Nirwana Bali Golf Club, Bali, Indonesia

One of the most prominent challenges facing resort courses is the demand both from management and guests alike is to build a course interesting enough to generate repeat business, while being playable enough to keep busy days running smoothly. Unfortunately, industry talk of slow play has put precedence  on the latter, and the recent trend in some locales has been to 'dumbed-down' designs - pretty and scenic but with very little engaging substance. What makes Nirwana Bali Golf Club all the more exciting is its status in this regard as an anomaly: a few rounds is never enough, prompting many guests to inquire about international membership options. With shifting trade winds and a number of angles of attack on every hole, the course never shows the same face twice.

Built on an exceptional piece of property along the southwestern coast of Bali, the topographical mix is of rolling, fertile terrain crashing into the dramatic surf along the course's unforgettable ocean holes. Rice terraces gives one the sense that the course was laid out among the terrain, adding to the aesthetic appeal of the course and giving the inland holes further depth and nuance to counterbalance the windswept holes along the edge of the sea. The course was designed by Greg Norman, largely influenced by his talented associate Bob Harrison, and the end result is a layout applauded throughout Asia but recipient of little notoriety elsewhere. The simple truth is that Nirwana Bali rivals any of Norman's design work in North America, and from the back tees that share his 'Shark' namesake, the 6,805-yard course is a purist's delight, and capable of challenging the game's best players.

The opening shot at Nirwana Bali is in fact a very hospitable welcome, carrying over a pronounced rice terrace to a broad and enticing fairway. The short par four is easily managed if the deep cluster of bunkers on the left corner of the dogleg are avoided. A pair of greenside traps keep golfers honest, but there is nothing else of note early on here, no portent of the drama and scenery to come.

At the 188-yard second, there is perhaps a glimpse. Norman has made great use of the existing land here, as the approach must carry over a slope of the terraces to a green set back against dense tropical foliage. Favouring the right side is essential here, to compensate for the slope and avoid the deep bunker on the left corner. 

Three upland holes, over what might be considered Indonesian highlands, take players to the landing area at the 501-yard sixth, where good drives will come to rest at the crown of the fairway, looking down over the green complex and the lush blue Indian Ocean. The sight is spectacular. The chance at eagle or birdie? Alluring as well. Playing downhill, the long second shot here needs to be fitted between a pair of bunkers short. Laying up means a long uphill pitch to a semi-blind green, but going for the green in two and missing in one of the traps leaves a difficult 20-30-yard bunker shot.

As signature holes go, the seventh is in a class of its own, and may be the most dramatic par three in Asia. From a tee high on a bluff, the 215-yard shot must carry over the foamy rocks and surf far below to a green set out on a peninsula against the very same cliff, tucked behind a pair of bunkers. Purely for the setting, the hole is quite similar to the 16th hole at Cypress Point, except for the presence of Tanah Lot - one of Bali's most famous and striking temples - visible off the shore long and left of the green. The co-existence of an ancient spiritual shrine and a spectacular modern golf design may seem somewhat sacrilege if it were not so profoundly moving. Score is irrelevant here, as the seventh represents a moment where the place renders the purpose meaningless. 

The 388-yard ninth would be much more than an afterthought if its predecessors were not so impressive. The downhill approach is quite intimidating, though, through a chute of trees to a green banked against rows of rice terraces that can cause depth perception issues. This move, from the end of the front nine into the back side, can seem like a lull, bookended by ocean holes, but as the 'weakest links,' these understated holes secure the accolades the course has been receiving.

The 381-yard 12th hole marks that turn back toward the sea, playing quite short and moving downhill and to the right. Still, the short approach is very demanding. The green is very shallow, and fronted by a cobble wall that elevates it from incoming tides which lap about in the mouth of the river. Club selection here is imperative, of course, but it is better to stray long and leave a tricky chip coming back.

At the 337-yard 13th, the smart choice is equally obvious. While a drive hugging the right side shortens the hole, it risks bounding over the edge of the cliffs, and ending up on the rocks below. The smart play here is to let the hole play much longer, driving up the left edge and then playing safely toward the middle of the green, keeping the ball under the wind. It all falls under an immutable law of the game: the scenery is best enjoyed if no penalty shots are incurred.

The finale to this oceanside troika is the 186-yard 14th, which plays over a finger of the ocean but is significantly easier than the seventh. The angle of play is less daunting -- indeed, almost away from the ocean -- but a pair of greenside traps, one of which is deep enough to seem subterranean, defend this large green. The move inland allows for a modest, enjoyable close to the round, with good, straightforward golf holes to close.

The finisher, a 520-yard par five, plays shorter than its yardage and yet cannot be reached in two. A small ravine and stream, and the suffocating pressure placed on the green by dense underbrush on all sides, requires a lay-up to the end of the fairway and a sharp wedge to the middle of the green. The slope of the green can make it difficult to attack a left pin, but two putts and par are fairly attainable here, if the green is found in regulation.