf Club in the northern part of the island.

Alcanada and Son Gual cannot be any more different. But only with respect to build and style. While Son Gual is an American-styled resort course, Alcanada, designed by Robert Trent Jones II and opened for play in 2003, is a true blue European layout. This is quickly evident after the par 5, 1st hole where a stream protects the front of the green. That is the only water hazard on the course which instead depends on lots of pot bunkers, deep rough, and fairways lined with pine, olive and oak trees for protection. Alcanada’s greens are also much smaller and less undulating than those of Son Gual.

Measuring 7,099 yards from the back tees and 6,711 yards from the yellows, the par 72 course is a great test with stunning sea views over the Bay of Alcudia from 17 holes, many of which take in the small island of Alcanada with its eye-catching lighthouse from which the course derives its name. If you’re a nature lover, wild pheasants might also catch your eye and grouse that strut the fairways completely oblivious to golfers, except when a ball lands close and the falcons that fly 66

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

overhead gets near.

The course is divided into two different nines with the front looping from and to the clubhouse and rising inland through wooded hills whilst the back nine runs to and from the sea with these holes providing the most breathtaking views imaginable.

After your round, relax at the beautiful stone clubhouse, which is a century-old, carefully restored mansion with a large terrace overlooking the course on which you can relax and enjoy some of the restaurant’s excellent cuisine washed down with a cold beer or local wine. And, should your swing need some work, the club has its own golf school with multilingual, experienced PGA pros. It also has a magnificent pro shop crammed full of the latest equipment and top class apparel.

Other excellent courses in Mallorca are Santa Ponsa 1, which hosted the Balearic Open on the European Tour six times between 1988 and 1998 with the late, great Seve Ballesteros winning twice here.

Opened in 1977, it is probably one of the best known and most used golf courses in Mallorca and many well-known celebrities from the world of sport, entertainment, politics and royalty visit the Santa Ponsa golf course when they are on the island.

The course itself is very demanding with

wide but sloping fairways as well as water hazards coming into play on five hole locations. The 644-yard par 5 10th is one of the longest holes in Europe whilst the long dogleg 16th seems never-ending as you encounter one hazard after another.

Once done, proceed to Real Golf de Bendinat, which was designed by Martin Hawtree as a nine hole course back in 1986. The second nine was added only a decade later but you can now enjoy it in its full glory. Close to the capital city of Palma, Bendinat is set in a valley with many elevated tees whilst most of the fairways are tree lined and have severe slopes. The difficult greens also add to the challenge plus the undulating terrain will see most golfers needing to use all 14 clubs in their bag.

The view over the Bay of Palma from Bendinat is quite spectacular and the flora and wildlife around the area makes it one of the most beautiful courses on Mallorca. Following an agreement with the Audubon ecological group in New York, Bendinat Golf Club has created its own special nature reserve and is one of only 15 golf courses in Europe to take this step.

And, unusually for a golf course, the club has regular art exhibitions and open-air concerts that bring people from all over the

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Windmills at Hilton Sa Torre; Gran Christiana Chapel; Suite Living Room; Suite Bedroom; Family Pool.

island here to this south-western enclave.

Another Mallorcan course of note is Pula which opened at the end of 1995 and in 2001, underwent major re-construction work with changes to all but a handful of holes. Between 2004 and 2005, exEuropean Ryder Cup Captain Jose Maria Olazbal was instrumental in enacting more changes to more than half the course making it even more appealing for the modern game. The redesigned 17th, for example, was the centrepiece of the 2005 Mallorca Classic - a long, downhill par 4 with a vast lake to the left and a well-bunkered green offers many dramatic moments.

Despite being relatively new, it is one of the most well known on the island thanks to the many top class tournaments attracting celebrities from all over the world, like supermodel Claudia Schiffer, to its doorstep. Pula also hosted Mallorca’s first ‘Skins Game’ in 1997 when José Maria Olazabal, Mark McNulty, Carl Suneson and Bernhard Langer took part and the fact that Olazabal rated it among the top 20 courses in Spain back then may have something to do with his ultimately having a hand at making it even better.

But the original 18 holes were designed

by Francisco Segals with most of his

influences still visible. A flat course with some amazing views of both mountains and the sea, it is built on the site of an ancient estate and many natural elements have remained in place. The clubhouse and shop facilities are second to none and the Restaurant S’Era de Pula is a culinary delight and is frequented by many famous people, including Spain’s King Juan Carlos.

Whilst in Mallorca, stay at the luxurious Hilton San Torre about 20 kilometres south of Palma, an excellent base for golf in the south of the island. This is a sensational hotel where the main building dates back to the 14th century and surrounding buildings include a 19th century neogothic chapel, now used for weddings, and a 15th century windmill. Of course all these buildings have been fully restored to the highest standards as befits an international 5-star hotel.

There are just 90 rooms in total comprising 29 suites and 61 deluxe rooms and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities that guarantee maximum comfort including high speed wireless internet access, 32inch TV with satellite and pay-per-view channels, tea and coffee, ultra-comfortable large beds, and elegant bathrooms. Most rooms have garden or courtyard views.

At the last, you’ll find the Arxiduc

restaurant which serves the famous Hilton breakfast buffet every morning with the island sun basking in the sky. In the main building, the gourmet Zaranda restaurant serves lunch and dinner. And the Sa Clastra bar is a relaxing place to enjoy an impressive range of local, Spanish and international wines and champagne, or whatever else you’d like to drink.

If you can tear yourself away from Mallorca’s great golf courses, the Hilton Sa Torre offers several other leisure options including a large modern gym open 24/7, two floodlit tennis courts, two outdoor swimming pools (one heated), a soccer pitch where many prestigious international football teams come to train, and a spa offering a wide variety of massage treatments, an indoor heated pool, and a ‘water circuit’ which includes sauna, dream showers, an ice fountain, aqua dome and foot reflexology. www.son-gual.com www.golf-alcanada.com www.mallorcagolfisland.com www.mallorcagolfholidays.com www.hilton.es www.seemallorca.com

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

67

70

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

My Top Ten

Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki’s

10

TOP courses

Asian Team Captain of the Royal Trophy at Brunei’s Empire Hotel and Country Club and golfing legend tells us what his favourite walkabouts are. - I N T E R V I E W By J U S T I N E M O S S

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

71

Veteran Japanese golfer Naomichi ‘Joe’ Osaki may be 57 years old but the age-defying dynamo still swings a club on both the Japan Golf Tour and Champions Tour. Ranked fourth on the list of most Japan Golf Tour wins (32), Ozaki topped the money list in 1991 and 1999 (his brother Masashi ‘Jumbo’ Osaki topped it 12 times). Joe has also played on the US PGA Tour between 1984 to 2001 with a tied second in the 1997 Buick Open, and after reaching the age of 50 in 2006, he started playing on the Champions Tour. An active member of the Royal Trophy Players’ Committee (a Europe vs. Asia annual matchplay event), Ozaki has captained Asia five times emerging victorious in 2009 and 2012.

He shares his top 10 favourite courses with Golf Vacations.

1

Augusta National, 2604 Washington Rd, Augusta, GA 30904, USA

“It’s the most beautiful and exciting place to be in the world.”

Venue of the US Masters since 1934, this award-winning Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenziedesigned course is truly one of the most classic and beautiful layouts in the world. This exclusive club – where membership is said not to exceed 300, was formerly a nursery and each hole on the course is named after a tree, shrub or flower, for example Camellia, Holly, Juniper and Magnolia.

72

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

2

Pebble Beach Golf Links, 17 Mile Drive, City Center, Monterey, CA, 93953, USA

“I love its nature, especially the ocean views and always enjoy playing the course.”

Designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant, this course has been named the greatest Public Golf Course in the US and is one of exquisite beauty, snaking around rugged coastline and featuring cliffside fairways and sloping greens. Home to the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, it has hosted five US Open Championships and a number of US Amateur and US Women’s Amateur events. The spectacular par 3 fifth – designed by Jack Nicklaus - was the first new golf hole unveiled on the course in almost 70 years back in 1998.

“I was most impressed with the golf course when I saw it for the first time. Everything was perfect, which is due to Jack Nicklaus and his sprit.”

This Jack Nicklaus-designed course, which has been home to the Memorial Tournament since 1976, was open for play in 1974. Over the years, it has hosted notable tournaments such as the 1986 U.S. Junior Amateur, the 1987 Ryder Cup, the USGA’s 1992 United States Amateur Championship, the 1995 Wendy’s Three-Tour Challenge, and the 1998 Solheim Cup. The course name was inspired by Nicklaus’ first Open Championship victory in 1966 at Muirfield, Scotland.

The course has been lengthened over the years and currently stands at 6,603 metres with 71 bunkers and water hazards over 11 holes.

4 DaviD J. Whyte

3

Muirfield Village, 5750 Memorial Drive, Dublin, OH 43017, USA

Whistling Straits, N8501 County Lakeshore Rd., Sheboygan, WI, 53083, USA

“Very unique, but most challenging.

It disproved a theory of playing golf the way I’m used to and I learned a lot by playing there.”

Both 18-hole layouts – the Straits and Irish courses – have been ranked among the best in the USA. The Pete Dye links-style Straits wraps around the Lake Michigan shoreline while the challenging Irish is set away from the lake and interspersed by four meandering streams.

Both feature quirky hole names such as Gremlin’s Ear, Down And Dirty, Sand Box, Pinched Nerve, Lamb Chop, Frog Water and Troll.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

73

5

TPC Sawgrass, 110 Championship Way, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082, USA

“This strategic course designed by Pete Dye suits my game style. It requires an accurate iron game.”

Home to the PGA Tour headquarters, there are also two courses here – the Valley Course and the notoriously difficult Pete and Alice Dye-designed Stadium course, which annually hosts The Players Championship.

TPC Sawgrass’ signature hole is the Stadium par 3, 17th, known as the ‘Island Green’, although it is technically a peninsula. A relatively short 121 metres from tee to green but the green is only 24 metres long with a tiny bunker in front of it and completely surrounded by water. Club selection, particularly when there is a gale blowing, is a huge consideration as there is nowhere else to land the ball. It is estimated that more than 100,000 balls are lost each year.

6

St Andrews - Old Course, Pilmour House, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SF, Scotland,

“A holy place for golfers, built by God. No game excuses here for bad luck or bad weather.

This is the oldest and most iconic golf course in the world. The par 72 6,146-metre course is open for all and, due to its popularity, holds a ballot that is drawn two days ahead of play that enables golfers who are visiting and in the area, an opportunity to play the Old Course. Unique features of the Old Course are the large double greens. Seven greens are shared by two holes each, with hole numbers adding up to 18 (second paired with 16th, third with 15th, all the way up to 8th and 10th). Only the first, 9th, 17th and 18th have their own greens. Another unique feature is that the course can be played in either direction, clockwise or anti-clockwise. The Old Course also has 112 bunkers, which are all individually named and have their own unique story and history behind them.

7

Carnoustie Golf Links, 20 Links Parade, Carnoustie, Angus DD7 7JF, Scotland, United Kingdom

“It’s a very difficult course and it’s unbelievable that it was built some 100 years ago.”

Carnoustie has three courses, and many professionals have described the Championship course as one of the toughest and best links courses in the world. It’s probably the best-bunkered course that you’ll ever find anywhere in the world. The Championship course, which last year was ranked number one on the Rolex Top 1,000 courses, has hosted the Open Championship seven times (the last in 2007) and also been the venue for the Seniors Open (2010) and Women’s British Open (2011).

74

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

8

9

Amata Spring Country Club, Chon Buri District, Chon Buri, Thailand

“I am very impressed to know that there is such a perfectly designed golf course in Thailand.”

This is an exclusive private club which offers a world-class 18-hole layout boasting the only floating green in Asia – the 132 metre par 3 17th – where players have to take a small boat out to putt. The course plays 6,812 metres from the championship tees and is challenging with its range of hazards and stiff prevailing winds.

Home of the Thailand Golf Championship, it has also played host to the 2012 Asian Amateur Championship, the 2006 LPGA Thailand and the Royal Trophy in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010.

Kasumigaseki Country Club’s East Course, 3398 Kasahata, Kawagoe-shi, Saitama, Kanto, Honshu, Japan

“This is a truly Japanese golf course and it is the home of many historical Japanese golf events including the Canada Cup (current World Cup), which started back in 1957. The club will be a host venue for the 2020 Olympics if Tokyo wins the bid.”

Kasumigaseki has two 18 hole layouts – the East and West courses – in addition to a 229-metre driving range and five practice greens for approach and bunker shot practice. The East course was completed in 1929 and the West in 1932, which made it the first club in Japan to have 36 holes. Both courses have hosted the Japan Open Golf Championship over the years, and in 1957, hosted the fifth Canada Cup, known today as the World Cup. Played on the East course, 60 players from 30 countries took part including legends Sam Snead and Gary Player.

Torakichi Nakamura and Kichi Ono of Japan won the team competition and Nakamura took the individual title.

Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, New Songdo City, Incheon, South Korea “Another piece of Nicklaus’s art, where I so much enjoyed playing when they hosted the Champions Tour event.”

This course opened for play in 2010 and has already hosted the Korea Women’s Open and the Posco E&C Songdo Championship presented by Gale International - the inaugural Champions Tour event is the first full-field PGA Tour event to be played in Asia. The event featured a few legends including Tom Watson, Mark O’Meara, Bernhard Langer and Mark Calcavecchia. And in the words of the Golden Bear himself, “The golf course is very generous off the tee. It’s important to hit each shot properly; it’s important to put the ball in the right place to be able to get the right angle to the green. And where the pins are located is how difficult the shots will be. If you are on this kind of golf course, if you are extremely sharp with your irons, you will have a lot of birdie opportunities. If you are not very sharp with your irons, you will have a lot of bogey opportunities.”

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

75

collection ★ Showcase collection for life An exquisite expression of time and timelessness

A Time to Sea 76

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Oyster PerPetual exPlOrer II In steel by rOlex

exploring the deep blue world with mechanical precision.

5857st MarIne GMt In steel by breGuet

P h oto g r a P h e r: J a e h a n n as s i s t e d by: to m my s t yl i s t: o n g W e i s h e n g

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

77

taMbOur reGate navy Flyback chrOnOGraPh In steel by lOuIs vuIttOn

78

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

FIFty FathOMs tOurbIllOn 8 days In whIte GOld by blancPaIn; adMIral’s cuP 47 tOurbIllOn chrOnOGraPh In aluMInuM wIth charcOal Gray ceraMIzatIOn treatMent by cOruM; rOyal Oak OFFshOre dIver In black ceraMIc by audeMars PIGuet

80

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

PulsIOn tOurbIllOn In rOse GOld by rOGer dubuIs; rM023 chrOnOGraPh dIver In PInk GOld by rIchard MIlle

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

SEP - NOV 2013 GOlf VacatiONS 81

81

The 18th

To the Races

and Links

The Emerald Isle offers the twin Irish passions of golf and horseracing that is set amidst the finest landscape nature has to offer. - By A n d r e w M A r s h A l l P h oto g r A P h y By PAu l M A r s h A l l

There are 27 racecourses in Ireland, more per head of population

than any country in the world, from world-class tracks to smaller ‘country courses’ where flat races, national hunt or jump races and race days are held throughout the year. Ireland also boasts over 300 golf courses, including picturesque parkland layouts and legendary links, that dot the coastline like gems created by nature and linked together to form a necklace of beauty.

From the unique one-day beach race meeting at Laytown, a major racing festival such as Galway, a world-class links such as Royal County Down or a lesser-known parkland course like Rathsallagh, there’s no better way of experiencing the real Ireland than spending a day at the races and combining it with playing 18 holes of golf.

The great thing is wherever you are on the Emerald Isle you are never far from a horse race or a golf course and often they are only a short gallop away from each other. Adding to the whole Irish experience are the locals you meet who have a tremendous gift of making you feel welcome, so whether you are sitting in the boxes watching an exciting race or lining up at tee boxes contemplating the fairway yonder, here are six of the best areas in the country to do both.

82

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

THE CURRAGH (County Kildare) A short drive from Dublin is ‘The Curragh’, which is one of the world’s most historic and famous horse racing venues with around 20 fixtures annually. The 2-day ‘Boylesport Guineas Festival’ in May, the ‘Budweiser Irish Derby Weekend’ in June/July and the ‘Oaks Summer Racing Carnival Weekend’ in July are the major meetings.

The Irish Derby features some of the globe’s finest thoroughbreds, owned, trained and ridden by masters of their professions, competing for a prize of €1.3 million. Probably the best, and certainly the most famous Derby winner in recent times was the outstanding but ill-fated Shergar who never came out of third gear in cruising to victory under Lester Piggott in 1981.

In close proximity to the Curragh is Rathsallagh Country Club, a top-quality parkland option beautifully laid out by Christy O’Connor Jr. and Peter McEvoy on 250 acres of superbly natural terrain dotted by mature oak and beech trees. It features several lakes and small streams that meander across the fairways with immaculate greens.

Officially listed in the top 30 of ‘Ireland’s Finest Golf Courses Top 100 Golf Course’s’ list, the 7,200-yard challenge consists of several lakes and streams that snake their way along the rolling countryside more reminiscent of American-styled courses than any Irish tract one might have in mind. And with a large clubhouse complete with fullservice menu, one can enjoy a meal or better still, a pint Guinness while surveying the 9th, 10th and 18th holes reminiscing the round that had just past.

84

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Left: tralee golf Club, designed by Arnold palmer is blessed with one of the most magnificent settings of the tour. this is the superb 596-yard par 5 2nd, a dogleg left to right played adjacent to the beach, used in filming scenes in the oscarwinning movie, Ryan’s daughter in 1968. middLe: County sligo’s 17th hole.

Right: tralee Links-designed by Arnold palmer is situated in a beautiful corner of ireland with the race track only a few furlongs away.

The King himself once said of Tralee: “I may have designed the first nine, but surely God designed the back nine.”

TRALEE (County Kerry) Several days racing are held at Tralee on Ireland’s picturesque southwest coast. A highlight of the Irish racing calendar is the internationally renowned ‘Rose of Tralee Pageant’ held in conjunction with a 4-day racing festival in August. The history of the racecourse dates back as far as 1767, and is intertwined with that of the famous pageant, which is contested by girls from Ireland and around the world, attracting an estimated 100,000 people to the area.

Representing the first European design of Arnold Palmer, Tralee Golf Club is a traditional links and although only built in 1980, has gained a reputation right up there with the big guns of Ireland’s west coast links. The 590-yard par 5 2nd is a standout hole - a sweeping dogleg right with the beach as a constant hazard for slice-prone golfers. From the tee block, there are panoramic views of the entire course with the Dingle peninsula on the horizon. The King himself once said of Tralee: “I may have designed the first nine, but surely God designed the back nine.”

LAYTOWN (County Meath) People come from far and wide to witness this unique spectacle held on the beach in Laytown in early September each year - the only officially approved beach-racing event in Europe. Marquees are erected to use as weighing rooms, jockey’s room and bars on a field above the beach.

The racecourse itself is a section of the 3-mile long golden strand, with the races taking place when the tide goes out. Don’t miss this quirky event on the Irish racing calendar, happening this September 3rd.

Established in 1909, this little-known traditional links course is situated right next to the beach where the annual race meet takes place.

Laytown & Bettystown as it is officially known, boasts the distinction of having produced not one, but two Ryder Cup players in Des Smyth and Philip Walton. The 475-yard par 5 18th is a fun finish with two blind shots, including a tricky approach to a green hidden in the dunes.

Last year celebrated the 145th race in the history of the event and if you make it there this year, you might enjoy the additional novelty of golfing with the hooves of thoroughbreds and cheering crowd thundering through your round.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

85

86

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

SLIGO (County Sligo) Sligo racecourse is nestled in a picturesque spot surrounded by the Benbullen and Knocknarea mountains. The journey here is all part of the experience, passing through some of the most beautiful countryside in Ireland. The race has an exciting local feel with a very competitive element amongst the folks here, especially the early August meetings riding on the continued buzz from the Galway Races.

County Sligo Golf Club is one of Ireland’s great golf courses located on the Rosses Point peninsula, 6km from Sligo. Established in 1894, the present Championship links were designed in 1927 by the famous golfing architect, Harry S. Colt. Home to the West of Ireland Championships since 1923, past winners include Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley while players such as Walter Hagen, Bobby Locke, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo and Darren Clarke have also sampled the delights of Rosses Point. The 455-yard par 4 17th has to be one of the toughest holes to par in all of Ireland - a severe dogleg sweeps uphill and to the left on the second shot, with a green that is large but slopes severely from back to front.

GALWAY (County Galway) Starting in late July, the Galway Races featuring seven mid-summer racing days and nights bring not just Galway city but the whole of Ireland to a standstill. The Galway Races is probably the most lavish and sociable fixture in the Irish Racing World. It is the racing equivalent of the Ryder Cup and is not only a great sporting event, but also a unique social occasion filled with atmosphere, passion and ‘craic’, which largely means party and fun in Gaelic, and attracts both the true race goer and socialites alike. The excellent racing, oyster bars, champagne and beer tents, jazz bands, trade stands, race card competitions and even a best-dressed lady competition are all part of this not-to-be-missed classic Irish experience.

And if you can tear yourself away from the occasion, Galway Bay Golf & Country Club is situated on the picturesque Renville Peninsula, one of west Ireland’s most historic sites, with the golf course literally peppered with historic remains including the mystical Rathnapours ring fort dating back to the 16th century.

Designed by Christy O’Connor Jr, the course winds its way along the shoreline of Galway Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, but interestingly, is not a links course, and has a distinct parkland feel to it.

A rolling landscape combine with water hazards, manicured fairways and top-drawer putting surfaces to ensure a true but fair test, Gary Player described the 178-yard 13th as one of the finest par 3 he has ever seen or played.

opposite pAge: County sligo golf Course, Rosses point. this pAge CLoCKWise fRom top: horse-racing golfers or golfing race-goers? get ready to tee off in irish links land; An irish punter checks the form guide outside a bookmaker’s shop; Laytown Races; galway Races- the racing equivalent of the Ryder Cup.

DOWNPATRICK (County Down) Situated in the stunningly beautiful County of Down, Downpatrick, in addition to being one of the friendliest racecourses in Ireland, is also the oldest, because racing started here in 1685. The race meetings are always cosy, intimate affairs with flat and jump racing on offer. The highlight of the year is the exciting Powers Whisky Ulster National run in late February over 3.5 miles.

And as for golf, there is Royal County Down. The very words are enough to have most running back to the clubhouse shaking with fear. Laid out beneath the brooding Mountains of Mourne and enjoying a magnificent setting along the shores of Dundrum Bay, this superb track is never out the world’s top ten.

Designed by Old Tom Morris for the princely sum of four guineas back in 1889, this is one tough examination for any player, and with so many blind shots, the main challenge is to find a line from the tee and then hit it straight.

Miss the fairways and you are severely punished as a minefield of bunkers, gorse and rough awaits. Bring plenty of balls and a gut full of patience.

A five-mile drive from Downpatrick is Royal County Down’s lesserknown neighbour Ardglass, which is itself a beautiful golf course that hugs the coastline with the sea coming into play on eight holes. The par-3 12th is probably the signature hole drawing comparisons with the famous 17th at Pebble Beach.

Visit www.goracing.ie for full racing calendar.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

87

The 19th

Golf, Ch창teaux & ChampaGnes Champagne. That lovely bubbly that sets female hearts a flutter also offers some heart stopping golf for full-blooded golfers who enjoy a sip or two.

- t e x t BY A n d r e w M A r s h A l l - p h oto g r A p h Y BY pAu l M A r s h A l l

88

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Around 100km from Paris in the northeast of France, is

the historical province of Champagne-Ardenne, best known for its production of the world’s most famous sparkling wine. But it's not just the grape that reigns supreme here – there’s ‘golf among the grapes’, with a collection of challenging and affordable courses for players of all abilities and some beautiful stately homes and châteaux to spend the night. These three elements of the ‘good life’ that compliment each other, can provide a strong focus for visiting the region – enjoy a few rounds of golf, taste the champagne and stay at the châteaux.

There are several courses to play in this up-and-coming golf area of France. Get proceedings underway at arguably the pick of the bunch, by teeing off at Golf de Reims situated 8km west of Reims, in the middle of the famous vineyards. This picturesque, gently undulating 18-hole woodland course provides an attractive mix of tight tree-lined fairways and large elevated well-guarded greens in the beautiful surroundings of the 15th century Château des Dames surrounded by a moat.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

89

Founded back in 1928 by the Reims and Épernay Champagne houses, the 6,055 metres par-72 course, which was originally a 9-hole layout, was later extended to 18 holes by Michael Fenn in 1973. To avoid the numerous trees that come into play, it’s important to plot a strategic route around the course and it’s not unusual on any given day to hear more sounds of golf balls hitting timber than woodpeckers during nesting season. At each tee-block, the various Champagne Houses such as Moet & Chandon, Louis Roederer, Laurent Perrier, and Mumm advertise their produce, whetting the appetite for a flute or two of bubbly in the château clubhouse after the golf.

50km northeast of Reims on the outskirts of Fagnon village, is Golf de l’Abbaye de Sept Fontaines - a lovely 18-hole course built around an historic château nestling between valley and forest. The front nine is purely parkland with superb views of the château especially from the par 3 9th hole. Stop for lunch in the excellent restaurant before tackling the newer, more open back nine featuring characteristic rocky boulders landscaped around the greens.

Located in the south of Champagne-Ardenne near the small village of Chaource on the edge of the Aumont forest is Golf de Troyes-la Cordelière, previously the property of the Counts of Chandon de Briailles. Its 18 hole-course rolls over a vast carpet of gently undulating greenery, dotted with water features and ancient trees.

