Located on the island of Langkawi just off the northwest coast of peninsular Malaysia, The Els Club Teluk Datai, with it’s Ernie Els designed golf course, is one of the world’s most uniquely captivating golf projects. Designed as tribute to nature, The Els Club Teluk Datai meanders it’s way through Million year old rainforest cascading down to the turquoise waters of the Andaman Sea and is overlooked by the marbled limestone peaks of the Mat Chinchang Mountain range. With natural streams flowing throughout the golf course, it’s easy to lose focus on your game as you’re immersed in such a serene environment. Their vision is to preserve and enhance the natural environment while creating unique experiences. The Els Club Teluk Datai comprises of:
Clubhouse Facilities provide comfortable sophistication while maintaining the natural elements of surrounds.
GBWL REVIEWThe Els Club The journey to the club from the airport will take about 30 minutes by car. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the staff as we dropped off our golf bags. Right in front of the club, there are only a few car park space available, but more parking spaces are available just next to the main entrance of the club. I saw the Els Club signage right in front the club when we drove in and thought that's a must photo op session when we finish the game. As you walk in to the club, you will be greeted with a patio that overlooking the golf course. To register go into the Pro Shop just left of the entrance. On your way to the counter, I'm sure you'll be tempted with Els Club branded souvenirs. At the counter, you will need to write down the name of the players in your flight. TAKE NOTE: Write all names clearly! This is because they will engrave a cool metal bag tag according to the names provided here. If you write wrongly, then it will come out wrong. Once registration process completed, proceed to the changing room. Changing Room: As you enter the changing room you will see the first locker belongs to, who else, Big El himself. Another popular photo op! At the Els Club, forget about remembering your locker number. Here they will put your name on it. Its also locked via a key combination. No keys needed. You will find that the towel and plastic bag will already be in your locker. The only thing that I wish they could have done is to have the changing room air-conditioned. Being semi-outdoor is not helping with the warm weather outside. At the shower stalls, the shower gel, shampoo and conditioner are by Molton Brown. There's also a prayer room for Muslim guests. The Golfing Experience As you walk to your buggy, you will be surprised by that cool bag tag mentioned earlier. The marshall will inform you on which hole you will start. As you drive your buggy to the starting hole, a friendly staff will once again be there to help you set your GPS system and electronic scorecard. If you need a caddy, advance booking must be made as they have limited number of caddy. As the GPS system is already on your buggy and the course allows buggy on fairway, having a caddy is not really necessary. You will also be provided with a bottles of mineral water, a ball marker, a pitch mark repair tool, and several tees for each player. Tee boxes are marked by either Black, Silver or Green. If you are playing Blue or White tee, Silver would be the one to use. First impression as you arrive at your first hole is how emaculate the course is being maintained. Wow! is what actually came out from my mouth. What I really like about the course is how the green is true, the fairways are beautiful and the many seafront holes. I lost count the number of photos I took as soon as I get to those holes. There are about 5 seafront holes here. One interesting par 3 is Hole 15. It has some 100 feet of elevation change from tee to green. With a pond in front of the green, this hole is more intimidating than it looks. Overall summary: Now that I have personally played at the club, I can agree with the news that they have been awarded as the World's Best New Golf Course. The experience you get here is wholesome goodness. From friendly staffs, the 'wow' factor and the 'feel-good' factor are all contributing to the fact that you just had a good time playing golf at the Els Club. In fact, we continued for another 18 holes after we had our lunch at the restaurant / cafe. Its unlike any other golf course in Malaysia. Truly unique! GBWL Rating: 10/10 "I'm interested, but how much will it cost me to golf there?"Well, since its in Langkawi, we will have to include the cost of flight, hotel, and transportation as well. Assuming you will be coming from Kuala Lumpur, here are our recommendations: Flight You have several options. From Subang Airport: 1. Firefly - starting from RM 250 return 2. Malindo - starting from RM 230 return From KLIA / KLIA 2: 1. MAS - starting from RM 360 return 2. AirAsia - starting from RM 140 return 3. Malindo - starting from RM 230 return Note: Firefly and AirAsia will charge you extra for your golf bag (about RM 70 one way). Hotel Depending on your budget, and your planned activities while you are on the island. Langkawi caters from the luxurious 5 star resorts to the 1 star motel. For golfers, we recommend you to stay near the Airport area as it is in between The Els Club at Datai Bay and Kuah, the so called downtown area where there are duty free shops and seafood restaurants. We recommend: 1. One Hotel Helang (Just a walking distance to the airport) - starting from RM 170 per nite 2. Four Points by Sheraton (nearby airport but not recommended to walk) - starting at RM 290 per nite 3. Any hotel of your choice, as you will need to rent a car anyway. Car Rental To rent a car, you will see a row of car rental counters just after you exit custom clearance. These counters are on your right just before you exit the arrival hall (Basically, you are still inside the hall where imigration and customs are). There are no car rental counters outside the arrival hall. If you have acidentally exited the hall, you would have to go back in, which means going thru security and all. A medium size car will set you back between RM 100 - 150. We rented a Nissan Almeera which is a 5 seater with a large enough boot space to fit in 3 golf bags at a rate of RM120 per day (24 hours cycle). You also need to budget for petrol for the car. In our case, RM 50 for petrol is enough for the 48 hours. We got the car at 3pm Friday and returned it at 3pm Sunday. Sorry, we did not explore the taxi option while we were there. Golf Green fees, buggy, and insurance at The Els Club is RM 375 for 18 holes. Additional charges if you require the caddy service. To continue another 18 holes on the same day is only RM 150. But before you make your booking, please do call the club and check if they have any promotion going on. Overall A 3 days 2 nights in Langkawi with 18 holes at The Els Club will cost you: Flight - RM 230 each Hotel - RM 170 (twin share) each Car - RM 80 each (split 4 ways, assuming 4 of you will be playing golf) Golf - RM 375 each TOTAL = RM 855 each
1 Comment
Prom
7/27/2015 02:08:37 pm
Truly a unique experience. It has been awhile since i had been this excited to play at a new golf course. Many happy memories of the picturesque views and still savoring the mementos we collected during our play there.
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