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HK Golfer Style: Audemars Piguet, The Last Drop, Aston Martin One-77
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HONG KONG GOLF ASSOCIATION ISSUE 48
HKGOLFER.COM
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2010
$40
BIGGEST EVER ISSUE!
Ryder Cup Heroes Back at Fanling UBS HK OPEN SPECIAL DISPLAY UNTIL DECEMBER 15
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TRAVEL GOLF IN FIJI
contents
HK Golfer
Issue 48
October/November 2010
116 After two close calls Rory McIlroy will be hoping it’ll be a case of third time lucky when he goes in search of his first UBS Hong Kong Open victory. (Photo by AFP)
Features
Plus…
45 | UBS Hong Kong Open Preview
20 | Boss of the Green
HK Golfer’s guide to the best event of 2010, which will see the cream of the European and Asian tours battle it out at the Hong Kong Golf Club By The Editors
79 | From Putting Green to Pop Star
A review of the Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Perpetual Calendar, one of the horological highlights of 2010 By Ariel Adams
100 | Profile: Wayne Grady
28 | Driving Range
106 | Top 10 One Major Wonders
30 | Liquid Assets
A report on the growing popularity of Italian reds and a Tuscan winery making waves among Hong Kong drinkers – Tenuta Sette Ponti By Robin Lynam
116 | Pride of the Pacific
32 | Whisky
126 | Growing Pains
34 | Profile
A report on the game’s current crop of young female talents and the issues they face as their careers develop By Lewine Mair
130 | Down to the Wire
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HK Golfer checks out the ultra-exclusive One-77, probably the greatest Aston Martin that will ever be made By Ben Oliver
The ultimate guide to the little-known players who walked away with golf’s most glittering of prizes By Mak Lok-lin With the opening of the magnificent Natadola Bay, Fiji now finds itself on the global golfing map By The Editors
25 | Tee Time
Q&A with Hong Kong international Stephanie Ho – renowned singer, talented golfer Interview by Joey Mok The 1990 US PGA Champion, in town to play in the Ageas HKPGA Championship, talks to HK Golfer about his illustrious – and intriguing – playing career By Alex Jenkins
20
Hong Kong-based professional Jeanie Kwok models the latest collection from Hugo Boss Photographed by Graham Uden
An examination of Colin Montgomerie’s captaincy and player ratings from what proved to be a thrilling Ryder Cup By Andrew Mullen
The exclusivity continues with this review of the Last Drop, one of the world’s greatest blended whiskies By John Bruce Vacheron Constantin’s Yann Bouillonnec tells HK Golfer how golf helped shape his career in the luxury watch-making industry By Mathew Scott
98 | Corporate Q&A
With Stuart Fraser of Ageas Insurance Company, title sponsors of the HK PGA Championship Interview by Alex Jenkins
Charles McLaughlin (Fiji); Graham Uden (Fashion)
On the Cover:
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GOLF TRAVEL
Pride of the Pacific
With the opening of the magnificent Natadola Bay, Fiji now finds itself on the global golfing map
A Player’s Guide
STORY BY THE EDITORS PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARLES McLAUGHLIN
S
uch has been the extent of golf course construction in Asia in recent times that it's easy to overlook the fact that developers and architects alike have been hard at work elsewhere. While the number of new course openings in the United States is at an all time low, the emerging golf markets of South America and the former Eastern bloc countries is thriving. Australasia, too, is witnessing something of a renaissance. But it's in Fiji, gateway to the Pacific Islands, where Hong Kong-based golfers can now turn their attentions. Better known to golf fans as the home country of Vijay Singh, Fiji's ascent to fully-fledged golf destination status, like its ever-improving reputation as a tourism hub, is a direct result of a new era of economic stability. From Hong Kong, the islands are now within comfortable reach – Air Pacific, the national career, have launched nonstop flights to Nadi, Fiji's international airport. While new golf courses aren't springing up at quite the same rate as they are in, say, Vietnam, the game is most definitely on the rise, a fact that has been highlighted by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation's decision to select the islands as venue for the 2011 Nomura Cup, the region's premier amateur team competition. Fiji is home to four championship courses and a number of other layouts – including the interesting if a little scruffy Nadi Airport Course, where Vijay's name is listed as its "C" grade champion from nearly 40 years ago. But the cream of the crop – and one of the most exciting courses to have opened anywhere in recent times – is Natadola Bay, the island's newest layout, which is part of a near HK$2 billion project that encompasses a luxury resort and planned real estate components.
Fabulous Fiji: A look back down the 18th fairway at Natadola Bay 116
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WHERE TO PLAY NATADOLA BAY HHHHH
Island golf (clockwise from top): A railway crossing comes into play at Natadola Bay – free relief should be taken; Denarau Golf & Racquet Club at dusk; Fijian architecture prevails at Natadola Bay’s clubhouse; straying from the fairway is not advised.