Other golfing options in the region include Golf de l’Ermitage (37km east of Troyes) with its par 3 12th signature hole and island green, La Grand Romanie (40km south-east of Reims), built on the site of an old Roman camp and Golf d’Arc en Barrois (80km south of Troyes), situated in the grounds of a château and featuring two lakes and elevated greens.

opening spread: Le Château d’etoges. rigHT pageCLoCkwise FroM Top: grape pickers at work near Urville, in the ‘Côte des Bar’ Champagne region; dom pérignon statue inside the grounds of Moët & Chandon, Épernay; Château and 18th flagstick at golf de Troyes-la Cordelière; Château de Montaubois. rigHT page BoTToM FroM LeFT: golf de l’abbaye des sept Fontaines; golf de reims.

An excellent way to learn more about the champagne-making process is to explore the signposted roads that make up the Route Touristique du Champagne (Champagne Tourist Route) – 600km in total, divided into various circuits meandering through the region’s principal wine-growing areas including Montagne de Reims (between the two champagne centres of Reims and Épernay), Côte des Blancs (south of Épernay) and further south, the Côte des Bar, specialising in smaller producteurs (champagne producers) that welcome thirsty golfers.

The provincial town of Épernay is the best place for champagne tasting, and underneath the streets of the ‘capital of bubbly’, in some 100km of subterranean cellars, millions of dusty bottles of sparkling wine are maturing side-by-side until being popped open in celebration some day. Épernay is home to some of the world’s most famous champagne houses such as Moët & Chandon, De Castellane and Mercier, the most popular brand in France. Many of them are situated on or near the Avenue de Champagne and offer entertaining, informative tours followed by tastings and a visit to the factory-outlet champagne shop.

Well worth a visit in nearby Rue Gambetta, is the cool bar and cellar combo of C. Commes Champagne, where you can sample champagne by the glass. 50 small independent winemakers from 50 villages in the main regions, are represented and each week they feature a selection of six different champagnes in 10cl glasses for €27.50. If you like a particular champagne, you simply walk down into the cellar below the bar and buy one.

From Épernay, it’s only a 6km drive north to Hautvillers, where champagne was first created three centuries ago. According to tradition, the ingenious

"An excellent way to learn more about the champagne-making process is to explore the signposted roads that make up the Route Touristique du Champagne (Champagne Tourist Route) – 600km in total."

Land of the Liquid goLd

In between rounds of golf, there are plenty of opportunities to experience the region’s famous product – champagne. Champagne is in fact a ‘sparkling wine’ and traditionally made using a blend of three varieties of grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Once the juice is extracted, champagne undergoes two fermentation processes, first in casks and the second after the wine has been bottled and had sugar and yeast added. This allows the carbon dioxide to get trapped in the wine, giving rise to those famous and distinctive bubbles. Non-sparkling wines are only fermented once in casks.

90

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

idea of mixing various grape varieties from the Champagne-Ardenne region, and sealing the lot with a cork held in place with a wire collar to withstand the fermentation pressure, came from Dom Pérignon (circa 1638 – 1715), cellar master at the Benedictine Abbey in Hautvillers.

Hautvillers is one of those picture-perfect French villages with a bar, church and a few pretty houses.

In the square you’ll find the Tourist Office where, for a few euros, you get a gentle walking tour with an explanation of Pérignon’s life and the effect he had on perfecting champagne. The highlight is the Abbey where he is buried.

Northeast of Hautvillers, situated in the wooded hills around Verzy, is a totally new concept in enjoying

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

91

champagne - the world’s first champagne bar in the trees. Le Perching Bar, is the brainchild of co-designers Germain Morisseau and Oliver Couteau, and sits on a wooden platform supported by 6-metre high stilts, accessed by a number of boardwalks suspended between the trees.

Cool sounds emanate from the speakers, several local champagnes are on offer and the views are exceptional.

From Verzy, its only a flute or two of bubbly to Reims, a town with a rich history, and together with Épernay, is the most important centre of champagne production and home to some prestigious producers such as Mumm, Tattinger, Pommery and Louis Roederer.

living like a king

Staying at one of the 150 historic châteaux, manor houses or stately homes is an excellent way to experience France’s Champagne-Ardenne region.

A classic example is Château d’Etoges, situated 22 km south of Épernay in the small village of the same name surrounded by vineyards. Built at the beginning of the 17th century, Château d’Etoges was once a privileged place where the Kings of France enjoyed staying on their way to the east, and Louis XIV himself greatly admired the beauty of the château’s garden, fountains and ponds.

Overlooking a quintessential moat, this beautifully renovated château has 20 individually appointed bedrooms furnished with genuine antiques and tapestries. Downstairs, an imposing fireplace bears witness to banquets, meetings and celebrations from a medieval past. Classy French 92

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

top Left cLockwise: the 7th tee at Golf De Reims; Golf de troyes-la cordelière; the perching Bar – the world’s first champagne bar in the trees (near Verzy). top Main iMaGe: Le château d’etoges. tHis paGe– fRoM top: château de Montmort; inside Le château d’etoges; interior detail – château de Montaubois.

BottoM Left iMaGe cLockwise: on the Route touristique du champagne (champagne Route) near Urville in the ‘côte des Bar’ champagne region.

Where to

PLAY, StAY, drink & dine Play

Golf de Reims: www.golf-de-reims.com Golf de l’abbaye de Sept Fontaines: www.abbayeseptfontaines.fr Golf de Troyes-la Cordelière: www.golfdetroyeslacordeliere.fr Golf de l’Ermitage: www.golfdelermitage.com Golf d’arc en Barrois: www.golf-arc.fr.fm

STay le Château d’Etoges: www.etoges.com Château de Montaubois: www.chateaudemontaubois.com Château les Crayères: www.lescrayeres.com

DRink & Buy ChaMPaGnE

Champagne Drappier: a family producer of excellent champagnes in the ‘Côte des Bar’ region. www.champagne-drappier.com C Comme Champagne: Specialist champagne bar and boutique in Épernay with more than 350 champagnes available. www.c-comme.fr Route du Champagne (The Champagne Trail): www.aube-champagne.com Perching Bar (arboxygene): The world’s first champagne bar in the trees on the outskirts of Verzy. www.arboxygene.eu

cuisine (with a good selection of wines and champagnes) is served in the adjoining L’Orangerie dining room, and after a tasty dinner it’s only a short stumble to your comfortable four-poster bed.

The château of choice for Reims, and nicely situated for playing Golf de Reims, is Château Les Crayares. Nestled discretely in a 7-hectare park with lush vegetation in the heart of the champagne city, this elegant home once owned by the Polignac family is now a luxurious gourmet retreat, where guests can relax in the 20 sumptuous rooms and where fine dining takes centre stage.

General manager Fabrice Mercier and Didier Elena, the head chef, set out to create the perfect restaurant and to combine it with the ultimate in accommodation. The restaurant is the main event, and any day at Château Les Crayâres revolves around mealtimes and the sublime heights of the chef’s highly regarded cuisine awarded with two Michelin stars, and the extensive wine list with over 400 champagne labels.

North-east of Reims is Château de Montaubois, a beautiful 18th century building set in 4 hectares of parkland in Signy l’Abbaye. The owners, eccentric and likable Jean-Franâois Monteil and his lovely wife Elizabeth have spent nearly three decades renovating the château to its former glory with original features and period furniture. They now offer B&B accommodation with five sumptuous rooms available to guests, delicious homecooked meals and a fascinating Powerpoint presentation about the history of the château and the renovation process. Château de Montaubois is conveniently located for playing Golf de l’Abbaye de Sept Fontaines which is only a short drive away.

Further Information: French Government Tourist Office: www. franceguide.com Champagne Ardenne Tourisme: www.tourisme-champagne-ardenne.com

DinE

Reims/Restaurant le Millenaire (1 star Michelin): www.lemillenaire.com Epernay / la Cave a Champagne: www.la-cave-a-champagne.com

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

93

Special Story

Khao Yai :

The Beverly hills lifestyle of Thailand Thais take great pride in their natural estates: Khao Yai National Park, Tab Larn, Pangsida, Tha Phraya and Dong Yai Wild Animal Sanctuary to which they have been listed by the UNESCO as a World’s Natural Heritage on July 14, 1995. These prime green areas have been listed under the “Dong Praya Yen-Khao Yai” area that covers 4 cast provinces, namely, Prachinburi, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Ratchasima and Saraburi. Collectively, they represent a splendor of natural resources available to Thailand which includes the green shades of fully-grown trees, a wide variety of botanics, wild animals and naturally formed water streams – an essential source of water for all living creatures sheltering in these areas.

Praya Yen-Khao Yai is a natural reservoir and is the upstream to important rivers such as Nakhon Nayok River, Prachinburi River, Lam Takong, Muak Lek Creek, Moon River (flowing towards Khong River). Khao Yai National Park is also ranked as the World’s 7th best source of fresh ozone.

- t e x t BY k h a n i t h a p ua k p o n g s a i - p h oto g r a p h Y BY n at t e e n i Ya m a Bh a r, Yo n gY u t n o m k l a n g, Bu s a ko r n Be n j a k u l

94

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

95

Natural Attractions Khao Yai Today…

A Perfect Blend of Modern Civilization and Nature Khao Yai, listed as one of the best World’s Natural Heritage sites, is recognized for its distinctive natural beauty. And other factors that make Khao Yai a popular destination are the convenience and easy modes of transportation. Only a two-hour drive from Bangkok to Khao Yai, it possesses one of Thailand’s most modern infrastructures and facilities to serve a big population of urban dwellers in need of a retreat from the chaotic and stressful city life, longing to embrace the beauty and peacefulness nature has to offer.

Khao Yai represents a perfect match between nature and modern civilization including fun and relaxing activities for individuals to enjoy.

This is why many Bangkokians take a retreat and build vacation homes in Khao Yai. During weekends and holidays, plenty of supercars with convertible roof tops such as Porsche 911, Carrera 4S, Mercedes-Benz SLK200, Mazda MX-5 and superbikes such as Ducati, BMW, Harley Davidson, Triumph, can be seen cruising on the long stretch road.

Most of them head to Khao Yai to enjoy the abundance of refreshing and clean air to which is scarce in Bangkok.

Additionally, Khao Yai presents a wide range of golf courses offering different sceneries and challenges for golfers. There are also places and facilities for you to meet up and socialize such as restaurants, resorts, lodges where you can take a sip of wine in a refreshing atmosphere. Here in Khao Yai, you can find all kinds of housing projects and residences such as premium villas and condominiums, chic and hip resorts, coffee houses, restaurants, wineries, museums and community malls along the road towards Khao Yai, replicating the metro lifestyle of Thonglor area.

Khao Yai National Park, Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasima Tel: (66) 8 6092 6529, (66) 8 60926531, (66) 3735 6033, (66) 4424 9305 Fax: (66) 3735 6037 e-mail: khaoyai_np@hotmail.com 96

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Hawe Suwat Waterfall: a popular

waterfall, widely known by the general public. 25 metres high. You can take a dip or a swim in the creek at the bottom.

Strong flow of water in the rainy season.

During summer, you can walk into the cliff under the waterfall.

Pha Kluay Mai (Orchid Cliff) Waterfall: a medium-sized waterfall

on the way to Hawe Suwat Waterfall.

It displays descending cliffs in different sizes. Various types of orchids, notably Wai Dang orchids (Renanthera)are mainly found hanging throughout the cliffs and twigs; they help highlight the waterfall nearby and bloom beautifully during summer.

Hawe Narok Waterfall: one of the highest and most enchanting waterfalls found southwards of Khao Yai National Park. Approximately 150 metres in height with 3 levels of streams that flow to the cliff below and delivers strong currents during the rainy season.

Kong Kaew Waterfall: a small

to medium height waterfall which is considered as Khao Yai National Park’s most visited area as it provides an ideal place for swimming all year long (even during the rainy season). There are 2 hanging bridges that cross the creeks near the waterfall.

Pha Diew Dai Viewpoint: a popular pit stop for visitors as it provides beautiful sceneries to take photographs. The sunrise here seems special as it gives an accent reddish circle and stretches vastly over the hills. It is also a perfect route for botanical studies. A large variety of high-land birds are found in the area such as the Black Bulbul, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo and other rare species.

Nong Pak Shee (or also known as the Pak Shee Swamp Wild Animal ObservatoryTower):

is located near the Pak Shee Swamp surrounded by large Blady fields and serves as perfect source of food and water for wild animals in the area. Travelers usually seek to visit this area to observe exotic animals early in the morning and during evenings.

Mor Sing Toa Wild Animal Observatory Tower (or Lion Observatory Tower): located near

Mor Sing Toa reservoir, surrounded by a large green grass field. This is a recommended area to observe wild animals coming to eat salt licks; nutritious soil for omnivorous animals

Khao Kampang Wild Animal Observatory Tower: located in the

field near Khao Kampang forest. Provides a great place to observe herds of wild bulls searching for food during late evenings.

