Borneo Highlands Resort : Golfing in the clouds

Posted this earlier on the mygolf.com.my forum:

Have played here a few times over the last 2 years and we made another trip up to the Borneo Highlands Resort on the 2nd day of Raya. 

Green fee on weekdays (even on public holiday) is only RM150.00 inclusive of buggy and is inclusive of a simple meal (usually it's fried rice, bulls-eye egg and two sticks of satay, all vegetarian of course but wasn't as good yesterday due to the big number of visitors / diners. But for that price, you can't complain really). 

With the slight haze that's hit Kuching, the clear blue skies, fresh air and mountain breeze was a big welcome. If you tee off early in the morning, you really feel as though you're golfing in the clouds and probably have to wait for the mist to clear first. 

During the rainy season though, the course is quite unplayable and you will be exhausted looking for plugged balls. 

But there hasn't been much rain of late so the fairway conditions were good and dry and the bunkers were nice and fluffy. Greens though were in pretty bad shape. They had just dressed the greens with sand and from the looks of it, the greens could do with a refurbishing. Several greens were brown and it was quite funny to see the ball bobbing and bouncing off line. 

That said, it was still a very enjoyable round of golf. As posted earlier by others, the course presents a good challenge with the uneven terrain and elevation. 

This is the view from the tee-box at Hole 1.

Spectacular views and a retreat to mother nature. Really makes you wonder how they created such a golf course all the way up in the mountains (1000m above sea level I think). 

This is the view from the gold tee at the Par 4, Hole 6 which measures 286 meters. Two of my friends managed to get on in one. Accuracy though is key. What's special about this hole though is that the tee box is way, way up! Don't have the exact figure but it seemed several stories high. Felt like a roller coaster on the way down to the green. There are a few holes with elevated tee boxes but this one is probably the most spectacular. 

Back at the clubhouse, the locker room was nice and spacious. Sufficient lockers and shower cubicles with nice views of the surrounding lush greenery. 

Onto the ratings.

My Ratings:-

Course condition - 3/5 (Greens unfortunately were in bad shape)

Course difficulty - 4/5

Caddy rating - (No caddies available. Didn't need one in my opinion)

Club house facilities - 4/5 

11/15 - Avoid during the rainy season

So if you happen to be in Kuching and have the time to drive up to the Borneo Highlands Resort (about 70km from Kuching city) definitely check out the course. It's truly one of a kind and for RM150.00, I would look pass the green conditions and enjoy the surroundings.

If you don't want to drive all the way up, you can always park at the entrance and take their modified mini bus up at a fee (can't remember how much though)