Without question the best course in the South Pacific, Natadola Bay is a breathtakingly sublime seaside layout that will undoubtedly drive Fiji's international golf market for years to come. Originally designed by that greatest of Fijian golf exports – Vijay Singh – the course has since had to drop Singh's name from their marketing materials because of his management company's dispute with developers in 2007. This is a huge shame, because Natadola is surely a place that the three-time major winner would be proud of. From the clubhouse, an appealing structure incorporating traditional Fijian architecture, the course heads down towards the coralfilled waters of the Pacific for the undoubtedly scenic (and windswept) opening stretch before turning inland for a rousing run of holes that take advantage of rugged and dramatic terrain. The 6th is a case in point. From an elevated tee, perched nearly 200 feet above the fairway, this par-5 snakes its way up and through a valley bordered on both sides by fescue-clad hills. Like at the 8th – a gem of a risk-reward par-4 that swings radically to the right – the challenge here is to find the cut grass; any preconception one might have that Natadola is a typical resort course is quickly dispelled. Indeed, Natadola is a supreme test of golf. At the 2010 Fiji Open, an event comprised mainly of pros from Australasia, Mike Hendry of New Zealand won with a four-round total of 293, five-over-par. When the ocean winds get up – as they did during the final round when Hendry carded an 80 – the pristine landing areas and intelligently-contoured greens (all decked out in a thriving strain of Paspalum grass) can prove
Photo courtesy of Denarau Golf & Racquet Club/Gary Lisbon
particularly elusive targets. This invariably brings the tall rough in to play, which is a problem. When HK Golfer visited, the native grass that borders the playing areas was nearly four-foot high. You could have forearms like Popeye and not be able to advance your ball back to the fairway – and that's if you can even find it. However, the lasting memory that one takes from Natadola is not how many strokes it took you to get round in. The brilliant diversity of the holes, the immaculate conditioning and the fabulous ocean vistas (from both the course and the agreeable clubhouse terrace) all add up to make this an experience of quite epic proportions. 118
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DENARAU GOLF & RACQUET CLUB HHH
Prior to Natadola's arrival, Denarau was Fiji's best-known golf facility – and while its standing as the islands' best has been usurped, it retains its popularity thanks to its 18 well-thought out holes. Meandering through a lush, tropical landscape, Denarau is significantly kinder on the recreational golfer, although with water coming into play on 15 holes, this championship-length course has enough trouble to penalize the wayward. O ne key adva nt a ge t hat t h i s E i ic h i Motohashi-designed track has over Natadola is that it's an easy walk. The elevation changes at the latter makes the use of a golf cart necessary, but the pancake-flat terrain of Denarau means HKGOLFER.COM
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Sixth sense: The brilliant 6th at Natadola Bay – a stout par-5 – is one of a number of surprisingly spectacular inland holes.
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you can enjoy a round here without motorized assistance, even during the height of summer. While there is no signature hole as such, the par-3s are a fine set of holes, each requiring a different club, while the potentially reachable par-5 18th, which traverses water twice before reaching the green, is a standout. Maintenance, too, is improving. Managed by those experts at Troon Golf, the club has embarked on a conditioning programme that will ensure top-notch playing surfaces yearround.
WHERE TO STAY
Pacific Place (clockwise from top): this tree on the 8th fairway comes into play for golfers who take the safe line from the tee; accommodations at the Westin Denarau Island Resort & Spa; the picturesque 15th at Denarau Golf & Racquet Club.
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The brand new InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa (ichgroup.com), a 5-star resort in the true sense of the term, is located next to the Natadola Bay course. Occupying 35 acres of tropical gardens, the resort sits on the magnificent Natadola Beach, which was voted by Forbes magazine in 2008 as one of the 25 best beaches in the world, and boasts a ra nge of beaut if u l lyappointed rooms and suites and a world-class spa. Another good base is Denarau Island, home of the Denarau Golf & Racquet Club and a number of 4- and 5-star hotels. The pick of these are the Westin Denarau Island Resort & Spa and the Sheraton Fiji Resort & Spa (starwoodhotels.com).
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GETTING THERE & AROUND
Air Pacific flies direct from Hong Kong to Nadi International Airport, the gateway to the Fijian islands, twice-weekly (10 hours; airpacific. com.hk). Car rental is available, although groups of golfers may wish to hire a driver during their stay. The two golf courses featured here are within easy reach of the airport: Denarau (30mins); Natadola Bay (45mins).
WHEN TO GO
While golf is playable year-round, the best time to visit is during the so-called 'Fijian Winter', from May to October, which is characterized by lower rainfall and humidity and milder temperatures. The mercury can rise to over 30 degrees Celsius in December and January, while July and August often sees temperatures dip below 20.
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