Vineyards & Local Wineries

GranMonte: One of the most famous wineries of the Asoke

Hill area, GranMonte harvests one of the largest varieties of grapes which are planted over the estate’s 100 rai land. They are considered as one of Thailand’s premium quality wine distillers that also features an Italian restaurant with indoor and outdoor areas. Popular for many dishes that pair well with premium quality wines. Luxurious overnight accommodation services are also available.

GranMonte: 52 Pansuek-Kudkla Road, Phaya Yen, Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasima.

Tel: (66) 2653 1522, (66) 8 4904 1944, (66) 8 1900 8282 www.granmonte.com

PB Valley Khao Yai Winery:

another must-visit winery which also serves as a popular tourist attraction that offers both knowledge and entertainment.

You can take a sightseeing tour around the winery and learn about how to grow grapes and wine production, or enjoy authentic Thai and international food at The Great Hornbill Grill. Take pleasure in a relaxing atmosphere while enjoying the set menus with the premium wine.

Scenic lodging is available.

PB Valley Khao Yai Winery: 102/2 Mitrapab Road, Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasima Tel: (66) 2262 0030, (66) 2262 0029, (66) 3622 6415-16 www.khaoyaiwinery.com Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

97

Arts

Khao Yai Art Museum: Ban Tha Chang Soi 6, Moo Si, Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasima Tel: (66) 8 1886 8666, (66) 44 756 060 www.facebook.com/ KhaoYaiArtMuseun

98

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Khao Yai Art Museum

Art museum that features contemporary art work pieces from many renowned national artists. The building is designed in a modern style surrounded by nature to display the perfect combination of the beauty of the nature and the beauty of art works. If you would like to take time in appreciating art, you can stay overnight at the residence with 3 bedrooms and 4 restrooms. Tease your taste buds with their Thai and European food on Fridays, weekends and holidays.

Dining

Primo Posto del Khao Yai : An establishment that combines

dining and sightseeing with coffee shop, restaurant, ice-cream parlor and even a vineyard. The picturesque Italian-inspired restaurant has both indoor and outdoor areas for guests to enjoy authentic European food.

Primo Posto del Khao Yai: Kudka-Pansuek Road (on the road connecting Mitraprab Road and Thanarach Road leading to Muak Lek). Open only on Friday-Sunday and Holidays. Tel: (66) 8 4035 8554

Roma Sausage Khao Yai:

For fans of homemade sausages, this is a place not to be missed.

Do order the 4 combinations of sausages as appetizer (Frankfurter, Italian, Bacon and cheese and Roma sausages) with thin-crust homemade pizza (topping of your choice) or you can try traditional Thai dishes such as Miang Pla Too (Mackerel fish served with fresh local vegetables), Larb Moo Krob (crispy minced pork spicy Isan salad). Wine lovers are treated to an extensive wine list.

The restaurant is decorated in bright colors with a nice touch of white to create a fun and relaxing atmosphere.

Roma Sausage Khao Yai: 72 Thanarat Road, Moo Si, Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasima Open daily 11.00-23.00 hrs.

Tel: (66) 4429 7177 Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

99

Activities

Farm Chokchai Agro-Knowledge Tour: The number one dairy farm in

Thailand. Through their Agro-knowledge tour, visitors will experience fun, entertainment and knowledge at the same time. Get to learn pasteurized and sterilized milk processes and how they create their signature product ‘Umm! Milk’, ice-cream made of 100% fresh milk. Enjoy the ride on a tractor around the farm, be entertained with the Cowboy City and animal shows and please your palates with savory steaks delicately prepared by dry aging process. You can also spend the night in the boutique camp surrounded with shades of trees.

100

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Farm Chokchai: Mitraparb Road, Muak Lek, Saraburi Tel: (66) 4493 5628-30, (66) 4432 8386, (66) 4432 8395 (Farm Chokchai Agro-Knowledge Tour Division) www.farmchokchai.com

Accommodation

Serene Hills: A project that meets the needs of residents who prefer premium

low-rise condominiums. This villa condominium comes in a New England style and is surrounded by mountains. The condominium is situated on a 28-rai land with 4 types of rooms to choose from. The 2-bedroom unit is 102 sqm., the 2+1 bedroom is 129 sqm., the 3-bedroom unit is 156 sqm., and the duplex has an area of 234240 sqm. Each building has its own swimming pool and every unit comes with one parking space or two spaces for duplexes.

Serene Hills: Km. 7 Thanarat Road, Nakhon Ratchasima Tel: (66)8 4774 0330 www.serenehills-khaoyai.com

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

101

Accommodation

Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club: “Beauty, challenge

and entertainment” is how the Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club defines itself, and there’s really no need to elaborate any further. The golf course has been designed for families and friends to hit a few rounds of golf together. The challenging golf course is surrounded by nature where golfers can experience the panoramic view of the Khao Yai National Park, breathing in pure air while they play. The design of the resort is inspired by the European Country style with a touch of European community, while still maintaining the luxurious look of it hotel rooms and villas. A full range of amenities are available, such as European-style restaurants, swimming pool, fitness gym, and banquet hall.

102

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club: 333/2 Khanong Phra, Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasima Tel. (66)4 475 6210-3 www.ranchocharnvee.com

Accommodation

Toscana Valley: Indulge yourself in the charm of Khao Yai, Italian style. This new

landmark brings Italy’s Tuscany to the center of Khao Yai. The Toscana Valley is complete with various relaxation spots for people with different lifestyles, such as the 18-hole world class golf course. Appreciate the beauty of architecture and relax at Town Square. If you want some time off and privacy, the La Casetta hotel is where you can view hard-to-find sierra and forests.

Toscana Valley: Thanarat Road, Moo Si, Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasima Tel: (66)8 4427 3020 www.toscanavalley.com Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

103

Accommodation

Kirimaya: This resort is located in the midst of mountains and meadows, and is close to the Khao Yai National Park, where there are a variety of animals, beautiful natural trails, and fascinating waterfalls. The rooms are decorated with a mixture of Thai and modern look with wooden floors, balcony with a bamboo daybed, and other amenities. Not only can you enjoy a relaxing day by the pool while reading a book, you can also get a massage and body treatment at Maya Spa, work out at the fitness center, or play a few rounds of golf at the 18-hole championship golf course. Elephant-riding in the forest is another fun activity to enjoy. Great dining experience awaits at the three restaurants which provide Thai food, international food and Japanese food.

Kirimaya: 1/3 Thanarat Road, Moo Si, Pakchong Nakhon Ratchasima Tel: (66) 4442 6000 www.kirimaya.com

104

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Accommodation

Muthimaya Forest Pool Villa Resort: This resort is considered an extension of Kirimaya. It is ever popular with its 64 pool villa rooms. The rooms are spacious with contemporary designs, complete with bedroom, dining room, bathroom, living room and pantry. The highlight is that each room has its own 3x7 metre private pool, surrounded by nature which gives a very romantic atmosphere, while also providing peace and privacy. The exterior of each unit at Muthimaya is peaceful and simple with brownish-coloured walls which blend in perfectly with the greenish plants. At the lobby, you can enjoy Japanese and Italian food at the Myth restaurant.

Muthimaya Forest Pool Villa Resort: Kirimaya, Thanarat Road, Moo Si, Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasima Tel. (66) 4442 6000 www.muthimaya.com

Positano Botanical Resort: Located on

a 220-rai land in which the front 2-4 rai is the cottage-style English Coffee House while the boutique resort is situated inside. The resort is a 3-storey modern house that looks like stacked boxes, structured with black steal, and safety glass as walls to provide an open view. When standing on the 2nd floor, you will feel as if you are floating in the air and as close to nature as possible.

The interior is a mixture of garden-designed marble, furnished with striped furniture and an added luxurious look of crocodile leatherette. The relaxation area is separated into 3 rooms which enables you to appreciate different views. With the infinity pool located on the first floor, the 2nd floor gives the view of the mountain range, and the mountain tip on the 3rd floor, for your private dinner on the balcony.

Positano Botanical Resort: Si Kiw, Nakhon Ratchasima Tel. (66) 8 7505 4715 Bangkok Sales Office: (66) 2952 5999 www.positanothailand.com Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

105

Accommodation Hotel des Artists: A chic hotel located in the midst of nature. With only 14 rooms, the white building is unique with green pastel-coloured doors and windows and colonial design. The interior is decorated with the owner’s personal collections of vintage and Louis-style furniture.

All the 14 bedrooms in the first phase are located in a 2-storey building next to a white marble swimming pool maintained with the salt water system, making it good for the health. The atmosphere surrounding the hotel is cool from the various plants, such as the Frangipanis. The new phase will comprise of villas, similar to that of beach houses. Each villa will have a terrace that is connected to the central pool, like having a lagoon in the center of houses.

This place stands out in terms of its service excellence and attention given to guests; from the welcome drinks to snacks to afternoon beverage and the 5 types of warm drinks that guests can choose before going to bed. The hotel was chosen as one of the 97 small-sized hotels from the Thailand Boutique Award 2010.

Hotel des Artists: 4 Thanarat Road, Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasima Tel: (66) 4429 7444, (66) 4429 7742-3, (66) 8 4358 7744, (66) 8 4358 7755 www.hotelartists.com/kaoyai

SALA Khao Yai Resort: 99 Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasima Tel: (66) 4476 0500 www.salakhaoyai.com

SALA Khao Yai Resort: Dramatically perched on a scenic hilltop above the lush, green Khao Yai countryside, the resort has only 7 rooms, 2 pool villas, and 2 pool villa suites available - each room with its own pool, bath tub, and fireplace. The interior is designed with natural materials that come in wooden tone of light brown and white for a relaxing feeling. The resort is located where it allows for a 360 degree view of nature while the stunning infinity edge pool lets you float while watching the sun set.

The rooftop terrace has a round daybed that allows you to relax and enjoy the breeze while watching the sunrise, the sunset, and the stars at night. The resort provides services if you want to enjoy a barbecue party with family and friends on the rooftop deck. If you are interested in outdoor adventure, you can go golfing, visit a winery, trek through the Khao Yai National Park, or ride a bike.

106

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Shopping

Palio Khao Yai: A popular

shopping spot with Italian architecture. The design of the place is similar to Europe where there are groups of buildings and walking streets. There are around 120 small shops that sell a variety of products, ranging from home decors, clothes, accessories, art products, wine shops, coffee shops, restaurants, bakeries, and pharmacies. There are also relaxation areas, such as park, water fountain, and a yard available for shows or music performances..

Palio Khao Yai: Thanarat Road, Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasima Tel. (66) 4429 7730-1 www.palio-khaoyai.com Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

107

Resort ★ Golf Club

Rancho chaRnvee Resort & country club

- TEX T by SupaT Tr a NaT TapuLLWaT - pHOTOGr apHy by buSaKOrN bENJaKuL

Just a little more than

an hour’s drive from the Suvarnabhumi Airport on the east outer ring road to Nakhon Ratchasima province is a golf course and resort surrounded by the view of the Khao Yai National Park.

The Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club is located in Pakchong District with 2 available routes: the Thanarat road and the Pakchong-Nong Sarai road. Aside from the natural scenery surrounding the resort, the atmosphere provides fresh and cool breeze from the Dong Phaya Yen Mountains.

Guests can indulge in a luxurious and challenging, 18hole championship golf course suitable for all levels of golfers.

In addition, golfers can witness the panoramic view of Kao Yai while resting at the club house which comes with amenities, such as international food restaurant, coffee shop, souvenir shop, shower and locker rooms.

The Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club was designed and decorated with a feel of the European countryside. Yet, it still maintains its luxurious look and provides guests with convenience in the rooms and other areas. The layout of the hotel room buildings surrounds a large-sized freeform swimming pool. In addition, the green grass court helps in increased relaxation. There are 4 types of accommodations available. The 40 superior rooms, 12 deluxe rooms, and 2 suites are each designed differently to give guests a different feeling each time they

108

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

visit. The 8 villas are suitable for big families who prefer private accommodation.

The resort’s restaurant, Chez Sonia serves superior Europeanstyle food prepared by top chefs, along with a variety of drinks for guests to choose from. In addition, guests can enjoy the wine room and fitness room for maximum pleasure. The Rancho Charnvee Resort also raises horses within the premises in which guests are welcome to enjoy. For light exercises, guests can ride bikes or use the swimming pool.

The main intention of the founders was for The Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club to be the place of relaxation for families, friends,

and for those who like to be challenged by a few rounds of golf. Therefore, this place was designed for perfection in both the golf course and in terms of accommodation. It is therefore not a wonder why The Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club, with its slogan of “Beauty, Challenge and Entertainment”, is one of the destinations golfers think about when planning a trip to Khao Yai. The Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club, 333/2 Khanong Phra, Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasima. Tel. (66) 4475 6210-3, (66) 88 375 4466 www.ranchocharnvee.com Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

109

110

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

“Great shot… well, I think it was. I didn’t really see it,” declared my bemused golfing partner, peering into the

twilight. No surprise, really, as it was well past 11pm. It was also the cue to get out the red tracer balls which flash wildly when you hit them and when they bounce on the green, and thus allowing us to still chip and putt away as the clock ticked past midnight.

