Golf in Melaka, MALAYSIA

27/6/2007 (Wednesday)

We had an appointment with a Singaporean colleague, Tim, in Melaka today. Instead of having Tim to drive all the way to KL or us to Singapore, we decided to meet half way at A’Famosa Golf Club in Alor Gajah, Melaka. We reached Alor Gajah in less than 1 hour despite several stretches of road construction works along the highway. Driving Zack’s super fast BMW made traveling on the highway an enjoyable experience.

It was still too early for Zack and I to proceed to the club house. So we stopped at a roadside restaurant for roti canai and coffee. Then, just before we reached the A’Famosa entrance, we stopped for some durians, buying from a lorry parked at the roadside. It was very good durian from the tembaga species. We bought some for Tim and his friend, Eugene.

We were met at the bag drop area by Filipino girl caddies. They were A’Famosa’s latest addition. Since they were too fresh, just one week on the job, to be of any assistance on the golf course, we decided to do away with caddies. Otherwise, we would spend more time teaching them than getting their help.

We started at the Rockies nine, hitting the first hole that has water running in the middle and dog leg left. Tim was the better golfer amongst us. He is a single handicapper. Getting pars seemed to be so easy for him while we were really struggling to score below double boogey. He reported a score of 40 and I got 49. I had good drives as usual but my approach shots were a big let down. The weather was super hot today. Eugene was really struggling in the heat.

Zack teeing off at Hole 9, Rockies Course, watched by Tim

We took a long rest after the first nine and then continued at the Crocodile nine. This nine has a more challenging layout and some holes could be really long. The par 4 crocodile hole demanded a long tee shot and a précised approach shot to the green. Both Tim and I had good tee shots but my second shot was short to the green and found water. This was the hole where a golfer was bitten by a crocodile while trying to retrieve his ball from an errant shot. I know this guy from a friend and we met a few times. Once, he even showed me the scar left by the crocodile’s bite on his leg.
Tim looking for his tee at the crocodile Hole 7

Tim had another good round of 38 for a total of 78. I just managed to stay belaow 100 but I had a good time. A'Famosa is dubbed as the best resort course in Malaysia. The course is well maintained and some holes give you that adrenalin rush. It is a strongly recommended golf course to play or stay for the family.

After the game and before shower, we had a durian feast at the parking lot. We went looking for the seller of the durians on our way back, but he must have left. So we stopped at another roadside seller and bought the whole lorry load of durians for our Singaporean friends. The durian season just started in Melaka.

Eugene, Tim & Zack having a durian feast at the parking lot