PALM SPRINGS
Former US Open champion Larry Nelson had his work cut out when he was tasked with coming up with the original nine holes at Palm Springs on Batam. The site, just a few minutes from the Nongsa ferry terminal, was originally a giant mangrove swamp.
With the aid of some serious drainage, allied to his own architectural nous, Nelson managed to make a silk purse out of this particular sow’s ear and Palm Springs has become a firm favorite of visitors from Singapore seeking a good value day’s golfing.
The two strongest nines out of the existing 27 holes are generally held to be the Palm and the Island courses.
The Palm, the oldest of the three and the one that emerged phoenix-like from the sludge, has a number of eye-catching holes. It is easy to be caught cold on the par-5 first, with out of bounds encroaching from the left and a large lake awaiting errant second shots on the right. Other memorable holes include the dogleg sixth which plays down towards the ocean and angles around a giant rock formation.
The Island, meanwhile, sags a little in the middle but holes such as the short second, which is played over another one of those lush, tropical ravines, and the undulating downhill eighth, are not short of quality.
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