A cosmic experience? Well, I guess we weren’t a million miles from the Northern Lights. This was midnight golf, as played on the Estonian Golf and Country Club, half an hour outside the capital of Estonia, Tallinn. Estonia has already made great strides since breaking free of Soviet clutches in 1991, mainly through realising the tourist potential of Tallinn’s chocolate box-like Old Town. But the ambition of Estonian Golf & Country Club – its Sea Course is already established on the European Tour, with plans in progress to build a second 18-hole course and hotel – suggest that golf rather than gangs of drunken stag parties may be the way forward.

Our midnight golf caper was played at the 9-hole par 36 Stone Course, socalled because you can still see huge burial mounds dotted around that date back to the Stone Age. Further evidence of the Stone Course’s historic past can be seen in the clubhouse, where a display of arrowheads, coins and pottery unearthed during construction can be seen.

The Stone feels a bit like a Scottish links course, though it is disappointingly flat and lacks any spectacular challenge.

Fortunately, work began this year to upgrade it into an 18-holer.

The par 72, 7,000-yard Sea Course, however, is in a different league. Full of variety, snaking as it does through virgin pine forests and then out onto reed-filled flatlands towards the Jagala River Delta, there is also a fair chance you may see some wildlife – we were told that a bear (fortunately quite docile) was spotted roaming around the course earlier this year, much to the alarm of the group of golfers who saw it.

After you start on an impressive par 5, it doesn’t take long for the stunning views to kick in. Stand at the elevated 3rd tee, for example, and you look down on a lush fairway and imposing green with the Gulf of Finland sweeping behind. It’s no surprise that is also a prime location for the first of many modern, eco-designed pine weatherboard properties you will see dotted around the course (many are available for rent as well as sale).

The signature hole at Estonian is undoubtedly the 13th, where you must hit your drive through a narrow, straight channel to avoid serious trouble to the right: a huge lake, bordered by more holiday homes and protecting the green at the back after a dog-leg turn.

This course propelled to renown after it successfully hosted the Mission Hills World Cup European qualifier in August 2011.

The clubhouse, designed in the style of a grand manor farm, has a pro-shop, locker rooms with the obligatory sauna, and a restaurant with a spacious terrace overlooking the 9th hole.

For larger groups of visiting golfers, an alternative to staying in Tallinn and coming out each day is to rent a villa on the course. These are available for up to 12 people, from €167 each for two rounds of golf, accommodation and breakfast, plus transfers. There is also a late summer package costing €112 with exceptions.

With golf keeping us away from Tallinn’s louder establishments come the midnight hour, the city’s finer points needed to be sampled beforehand. A short stroll from our base at the Tallinn City Link Hotel we found Restoran O, minimalist in style and offering an intriguing mix of east European and Mediterranean cuisine. Starters such as goats’ cheese with cream of rhubarb, almonds and white asparagus (€13) were followed by main courses such as pan-fried duck’s liver, potato puree, truffle oil and red wine jus (€28). A shot of metspihlakanaps (wild dogberry shot), €6, completed a thoroughly enjoyable meal.

A short walk from O are the ivy-clad towers of Viru Gate, the gateway to the Old Town and a different world from the rather drab yet fast modernising commercial hub of the city. The Old Town – awarded World Heritage site status in 1997 - dates back to the 13th century, and is dominated by the 125-metre high St Olav’s Church tower, a typically cute Main Square and plenty of cafs restaurants and jazz bars.

The medieval theme is never far away – Olde Hansa, for example, is an impressive old merchant’s house turned into a themed restaurants serving Saxon feasts, allegedly using 15th century recipes - sausages made from elk and bear, that kind of thing - and all against a backdrop of chamber music from Hanseatic times. Waitresses are of course dressed in ancient garb, and a lucky member of your party will be invited to be ‘king of the table’.

In keeping with the historic nature of the Old Town, our base was the Hotel Telegraaf, built as an exchange station for the Estonian Telegraph company in 1878 and located next to the gabled houses and hidden courtyards of the Old Town. The hotel has 86 rooms - 34 twins, 28 superior doubles, 8 singles and three suites – all designed in Modern Art and Art Deco style.

The hotel, now part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World chain, is just 15 minutes from Tallinn airport by taxi.

And for those in need of a bit of pampering after your round, the Elemis Spa offers an indoor pool, full-size Jacuzzi, sauna and steam bath, as well as a wide range of treatments. Among the celebrities to have stayed at the Telegraaf are rock stars Bob Dylan, Lenny Kravitz and Enrique Iglesias.

To vary your golf adventure, you can also play at the Tallinn Golf Club at Niitvlja, built in the Nineties and the oldest course in the Baltic states. It’s a half hour drive west from the centre of Tallinn, with rounds costing €45- €55 a round. The price for a regular green fee can even include a trip to the sauna afterwards.

Further afield – though it will take you a good three and a half hours to get there - there is Otep Golf Club, where you can also play winter golf in the snow. South-east of Tallinn, near the border with Latvia, this is also Estonia’s premier winter resort, with both downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding and ice skating big favourites. Green fees €42-47. www.egcc.ee

112

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Estonian Golf & Country Club Sea Course green fees from €63 through April and May and Tuesday to Saturday from June to September.

You can play for €47 on Sundays and Mondays from June to September and only €37 in October. Stone Course green fees, two costs €30 in April, €37 from May to September and €25 in October. www.egcc.ee tallinn Golf Club niitvalja Green fees from €44 for 18 holes. www.egk-golf.ee HotEl tElEGraaf www.telegraafhotel.com

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

113

Golf Academy

swing philosophy

Grip

posture

Grip

Tip 1: “If your balls are curving, it’s because of the way you are holding the golf club.”

Our goal with gripping right is to get the clubface square at impact. There are three checkpoints for the top-hand grip. First of all, the club is held in the fingers with the heel-pad on top and the thumb to the back of the club. There’s no gap between the thumb and the base of the hand. As I place my right hand on, I want my right hand’s lifeline to cover the thumb, then form a trigger finger with no gap between the thumb and base of my right hand. My left hand is turned about 45 degrees to the right and my right hand matches it. With this grip, your arms can rotate freely on both sides of the swing. And that’s the key to a successful swing - allowing your arms to swing freely.

1 114

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

posture

Tip 2: “Good posture allows you to pivot freely back and forward and that’s the key to distance.”

As you set up to address, you want to hinge from your hips, maintain a neutral spine angle and let your arms hang freely from your shoulders. I never tell golfers to keep their head down. That spells disaster for your posture. As I bend from my hips, I stay tall in my chest with very little knee flex. From this dynamic position, my body can turn freely. If you sit too much with your head down it’s physically impossible to turn freely. As we get older, we may get a little rounded but don’t straighten as this causes too much tension. Just maintain neutral spine, arms hanging and you can turn freely. You will hit the ball considerably further.

2

By tim mahoney,

Director of eDucation at troon Golf acaDemy

impact

impact

Tip 3: “The secret to making solid contact is to swing the club at the correct angle on both sides of your swing.”

As clubs get longer, the angle is flatter and as they get shorter, it gets more upright.

So, the key is to swing the club on the correct angle on both sides of your swing. If you hit the ball with the toe, it’s too vertical. The face is going to be open and the path is to the left.

Conversely, if the shaft gets too flat at some point during the downswing, that causes a heel hit.

3

DownswinG

DownswinG

Tip 4: “The sequence on the downswing is from the ground up.”

If your golf ball starts left or if you slice it; if your divot is behind the ball or you’re getting toe hits, it’s because your sequence is incorrect coming down. Jack Nicklaus allowed his left heel to leave the ground and his transition move was to put the left heel down. Arnold Palmer’s left knee shifted to the right - his first move in the downswing was his left knee. If you are coming down steep and slicing it, it’s because your sequence is from the top down on the downswing. You must initiate from the ground up. Golf is a game of ground forces. Use the ground.

4

GettinG up

GettinG up

Tip 5: “To get the ball up, you must swing down.”

‘Small-ball before big-ball’ is a good swing thought. Golf is a game of opposites. To get the ball up, you must swing down. I hear a lot of people say, “Mahoney, I top it, I hit it fat, I’m hitting behind the golf ball.” This is the attempt to get underneath the golf ball and try to lift it. To get the ball up, you must swing down. Your swing bottom occurs directly beneath your hands at impact.

My hands should be pulling the golf club past the ball. At impact the handle is forward creating a divot in front of the ball.

5

Ball position

Tip 6: “For all shots in golf, the ball is always two inches inside of your left heel.”

There is a lot of debate and myths here like for wedges, the ball should be back in your stance, middle irons forward and woods even further forward.

There is a lot of confusion.

Place a 3-iron on the ground - and basically that’s why you have 3-irons these days - and a wedge in your hands. You step closer into the ball, placing your left heel two inches ahead of the 3-iron. There’s the appearance as if the ball’s back in my stance but the ball is actually still two inches inside of my left heel. As the clubs get longer, you stand further from the ball and your heel is still two inches ahead.

You make your stance a little bit wider so there’s the appearance that the ball moves forward but it doesn’t. It is always two inches off the lead heel.

6

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

115

Dining

was the highlight of the Bangkok Restaurant

Charity Week 2013. It is the first ranking of its kind and the results might not please ever ybody. The ranking process is carried out by 40 judges who voted freely and secretly. The judges are representatives from four groups of professions, including chefs, food & beverages managers, food and wine suppliers, and representatives from the media and fine-dining experts, to ensure that the society could approve of and respect the selected restaurants listed among the top 20.

Winning the top votes is Nahm restaurant by Chef David Thompson, followed by Water Librar y Thonglor, Gaggan, Water Librar y Chamchuri Square, Smith, Bo.lan, Le Beaulieu, Mezzaluna, Issaya, Zuma, Le Normandie, Little Beast, Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin, Appia, Eat Me, La Bottega di Luca, Enoteca, Opposite Mess Hall, New York Steakhouse, and Mugendai respectively.

Let us introduce you to the top 20 restaurants on the list which are leading the Thai fine dining industr y and are indeed the identity of Bangkok in the style of ‘Gourmet Science.’

116 Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

117

Nahm Chef David Thompson

The Metropolitan Bangkok 27 South Sathorn Road 02 625 3333 comohotels.com/ metropolitanbangkok/dining/nahm

Nahm is the number one on the list of Bangkok’s TOP 20

Best Restaurants 2013. Internationally recognized by many prestigious awards, Nahm is a place for serious gourmets who desire to learn more about authentic local cuisine.

Customers are recommended to tr y a variety of chili pastes ser ved with fresh vegetables, along with Thai curries since the cooking of both food requires delicacy and hard work.

Some of the spicy curries include krang krateau kaitok (curr y with chicken and wild ginger), krang krati puma (curr y with coconut milk and horse crabs) and pla kapi (sliced prawn with prawn paste) ser ved with sweetened pork.

Chef:

When Chef David Thompson operated a Thai restaurant in Australia, he and his partner, Tanongsak Yordwai, spent two years traveling through Thailand to learn how the locals live and cook differently in each area. This experience enables Nahm to be a real authentic Thai restaurant. Chef Thompson wrote the renowned book ‘Thai Food’ with easy-to-understand contents that range from the development of Thai food, local culture to cooking methods , ingredients and recipes.

118

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Water Library Thonglor Chef Haikal Johari The Grass, Thonglor Soi 12, Sukhumvit 55 02 714 9292 mywaterlibrary.com/thonglor

Preparing dinner for only 10 guests per night, Water Librar y Thonglor offers a ver y private atmosphere in a private room or a beautiful outdoor lounge, a walk-in wine cellar as well as an entirely new concept to food, wines and cocktails. A set menu of 12 courses with a strong focus on high-end seasonal produce and creative preparation and presentation will take guests on an extraordinar y culinar y journey.

Chef:

Fellow forefront chefs in

Thailand and Singapore respect Chef Haikal Johari highly. The chef offers his team chances to continuously develop their skills. By investing and finding inspiration for new dishes, he does not want to stand above all chefs or to satisfy a-list customers, instead he hopes that his team of chefs could learn new things.

Gaggan Chef Gaggan Anand

Water Library Chamchuri Chef Mirco Keller

68/1 Soi Langsuan, Ploenchit Road 02 652 1700 eatatgaggan.com

Chamchuri Square 2nd floor, Samyan 02 160 5188 mywaterlibrary.com/chamchuri

With the lead chef’s practice of molecular technique,

Gaggan reinforces the fact that this is the place for modern Indian food. Tasting menu, consisting of more than ten bites of various dishes cooked with breakthrough ideas and molecular techniques using ingredients from all over the world, is what we would like to recommend to you for a starter. Some memorable dishes include Yoghurt Explosion, Oyster with foam/ice-cream, curr y ser ved with nan, lamb and beef cooked with traditional Indian techniques and molecular cocktails.

Chef: As Chef Gaggan Anand is friendly and talkative, his personality is one of the elements that bring fame to this restaurant.

