Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Medan Golf Trip 2011: Day 1 at the Royal Sumatra Golf and Country Club

My golfing buddies and I decided that we'd kick off 2011 with a Best Of Eleven games series of golf matches. We had always wanted to have a game overseas and after hearing good things about Medan, Indonesia and the golf courses there, we got in touch with Liberty Golf Services and sorted ourselves out. So we planned for 3 days and 2 nights in Medan with a couple of rounds of golf to get our series going. 




Taking the 740am flight out of Kuala Lumpur was no easy feat for those who aren't 'morning people'. It meant waking up at 430am and being at the airport at 615am or something stupid like that. Having to BE somewhere at 615 in the morning is just daft if you ask me. It made me think to myself that golf is one of those very few things that can make you move mountains in order to play. So we arrived at the airport one piece, got on the plane with no trouble, and flew across the Malacca Straits to Medan for our first game together overseas. 

 Lake Toba is somewhere down there..


 Fadzli and Razali just after landing in Medan


 Quick camwhore session before hitting the road

Upon arrival in Medan we overcame a small number of challenges in the form of deathly slow immigration queues, and everyone under the sun offering to help carry our bags for a bit of money. For anyone travelling to Indonesia, please remember to factor this into your expenses, because before you know it, you've had to tip maybe 2 or 3 people within minutes of getting out the airport doors. 


Once introduced to our driver Chandra we got everything in the van and headed straight for the golf course. Golf first, rest later!! After a relatively short drive through some of the most insanely chaotic and yet accident-free traffic, we arrived at the Royal Sumatra Golf and Country Club.

Unpacking our stuff at the lobby of the Royal Sumatra Golf and Country Club


Quick and easy registration


Checking out the view from the terrace

At first glance the club looked rather similar to any golf club you can find in Malaysia, but as soon as you walk through the main lobby to the terrace, and get a good look at the golf course, you can tell that it's quite unlike anything we have here at home. One thing that stood out for me was the sheer amount of flowers planted everywhere around each hole.

The club's renovation was just completed so we got to see it at its best


With the weather playing its part, and absolutely nothing to worry about, it was time to start hitting things. And that's the best thing about golf: the simplicity of taking a nice long walk and hitting things with a stick. Just brilliant if you ask me. 


It was decided (at the airport, during the long wait at immigration) that we would play a game of combined strokes for the first day. Me and my partner Azahan, or Hans for short, would go up against Fad and Zali, combining our scores for each hole. What it meant was that everyone HAD to play their best, and it put a premium on getting a nice low score. After the customary handshake it was GAME ON!!


Finally, the four of us, on a tee box outside of Malaysia!!



Hans and I managed to start off with a par each on the first hole. And with Zali and Fad struggling right out of the gate we pulled a quick 6-stroke lead going into the second hole...A lead we managed to keep long enough to eventually win the day. The course proved to be quite tough, with alot of undulations and all kinds of different flower beds or long grass for your ball to get lost in. Even getting it on the nicely cut fairway was no guarantee of scoring low. 


Zali teeing it up on the Par 3, 13th hole which he would go on to par






There were a few holes that were really memorable, like the Par 5 17th hole and it's steep-sloping green. You get there in 3 shots, but wait until you have to putt the ball from the upper tier. :). Fortunately for Hans and I, everyone really bombed on this hole and we kept our stroke difference to a minimum. At the end of the 14th hole we had a lead of about 16 strokes that Fad and Zali decided would be too much to make up. 

 The green on the Par 5 17th hole


The rough wasn't too bad, so you tend not to lose your golf balls unless you really whack it into the many flower beds around the course


Champs for the day!! Guess it was worth it getting our shirts tailored :) hehehhee

It took us 6 hours to finish the first round of golf. I have no idea why, perhaps we were too busy admiring the views to play any faster. Coupled with the fact that we had hardly eaten breakfast and jumped straight off a plane to play, I guess we really took it easy. By the time we finished which was around 230pm, we were starving and ready to eat anything. It was time for some nasi padang!

In conclusion, our day at the Royal Sumatra was really enjoyable. The service was excellent all around the club, although the caddies are not entirely knowledgeable about how to read lines on the greens. So the best thing advice is to read the line yourself. Other than that, they are pretty good at keeping your stuff clean and informing you of potential hazards and spots to avoid. We tipped our caddies Rp100,000 which is about 35 ringgit if I'm not mistaken. 

Because our golf game was part of a package bought in Malaysia, I am unable to tell you how much we actually paid to play. Our package was arranged by Mr Simon Ng of Liberty Golf Services who provided us with a 2 night Executive Deluxe twin share stay at the Grand Swiss Bell Hotel in central Medan, and 2 rounds of golf. The total paid per person was around RM765 for the package.  

Feel free to check out http://www.libertygolf.com.my/ for more information on their golf packages.

Coming up...a play by play recap of our 2nd game at the Graha Metropolitan Golf Club. Stay tuned!


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