The drive to the golf course located in Bongawan from Kota Kinabalu (KK) took more than 1 hour. We left KK early and wanted to stop for breakfast half way. Most of the restaurants were still closed. It was the day after Christmas. Since there was no eating place available along the Papar-Beaufort Highway, we had our breakfast at the club house.
The 18th Green with Club House at the Back
Borneo is one of my favourite, must-play golf course. It was designed by the Great Bear himself, Jack Nicklaus. The course was a far cry from a laid back atmosphere the last time I was there. There seemed to be a Korean invasion when the ownership changed to Korean hands. It is now a 100% Korean club. The restaurant at the club house serves mainly Korean food. Even the TV program was Korean. To add insult to injury for the locals, the mangosteens, very expensive fruits in Korea and Japan were sold at RM10 for 12. Since it was winter in Korea, the club was full of Koreans running away from the cold.
With a View like This, Borneo Remains as One of My Favourites (156m Par 3 Hole 14)
However, there was a plus side from the Korean invasion. The course was well kept. What else could a golfer ask? They had added more chalets to the place. I was told that the Koreans camped out at the place during their winter time.
We started from the 10th tee box since there was a group of Koreans on the first. As a rule of thumb in local golf, try to avoid playing behind a group of Koreans or Japanese. They are very slow. Once in Bukit Tinggi I played with 2 Koreans and a Malaysian friend. We spent a good 6 hours on the course for an 18-hole round.
Hamidon & I on Hole 15. Hamidon's approach shot landed in the big seaside 'bunker'.
I had a solid start, out-driving everybody including the long hitter Datuk Iskandar on the first hole. We were feeling a bit gung ho and played from the longer gold tee box. There were 5 of us in our flight. Hanafiah was late. The club allowed a maximum of 5 golfers in 1 flight. I started with a par followed by a boogey and a par. It was too good for my standard. Then we came to one of the most memorable holes in all the golf courses that I played.
The 355m Par 4 Hole No.13 was certainly the best Borneo had to offer. A golfer has a choice of hitting across a wide pond or laying up to the right. Since I was hitting the balls pretty strong, the group asked me to be the sacrificial lamb to take up the first shot. The distance was make-able but when I tried hard to impress people, I drove the first ball into the water. My second sliced to the right into the water. The third found the fairway for a horrendous double par
Ayob deciding straight or right at Hole 13. He went straight and into the water.
Hanafiah joined our group after the disasterous 13th hole. So, I proceeded with Hamidon and Ayob in one flight. Hanafiah, Zack and Datuk Iskandar made up the other. Somehow, I managed to post a score of 43 with 4 pars and 1 birdie for the first nine. Hole 13 cost me the opportunity of breaking 40.
Zack at mysterious Hole 6. Once, a man was said to be lost inside the pond (on the right) while looking for balls. He surfaced the next day alive. Believe it or not!
After finishing the first nine, we came upon 2 groups of Koreans just about to start their games on the first tee box. We knew it was going to be a long wait. So the group decided to bend the local rule a bit by playing in a group of 6 golfers in one flight. We were not going anywhere with the 2 flights in front of us. It turned out to be a very decision. We had more fun in a bigger group, joking and laughing all over the fairways. We decided to come up with a small bet. Loser would pay for lunch. Hamidon took the honour. I came up close. My game took turn for the worse.
Datuk Iskandar & Zack. Looking for Lost Balls?
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