The restaurant’s cooking is based on French cuisine techniques that bring unison to European and Indian tastes. Chef Gaggan can magically demonstrate the real taste of India while satisfying even those who do not like the strong taste of spices.

Surrounded by large glass panels and elegant modern structure, Water Librar y Chamchuri restaurant is known for its exclusive collection of mineral water from around the globe, along with food, wines and attentive ser vices. Since the chef always adds at least one choice of fruits to each dish, you may be delightfully surprised with creative dishes such as ‘Gazpacho Andaluz’with passion fruit and mango or ‘Foie Gras’ with ripe mango or even ‘Atlantic Cod’ paired with green apple.

Chef:

German Chef Mirco Keller has been working with Water Librar y for two years. After a heartbreak, he bought a one-way air ticket and planned to fly to Australia. He stopped by in Bangkok to change flight, and happened to know Mr. Lee and started working here.

After he had adjusted to the busy lifestyle of Bangkok which is totally different from life in Munich and Berlin, he admits that he is happy living in Bangkok.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

119

Smith Chef Peter Pitakwong

1/8 Sukhumvit 49, Wattana 02 261 0515-6 smith-restaurant.com

Smith is one of the first restaurants with the concept

‘Nose to tail cuisine.’ Slaughterhouse is the main theme of this restaurant. The exterior appears to be an old factor y, while the interior’s structure and furniture offer the atmosphere of a slaughterhouse. ingredients range from pork, duck, chicken, beef, lamb and fish. The butcher style food makes use of all ingredient parts such as head, tongue, ears, internal organs and tail. While this may not sound appealing, the actual food ser ved here look tempting and the taste is sure to be unforgettable.

Chef:

Chef Peter Pitakwong creates butcher style menus and successfully made the concept a new trend. Chefs who ser ve this type of food must have good knowledge on butchering, as well as cooking techniques. They also have to find sources of high-quality ingredients. Chef Peter is one of a handful of chefs in Thailand who focus on using local organic ingredients, some of which he grows by himself.

120

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Bo.lan Chef Bo/Chef Dylan

Soi Pichai Ronnarong Songkram, Sukhumvit 26, Klongtoey 02 260 2962 bolan.co.th

The owners of Bo.lan were cooking students of Chef David Thompson, that’s why they are serious when it comes to traditional Thai cooking methods. The restaurant’s interior is of ‘suburban Thai’ style with wicker work as decorative pieces. Bo.lan Balance set menu starts out with finger root herbal liquor, juice from pandan leaves and sour fruits, followed by khanom chine todman in Phetchburi style (rice noodle and fish cake), steamed rice with king mackerel, kaeng chaplu pu (curr y with wild betel leaf and crab meat), and stir-fried noodle with angled loofah. The desserts are ser ved with green tea from Doi Ang Khang where organic vegetables are grown.

Chef:

Chef Duangporn “Chef Bo” Songvisava and Chef Dylan Jones go to the market to search for the best ingredients by themselves to ensure that the restaurant offers the freshest ingredients that would give the best dining experience to diners. They focus on organic products that are hard to find and producers only produce in small volume. For that reason, Chef Bo volunteers to organize a market for organic products called ‘Eat Responsibly Day’ at the restaurant ever y first Saturday of each month.

Le Beaulieu Chef Hervé Frerard

Mezzaluna Chef Thomas and Mathias Sühring

Athénée Tower, Wireless Road Tel. 02 168 8220 www.le-beaulieu.com

lebua Hotels & Resorts, Silom 02 624 9555 www.lebua.com

Le Beaulieu is known for meticulously bringing out the detail and simplicity of French cuisine by highlighting the quality produce sourced from around the world. The restaurant features spacious private rooms, an alfresco style gastro lounge, a patisserie and a chef’s table. In a casual and cozy setting, diners can enjoy a wide range of treats ranging from Organic Burrata Cheese, Fresh Rabbit Terrine, Figs & Pear Salad to Plancha Tuna and Baby Bresse Chicken, Lamb Rack and Miyazaki Wagyu beef, along with Madame Burgaud’s Challandais Duck.

Chef: Chef Her vé Frerard is well-known for his creativity and dedication to fine dining cooking, which he prefers to call his restaurant a ‘fine bistro’ that offers simple food cooked from the finest ingredients. He is also an advisor to the Royal Project Foundation.

Perched atop 65 floors, Mezzaluna offers a beautiful

panoramic view of Bangkok and modern European cuisine with subtle Asian flavours. The restaurant uses only the best seasonal products purchased from local and international growers and their own home-made herbal oils, vinegars and bouillons for health benefits. The seasonally-inspired tasting menu is re-designed on a daily basis.

Chef: An important characteristic of Mezzaluna is the famous twin chefs, Thomas and Mathias Sühring. Passionate about cuisine from an early age, the twin brothers each gained diverse Michelin star experience throughout Europe. Together, they put their creative force into crafting dishes with attention to natural flavors and textures.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

121

Issaya Chef Ian

Zuma Chef Patrick Martens

Soi Sri Aksorn, Chua Ploeng Road, Sathorn 02 672 9040-1 issaya.com

St. Regis Hotel, Ratchadamri Road 02 252 4707 zumarestaurant.com

Located in a 1920s colonial style Thai home and

surrounded by aromatic herb garden, Issaya provides guests modern exceptional Thai cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere.

Some of the best known dishes are pla aob prik (red chiliglazed seabass) and kanom dok mali (jasmine flower flan), as well as an ever-changing market menu that highlights the seasonal specials of the day.

Chef: Despite owning more than 10 restaurants worldwide, the internationally renowned Chef Pongtawat “Chef Ian� Chalermkittichai was previously reluctant to open a restaurant in his home countr y until he admitted that Issaya would turn out to reflect his real identity. At Issaya, he combines traditional ingredients with international and progressive cooking methods to create his unique Signature Thai cuisine.

122

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Designed

to resemble a Japanese garden with a natural stone open kitchen, Zuma delivers an elegant, yet fun, informal, dining experience created around the traditional izakaya style of eating and drinking. Previously known as the hip contemporar y Japanese restaurant opened in 2002 in London, Zuma is now making a buzz in Bangkok with uniquely created menu to suit Thai taste buds. Some of the most popular dishes are gindara saikyo miso yaki (cod marinated with miso and wrapped with hoba leaf), Dynamite Spider Roll (rice ball wrapped with seaweed and filled with fried soft-shell crab), shiitake no ninniku fuumi (grilled shiitake with garlic butter sauce).

Chef: Zuma Bangkok is managed by German Chef Patrick Martens who trained with Zuma London for four years before transferring here. His Signature Dish, Grilled Hokkaido Scallops with grated Apple, Wasabi and Red Shiso, demonstrates his creativity and love of simplicity.

Le Normandie Chef Arnaud Dunand Sauthier

Little Beast Chef Nan Bunyasaranand

48 Oriental Avenue 02 659 9000 mandarinoriental.com/bangkok

44/9-10 Sukhumvit 55 (Thonglor 13) 02-185-2670 littlebeastbar.com

Le Normandie is one of the most celebrated restaurants that bring fame to Thailand. The restaurant frequently entertains the highest echelons of Thai high society from celebrities and politicians to members of the Royal Family. Specialised in modern French cuisine, highlights include Marbled Moulard foie gras with prune and toasted brioche, and Chateaubriand of beef from the Salers region with traditional garnish and truffle sauce.

Chef:

Arnaud Dunand Sauthier is a French chef who is in his early 30’s. He has over a decade of experience in fine dining, having worked with restaurants that cater to a-list customers, such as Georges Blanc, Marc Veyrat and Emile Jung. He also worked with the renowned Maison Lameloise for three years, before relocating to Paris to work with Le Crillon under the leadership of Chef Jean-Francois Piège. At only 26 years of age, he became the executive chef at the Château de la Tour du Puits in Chamber y before moving to Bangkok and joined Le Normandie.

The Little Beast restaurant is decorated in the style

of New York City back in 1920 when industrial architecture was the trend. The restaurant’s French bulldog logo adds a sense of humour to the overall design. The menu emphasizes on rich, homely French-tinged New American cuisine and comes in “tapas-style” portions designed for sharing.

Chef:

Chef Nan Bunyasaranand’s size may be rather compact, but she can handle heavy kitchen appliances with no problem and manage the kitchen with a smile. She graduated from the Culinar y Institute of America (CIA) with top score in 2006, and used to work with many Michelin-starred chefs including Chef Lorenz Adlon, Chef Jean-George Vongerichten and Chef Thomas Keller. After returning to Thailand, she opened and operated her catering business called ‘Tastebuds’ for five years before her friends asked her to open a unique restaurant.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

123

Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin Chef Morten Nielson Siam Kempinski Hotel, Rama I Road 02 162 9000 kempinskibangkok.com

Located at the Siam Kempinski Hotel in the heart of

Bangkok, Sra Bua is the counterpart of Copenhagen’s Kiin Kiin. Extraordinar y Thai dishes are ser ved here such as the famous Frozen Red Curr y with Lobster and Coriander, fried red mullet with curried peanuts and turmeric cauliflower and banana cake with salted ice cream and caramelized milk.

Chef: Chef Henrik Yde-Anderson practices molecular techniques, along with modern Thai cooking methods. The Danish chef used to work with his partner to operate an outlet of Kiin Kiin, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Copenhagen. His assistant is Chef Morten Nielson who tattooed one of his arms to declare his passion for Thai food.

124

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Appia Chef Paolo Vitaletti

20/4 Sukhumvit Soi 31 02 261 2056 appia-bangkok.com

Bringing the Roman trattoria to Bangkok, Appia aims to ser ve food that is rustic and uncompromising in quality in a casual vintage atmosphere. All pastas are made fresh daily. Food items are listed in a single page A4 paper, but the restaurant also ser ves the addition of special menus made of available fresh ingredients. One of the most popular items is southern-style al dente spicy pasta. We recommend fresh fusilli pasta with Italian mussels and cheese, Cavatelli pasta with aromatic sausage made of lamb’s shoulder, Appia’s oxtail stew and the homemade My Mother’s Tiramisu.

Chef:

Chef Paolo Vitaletti quit his job at a five-star hotel where he was held back by too many rules. He now cooks food in the style of Roman family recipes which is similar to home cooking by his mother. He also cooks his own rendition of traditional food from the southern central region of Italy. For that reason, the restaurant is called ‘Appia’ which is the main and the first street of Rome.

Eat Me Chef Tim Butler

La Bottega di Luca Chef Luca Appino

20 metres of f Convent Road (in Soi Pipat 2), Silom 02 238 0931 eatmerestaurant.com

Terrace 49 Building, Soi Sukhumvit 49 02 204 1731 labottega.name

Eat Me is a restaurant that has been hosting performances and art works for more than 15 years. The restaurant is reborn when the owner decided to shift the restaurant’s focus to modern fusion cuisine with the help of an American chef. The concept “Pacific Rim with Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern twists” makes this place a trendsetter. Some of the most popular menuss are Heirloom Tomato Salad (ser ved with parmesan and olive oil icecream), Roasted Marrow Bone and Spicy Ndjua Sausage with Goat Cheese.

Chef:

Tim Butler is an American chef who started out as a pastr y chef for 10 years at the Gaysorn Plaza shopping mall when it was newly opened. He then shifted his focus to cooking and started working with Eat Me where he could make good uses of his experience.

Cooking frees him from strict pastr y recipes which require precise measurement. As he had also worked in Australia, his food bears Australian elements combined with techniques from other culinar y styles.

Set

in a cozy beautiful setting, La Bottega is a multiple award-winning restaurant that aims to offer traditional Italian food that is delicious yet unpretentious. The restaurant offers a wide range of full-flavoured Italian food made of famous ingredients from Italy, Spain and Tasmania. Apart from the freshly made pasta, their popular dishes include pici senesi with duck breast and liver sauce arezzo style, Wagyu beef Carpaccio with rocket and dried tomatoes, radicchio and parmesan flanks.

Chef:

Chef Luca Appino departed a successful restaurant and headed to Bangkok when his business partners wanted to introduce Mediterranean food to Thai diners.

The restaurant also ser ves commonly-known Italian dishes. After La Bottega di Luca is well established, the restaurant invited another chef to join. This allows Chef Luca enough time to travel to find inspirations as well as new ingredients.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

125

Enoteca Chef Stefano Merlo

Opposite Mess Hal l Chef Jess Barns

39 Suknumvit Soi 27 02 258 4386 enotecabangkok.com

27/1 Sukhumvit Soi 51 02 662 6330 oppositebangkok.com

Founded by Nicola Bonazza, an avid sommelier, Enoteca

boasts an extensive collection of more than 300 Italian wine labels. The restaurant is tucked away in a small soi and is an ideal place for those who want to enjoy traditional Italian food with an innovative touch in a relaxing surrounding. Some of the amazing food creations are Black Ink Cappuccino, tortellini filled with pigeon gravy on roasted pigeon breast and suckling pig.

Chef: Chef Stefano Merlo is renowned for his recent victor y on the prestigious television culinar y show, “Iron Chef Thailand.” His goal is to bring the combination of authentic cuisine and innovative technique to fine dining to make it a value-packed gastronomic experience.

126

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Only several months after its opening, the Opposite Mess

Hall is fully packed twice daily with returning customers and regulars. The restaurant has three secret entrances that are so well concealed that guests have to call the restaurant asking for direction. With stools, benches, bare shared tables, the restaurant’s compact space looks like a bar and also acts like a late-night bar. Expect a large and exciting list of cocktails, beers and wines or croquettes with daily different fillings.

Chef:

Australian Chef Jess Barnes visited Bangkok for the first time when he participated in the opening ceremony of Grossi restaurant at the Intercontinental Bangkok (operated by Chef Guy Grossi). He became well-known when he worked with Quince before opening his own restaurant. His noseto-tail cuisine is based on a simple concept “respect yourself, respect your ingredients.”

New York Steakhouse Chef Michael Hogan JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok, Sukhumvit Soi 2 02 656 7700 www.marriott.com/hotels/ travel/bkkdt-jw-marriott-hotelbangkok/

New York Steakhouse continues to be the

number one steakhouse in Thailand because of the bold decision to answer to new generation’s changing lifestyle.

The overall decoration of the steakhouse might remind ones of New York City in the 1950s. With an array of imported beef from USA, Australia and Japan, the restaurant offers only the finest steaks and superb seafood. The highlyrecommended set menu consists of clam chowder, Surf and Turf with Boston lobsters on the same plate, Tomahawk Steak (grilled Australian Wagyu) and Baked Alaska.

Chef: Australian Chef Michael Hogan brings new trend to Thai fine dining. He worked with the JW Marriot hotels in many countries around the world as the executive chef who managed the kitchen and the restaurant as a whole. He combines the luxur y of high-class American society, with a twist of modern, independent restaurant.

Mugendai Kamolsut Tapparungse

7/F The Glass Building, Thonglor 12 02 726 9222,087 996 8888 mugendaibkk.com

Accessible only by a private elevator, Mugendai offers

an exclusive rooftop viewpoint that overlooks Thonglor area.

The restaurant features a sushi bar, dining area, private room and a room where Japanese chef shows his knife skills in preparing sushi. The finest of ingredients and the most exquisite of produces from Japan are flown in as often as five days a week to make nothing short of perfection. Some of the signature dishes are Ecstasy Rolls (pan-fried foie gras wrapped with Matsuzaka beef ), Uniwa (grilled Halibut topped with Hokkaido sea urchin) and Matsuzaka Wrap.

Don’t forget to tr y Ichigo Daifuku for dessert.

Owner:

The success of Mugendai is due to the trust that the restaurant’s owner gives to Chef Adun (Chef Tee) whose expertise lies in his knowledge on ingredient sourcing, careful food preparation and sophisticated cooking techniques. As a proud Japanese food lover, Kamolsut successfully made Mugendai one of the most popular Japanese restaurants in town.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

127

Property

The First ‘Onsen’ @ Khao Yai ZEN NEXT

Super Luxury Condominium

Many Bangkokians long for serenity

and a better quality of life as Bangkok pushes them through the hustle and bustle of daily traffic and demanding city lifestyle, often delivering a negative effect upon the well-being of its residents – Khao yai, Nakorn Ratchasima province hence became a preferred destination for many, valued for its clean air and ranked as the World’s 7th best source of fresh ozone. Only a 2-hour drive from Bangkok, Zen Next @ Khao Yai is an ideal haven for those in need to relax and spend their time silently in a convenient and soothing location.

Relax your mind and body with the Japanese onsen Zen Next is Thailand’s premiere super luxury onsen condominium. The project delivers a clear uniqueness that takes upon the concept of a Japanese onsen and with each building designed in a Japanese style, set beautifully in a peaceful environment and under the spectacular scenery of Khao yai, Nakhon Ratchasima.

Zen Next highlights both Elegance and Tranquility, it perfectly treats all healthconscious residents to two hygienic onsen facilities specifically designed, to separate individual males and females. Residents are treated under a relaxing atmosphere, soothing to the mind and the body, leaving them energized and rejuvenated. No need to fly all the way to Japan for the onsen experience.

128

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

129

360 Degree Panoramic Mountain View Zen Next Condominium presents the true meaning of tranquility and privacy. It is designed in the genuine Japanese style following the principles of Zen’s simplicity and Far Eastern exquisiteness located in peaceful and natural setting. Having only 51 units, with options of 1-2 bedrooms, 38.50-83.50 sqm. to cater to different life styles and preferences.

There are options of four room types: 1) Regular Type featuring 38.50 sqm. 2) S-Type featuring 57.80 sqm. 3) M-Type featuring 74.90 sqm. 4) L-Type featuring 83.50 sqm. Introductory price starts at 3.8 million baht.

130

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Able Architects, an awardwinning architect and construction consultancy firm with the reputation of having won the prestigious “Green Energy” global award was selected as the project’s interior consultant to help adapt principles of the Japanese Zen to the design of the condominium.

Zen Next Condominium is set upon beautifully in natural and serene surroundings, overlooking the 360-degree panoramic view of pristine hills and mountains. Residents are treated with first-class services and amenities that include a large-sized swimming pool, 24 hour security services, hi-tech key-card access and CCTV.

For more information, kindly contact Zen Next Sales Gallery, Moo 4, Thanarat Road, Nakhon Ratchasima (opposite Krua Khao Yai) Tel. 084 710 7777, 084 810 7777 or visit www.zennext-condo.com

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

131

Gastronomy

Festive Fever The Okura Prestige Bangkok is promising a fun-filled festive season with an impressive selection of dining options for all the family and, importantly, the return of Santa Claus on 25th December.

Christmas

At Up & Above Restaurant and Bar, the season’s festivities begin on Saturday 21st December with a Welcome Christmas Brunch. On 22nd December the hotel’s everpopular Sunday Brunch captures the traditional Christmas spirit with a clown in the house to entertain the entire family at Up & Above.

Special Christmas lunch and dinner menus are also available at Up & Above on 24th and 25th December with optional beverage packages embracing continuous flow wines and champagne.

Christmas Day dinner (25th December) promises to be a ver y special occasion. Santa Claus will be dropping in with presents for all the children; soprano singers will singing all the favourite Christmas carols and a resident jazz trio will provide additional background entertainment.

Christmas celebrations at Elements guarantee a real sparkle.

From 21st to 30th December the hotel offers a five-course festive menu that begins with a glass of champagne. Diners may also choose items from the à la carte menu at Elements on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Elements is also the stylish venue for The Okura Festive High Tea Buffet from 21st to 30th December.

Yamazato presents special menus for lunch (Gozen set menu) and dinner (Kaiseki set menu and Teppanyaki) on 24th and 25th December.

132

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day

www.okurabangkok.com

The Okura Prestige Bangkok guarantees a glitzy, sparkling and stylish farewell to 2013 as guests prepare to welcome the New Year.

New Year’s Eve lunch choices embrace a ‘Memories of 2013’ buffet at Up & Above and an Osechi Box or Omisoka set lunch at Yamazato.

The hotel’s three fine dining restaurants offer tremendous variety for dinner on 31st December.

At Yamazato there is a choice of Omisoka Soba Kaiseki and Teppanyaki set dinners followed by the late evening traditional Kakiage Soba set menu from 10.30pm.

At Elements there is the promise of an evening full of ‘Prestige Moments’ with an eight-course gourmet set dinner and the option of enjoying wines selected from the Sommelier’s list of personal favourites from 2013.

At Up & Above the ‘Prestige Dinner & Dance’ sets the scene in style with live music from a five-piece band. Guests will enjoy a magnificent buffet dinner with beverage options before taking their places on the hotel’s balconies and half-moon terrace to witness the spectacular midnight displays of fireworks across the city.

New Year’s Day at The Okura Prestige Bangkok begins with the traditional mochi (rice cakes) ceremony in the lobby of the 24th floor, followed by lunch at Yamazato (Oshogatsu Osechi Gozen set) and Up & Above (New Year family international buffet).

Gastronomy

The Superb Sunday Brunch Cellar 11, Bangkok’s hot new wine bar & bistro is proud to present “The Superb Sunday Brunch”, taking the standards to a whole new level of excellence.

tRuffLe soup 1

spaghetti seafood

Roasted Rack of Lamb

If you are looking for quality over quantity, Cellar 11

is the place to be. The Superb Sunday Brunch, meticulously prepared by experienced chefs, offers impressive selections of salads, cold cuts, cheeses, pastas and fresh seafoods such as New Zealand mussels, Hokkaido scallops and white prawns.

Starters include soft shell crab salad, Foie Gras, Frog Legs.

Mouth-watering main courses such as Steamed Lobster, Grilled Tenderloin, Stewed Ox Tongue, Rack of Lamb are freshly cooked by order. Homemade desserts are equally divine.

soft bitteR

For wine enthusiasts, the wine bar-cum-restaurant always has wine specialists in place to assist you with your wine choices.

Be prepared for a free flow of sparkling, white and red wine!

The Superb Sunday Brunch is available on Sundays during 11.00-14.30 for 1,250++ baht/person or additional 500++ baht/person for free-flow wine. For Reser vations, call (66)2 255 5833-5

www.cellar11.com Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

133

Collection ★ Fashion

journey to the magic mountain Louis Vuitton’s men Fall/Winter Collection 2013-2014

This season sees the Vuitton traveler, always journeying both literally and metaphorically, venture to the magical mountains of the Himalayas, particularly to the Kingdom of Bhutan.

134

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

“this season involved travelling to the

Himalayas for research and it was the mountain Kingdom of Bhutan that still had that mystery surrounding it; it was almost a fantasy idea as well as a real place. Backpacking has not ruined Bhutan – you have to be invited there – and it feels so exotic, almost from another time. It is the only place in the world where snow leopards and tigers cross paths and that is one of reasons why the snow leopard became a chief motif in the collection”, explains Kim Jones, Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Studio and Style Director, working under the Artistic Direction of Marc Jacobs.

The snow leopard pattern and motif reoccurs throughout the collection, making its initial appearance in a subtle and new needle punched jacquard technique incorporating naturally coloured mink and cashmere. It transforms a traditional double-breasted and a café racer blouson and later morphs into a laser cut mink coat. The figure of the snow leopard (a design commissioned by Louis Vuitton to the Chapman Brothers is given full expression in an intarsia knit sweater.

There is a particular focus on furs and leathers in the outerwear; astrakhan, sheepskin, shearling, shaved beaver, fox and mink appear in and on blousons, parkas and overcoats – even as linings when not visible – in a palette of soft mountain greys, cream and tans. While down jackets utilize the elasticity, softness and durability of reindeer leather rendered in navy.

The figure of the gentleman climber is compared and contrasted with Bhutanese traditional and symbols; the check and stripes of Bhutanese national dress inspire the mixed and matched patterns in much of the suiting in the collection. These fabrics are specially made in the finest of traditional English mills.

Bhutanese blankets, specially woven from cashmere in the Kingdom, are transformed into ponchos. Traditional Bhutanese felts have their luxuriousness maximized by being formed in Yak hair and appear as almost seamless, soft structured jackets and coats with Himalaya

stone buttons – stones from the top of Everest no less.

This season sees Jones commissioned the artists Jack and Dinos Chapman to supply key motifs in the collection. The designs commissioned to the Chapman Brothers appear in silk and cashmere prints and jacquards in red and navy respectively. These anthropomorphic animals and creatures also feature on accessories, charms and motifs throughout.

They appear almost like the Chapman’s own spin in the Buddhist idea of “wrathful deities”, fearsome talismanic protectors from evil and a bridge between the natural and supernatural world this season.

The bags this season play very much on the traditional notion of maroquinerie.

The large grained taurillon leather also makes a new appearance this season.

The lockit bag here makes its debut for men suitably oversized and also finds its counterpart in giant totes. Backpack shapes are frequently utilized and run throughout, even featuring in a cross fertilization with a Vuitton trunk to be carried on the back. Here the recognizable Monogram is eschewed, instead reverting to the traditional trunk material, leather.

Branding is subtle this season in the bags, most frequently appearing as a shaved “V” in the shearling pieces.

Shoes feature sturdy soles and a flash of subtle metal work in the collection.

Boots and derby shoes come in beautiful grained leather that contrasts with its more decadent counterpart, crocodile, in the same styles that appears in a palette of navy, moss green and earth brown. For evening the height of luxury can also be found in what appear to be velvet dancing slippers – in actual fact they are shaved mink. They are an appropriate opulent counterpoint to the “Garden in Hell” theme of the collection.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

135

Collection ★ Move

Red AleRt !

Introducing the spectacular Novitec Rosso F12 with the N-Largo widebody kit.

Novitec Rosso has officially unveiled a spectacular new wide-body package for the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.

Named by the German tuning house as Novitec Rosso N-Largo, the body conversion kit is manufactured from ultra-light yet ultra-strong carbon fiber, and represents a winning combination of exciting design and aerodynamic efficiency. Also part of the conversion are tailor-made threepiece Novitec Rosso NF5 NL forged wheels combining 21-inch rims in the front and 22-inch rims on the rear axle. Further features are a revised suspension with front lift function, and a power upgrade to 574 kW / 781 hp, which propels the two-seater to a top speed of about 350 km/h. Upon customer request, Novitec Rosso also customizes the cockpit to the N-Largo’s owner’s personal preferences down to the last detail.

The Novitec Rosso N-Largo widebody version has an impressive width of 205cm which surpasses its original by exactly 11cm on the rear axle. To this end the designers developed strikingly styled fender flares that are seamlessly joined to the production body. The larger wheel arches, for which precise-fit liners were developed, then offer space for the NF5 NL wheels, which were customdeveloped for the Novitec Rosso N-Largo. The three-piece wheels are manufactured using high-tech forging technology. But that’s not all. The widebody version also made it possible to design the wheels with an extremely concave wheel spider and five delicate double spokes. The size 12Jx22 rims are shod with Pirelli P ZERO highperformance tires in size 335/25 ZR 22.

136

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Key factors in the aerodynamic properties and the appearance are of course the fasciae and spoilers of the Novitec Rosso special model.

The front and rear fascia, which replace the production bumpers, were not only restyled to match the fender flares. The shape of front fascia and the central front blade, optionally available with a clearcoated carbon-fiber finish, lend the two-seater a decidedly aggressive glance. Their styling, which was optimized in the wind tunnel, reduces negative lift and further improves handling stability.

To round out the striking appearance of the N-Largo and to further enhance dynamic handling, Novitec Rosso lowers the ride height of the car by up to 40mm with the help of special sport springs. Steep ramps such as can be found in a parking garage or speed humps can be navigated more easily with the optional front lift system. At the push of a button, the hydraulic height adjustment raises the front axle by about 40mm.

At a second push of the button or automatically upon reaching a speed of 80 km/h the ride height reverts to its original position.

On the performance front, with 574 kW / 781 hp of power at 8,600 rpm and a peak torque increased to 722 Nm at 6,400 rpm the N-Largo reaches a top speed of about 350 km/h.

Novitec Rosso also offers custom exclusivity for the interior.

The cockpit can be designed in leather and Alcantara in any desired color.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

137

Collection ★ Time

What makes

h. moser ‘very rare’?

Offbeat, refreshing and slightly provocative: H. Moser & Cie. is introducing a high-impact new communications campaign featuring a revamped visual identity and a new signature.

This new brand territory is based on values inspired by its entrepreneurial heritage, its in-house manufacturing, as well as its ingenious products. The campaign expresses a sense of elegant difference – that little something extra characterising the H. Moser watches that have been distinguishing themselves for close to ten years through their functions and their design.

The concept of rarity is not confined to the quantity of timepieces produced by H. Moser & Cie. It refers to the specific characteristics of “Schaffhausen’s little pearl”. First of all, the entrepreneurial spirit ingrained into the brand DNA since its founding is reflected in the attitude of the H. Moser management team, composed of determined individuals who enjoy taking up challenges and defying established norms. Second, H. Moser is a Manufacture in the noblest sense of this industry-specific French term that implies inhouse manufacturing. All its movements are indeed conceived and developed exclusively in-house; each watch is crafted and finished by hand. Even the components of the regulating organs, including hairsprings and escapements, are produced in its workshops. Last but not least, ingenuity, a quality clearly visible in the unique features of H. Moser creations, is expressed through simple and functional mechanisms devised by the H. Moser watchmakers.

H. Moser products, which are soberly uncluttered while embodying a rare degree of complexity, are truly exceptional.

VERY RARE: the combination of all these characteristics, representing a blend that is unique in the watch industry, inspired the new H. Moser communications campaign and is the new brand signature. The result is delightfully singular and innovative. The H. Moser & Cie. logo appears against a dark background in a slightly revisited form that is distinctly more modern yet as elegant as ever.

It is framed by the company crest of Heinrich Moser and by the signature “VERY RARE” in apple green letters. These elements in themselves express the subtle tension at the very core of the brand: the historical, traditional aspect of the company is 138

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

1 1. THE LIMITED COLLECTORS EDITIONS FROM MOSER 2. PERPETUAL MOON 3. NOMAD – DUAL TIME 4. MONARD DATE 5. MAYU

symbolised by the crest; while the entrepreneurial spirit that dares to take risks, along with the inimitable sexy touch inherent in H. Moser, are conveyed through the signature claim. Finally, the bright colour adds a fresh, tangy note, the little touch that makes all the difference.

And as far as advertising is concerned, how can this idea of rarity be expressed while placing H. Moser & Cie. creations at the very heart of communications?

Quite simply by not showing them. “H. Moser watches. So rare they don’t even appear in H. Moser watch advertisements.” This straightforward message is a playful nod intended to spark readers’ curiosity and to incite them to discover H. Moser watches through an exclusive distribution network as well as on a new website highlighting H. Moser products.

2

3

4

5

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

139

elements of style

Christmas Wishlist

3.1 Phillip Lim Moto Cross Jacket These stylish aviator sunglasses from Gucci feature slim white and gold-tone metal frames, grey polarised lenses and the iconic Gucci logo. A versatile accessory, they will be the perfect accent to warm weather looks.

“Jingle bells, jingle bells...” The song is about to start playing again around this time of the year. Christmas is the time for happiness, laughter and gift giving.

It is also the perfect excuse to reward yourself with a little present. Visit www. harrods.com and start making that ho-hoho list. Your perfect Christmas gift from the UK will soon be on your way.

Gucci Aviator Sunglasses

Combining classic brogue detailing with a boot silhouette, the McFarlane 2 ankle boots are perfect for adopting a sophisticated yet grungy aesthetic this autumn/winter season.

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Vivienne Westwood Block Check Jacket

A biker jacket with a contemporary twist, Phillip Lim lends his alternative eye to the Moto Cross jacket by crafting it in treated khaki-coloured cotton. Classic features, such as the asymmetric zip and stand collar, are met by urban extras, including contrasting black panels under the arm.

Church’s McFarlane 2 Leather Ankle Boots

140

Fresh from Vivienne Westwood’s AW13 collection. Crafted from a warm wool blend, this rich purple and navy design will slot seamlessly into every man’s existing wardrobe.

The Kooples stylishly fuse the classic lace-up brogue with a boot silhouette to deliver this exquisite high-top shoe, crafted from pure patent leather. Complete with a buckled ankle strap, this pair is an elegant choice for everyday wear.

The Kooples Patent Leather Boots

With its ravishing red hue and tough studded leather lapels, this jacket from Saint Laurent is the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll choice for the style-loving man.

Crafted from pure wool, this design features a tailored fit and structured shoulder pads.

Balmain Exclusive Dragon Blazer

Saint Laurent Leather Lapel Jacket

A special piece exclusive to Harrods, this black cotton blazer by Balmain is a statement design for AW13. Sharply tailored with narrow peaked lapels, the jacket is hand finished with an embroidered dragon patch to the chest and striking red trims to the cuffs.

Oliver Peoples Special Edition Sunglasses Effortlessly fusing comfort and style, these owl slippers are finished with a sleek velvet sole and come in a zipped case – perfect for longhaul flights and trips.

Dolce & Gabbana Owl Slippers

To celebrate the brand’s 25th anniversary, these special edition sunglasses are a piece of history based on original sketches from 1989.

Still relevant today, the contemporary design features tonal acetate frames finished with metal corner accents.

Valentino Rubber Stud Oxford Shoes

Formal lace-ups with a rock-star edge. Crafted with Italian expertise, the smooth black leather gives a classic, polished look with the rubber stud embellishment adding a touch of punk-rock style.

Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

141

elements of style

VERTU Ti Ferrari VERTU is at it again with the launch of the limited edition VERTU Ti Ferrari. The exclusive handset combines Vertu’s pioneering design, modern technology and luxury services with bespoke Ferrari materials and specially curated Ferrari content; only 2013 of these luxurious and handcrafted VERTU Ti Ferrari phones will be released. With a price tag of THB 540,000, this is a phone for high-net-worth individuals who want to feel privileged.

VERTU Ti Ferrari is available at VERTU Flagship Store 1 FL., Siam Paragon Tel. 02 129 4488 and Gaysorn 02 656 1126

A Tribute to King of Jazz

by John di Martino Specially made to

celebrate HM the King’s 86th Birthday Anniversary, the limited edition 24 bit/96khz gold disc album includes renowned songs such as Magic Beams, Falling Rain, Love at Sundown, Oh I say and many more in a delightful blend of acoustic jazz, swing, bossa-nova, afrobolero and samba.

142

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

Collection ★ Golf

Akira ADR 24K Vintage Gold Limited Edition Shrouded in 24K gold and gleaming like the sun, is this the god of golf? - By Be n n y t e o

1

2

3

4

The question may sound superfluous, especially when talking about a couple of sticks and metal parts but when you are splurging S$10,000 on a set of golf clubs, they had better be something out of the ordinary. Which it is. It is a little known fact that professional golfers use Akira clubs, custom fitted obviously, for their bespoke needs, but more so than that, the clubmaker’s foundations hail from a history of Japanese pride and motive to make golf easier for the wealthy who sometimes, can’t be asked to take yet another 10 lessons with a pro. Which is what the ADR 24K Vintage Gold Limited Edition does for those who can afford them. Take the driver for instance. With a 460cc head and 735Ti titanium cast face, you get a sense that this is anything but conforming, especially when layered with the said gold ion plating for extra oomph, or merely greater audacity. The irons, consisting of 7-pieces, from sand wedge to 5-iron speak the same language.

Coupled with an exclusive Mitsubishi Rayon shaft, in gold of course, the entire set-up leans itself to the haughty who can’t be asked to be ‘just like the rest’. Really, the answer to the initial question is all in the hands of those who seek pleasure in acquiring the best. www.mstgolf.com

5

1-4. Vintage 2013 OVersea DriVer 9.

5. Vintage 2013 OVersea irOn 5.

6. Vintage 2013 OVersea irOn sW aDDress.

6 Golf Vacations

noV- DEc 2013

143

Moments 18 October 2013

↓ Marriott President's Trophy 2013 Marriott Thailand celebrating its second Thailand chapter of The Marriott President’s Trophy 2013

14 Marriott hotels and resorts

in Thailand when brought together with golf as an entity, created a synergy called the Marriott President’s Trophy 2013 held in Bangkok at the Thana City Golf Course on 18 October 2013. The competition was held and witnessed a competitive air as the MD's, CEOs and other senior management from various companies prepared themselves to compete in the gentlemen's game.

As the event was teed off, Philip Bryson, Area Vice President, Marriott International - South East Asia, Australia and South Pacific said “Marriott internationally has always closely identified with Golf. Precision, class and style are some of the core values that are a common between golf and Marriott as entities. That is why it was but natural for us to synergize the two and create the Marriott President’s Trophy. The second chapter of the tournament has seen a great response and we are looking at continuing the legacy year on year.”

The day ended with a presentation ceremony where the winners were announced. The Team Winner was Jantima Wannagorn, David Lance, William Robinson and Jorge Gonzales; will head to Renaissance Sanya Resort & Spa for the Grand Final Competition at Mystic Springs, China on 8 November 2013.

144

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

The Last Putt ‘Bobby's Open: Mr Jones and the Golf Shot that Defined a Legend’

by Steven Reid with foreword by Jack Nicklaus The Times Sports Book of the Year 2013

A glimpse of an incredible man and an introduction by another. - By To n y s m a rT

Golf books don't often win the

‘Times Sports Book of the Year’ award but Steven Reid's book on Bobby Jones isn't your average golf book. Whilst ostensibly about the first ever Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Anne's and Bobby Jones incredible shot at the 71st hole that won him his first Claret Jug, Reid's book is much more than that. It's a long look at one of the greatest tortured geniuses ever to hold a golf club.

The first third of the book examines Jones' life and golf career up to that Open at Lytham in 1926 with many insightful quotes from his golfing peers. His childhood filled with sickness, his early golf career filled with talent destroyed by

146

Golf Vacations

noV - DEc 2013

a volcanic temper, and his terrible battle to control that temper and let his golfing magic work on the course, a battle that damaged his health so much that he was stricken down by a terrible disease in later life.

After a brief chapter on Lytham’s battle to get the Royal & Ancient to bring the Open to their course, the book then settles in to that 1926 Open and that incredible blind shot with a mashie from sandy wasteland over 175 yards of more dangerous scrubby wasteland to hit the green and win him the championship.

Reid describes this shot as, “the moment that defined the legend of Bobby Jones”. He also quotes the great golf writer

Bernard Darwin, writing after the 1926 championship, as saying of Jones “that no greater, and no more accomplished, golfer has ever won a British championship.

Certainly, and this is more to the point, no more modest, or generous golfer has ever won one.” And that was Jones, a genius on the golf course with a heart. This book is an excellent read for anyone wanting to know more about the greatest golfer that ever lived.

Available at www.amazon.com