The Clubhouse: GOLDEN GRANDEUR

GOLDEN GRANDEUR: Behind its impressive palatial walls, Kota Seriemas Golf & Country Club not only delivers a first-class championship golf experience but belies its status as a true public course with its all-round playability

The Art Deco-styled clubhouse at Royal Birkdale, the green-trimmed red brick Tudorian residence that serves as the inviting 19th hole at Royal Lyhtham and St. Anne’s as well as the mock minarets and the
dramatic Byzantine-influenced Medinah Country Club come to mind.

So as you pull up to Kota Seriemas Golf & Country Club for the first time, you won’t be faulted if your slow down just to take in the colonial-inspired clubhouse with its two magnificent clock towers, all complete with a small garden lawn capped by a fountain of celebration.

There is no denying that Kota Seriemas delivers a “statement of intent” with its imposing facade. As the newest golfing facility in South Klang Valley, it aims to leave a lasting visual experience that is extremely memorable and positive, notes course architect Nigel B Douglas.

The mantra flows effortlessly beyond the posh settings of the clubhouse to the lush, playing tract. The compact, 6,313-metre championship course strikes the perfect balance of playability and challenge, that appeals to all standards and levels of golfers.

“Emphasis was given to ensure every golf hole had very memorable elements incorporated into it, such as downhilluphill play arrangements, and a mix of hole lengths and directions.

“Of course, elements such as bunkering and landscape are very important as they have the opportunity to be structured in a way that is very distinctive and memorable,” noted Douglas.

The opening hole perhaps embodies what awaits the avid golfer at Kota Seriemas – an undulating natural layout with subtle slopes as well as shapes that offers a fair amount of risk and reward trade-offs.

The par-five is an uphill, dog-leg right that plays slightly longer that its quoted length of 475 metres from the blue tees. The generously wide fairway proved welcoming but it requires a tee shot that finishes on the left side of the fairway in order to obtain a view of the green.

The green itself is set in a large, deep hollow, but raised up in relation to its immediate surrounds, flanked by two sand traps.

Kota Seriemas not only grows on you but also forces you to think on your feet and get your club selection right.

At 325 metres from the back tee, the fourth hole may have the distinction of being the shortest par-four on the first nine but it is by no means the easiest. While long-hitters may be tempted to go for one-on, the smarter approach would be to hit no further than 200 metres off the tee, leaving you a short iron away from a raised green angled across the line of play, surrounded by bunkers.

We found the first nine a lot more forgiving – shorter distances, larger landing areas and ample bail-out areas made for an enjoyable jaunt. The back nine, however, is a lot more dramatic as the site becomes more radically undulating and it is here that the championship side of the course bites back.

The gradual build up to the end of the round essentially commences on the parthree 16th. The signature hole shoots across a pond shared by the 12th hole, to a green that is situated on the very edge of the water hazard.

The dominating feature of the hole is the natural rock wall fronting the rear left of the green, which is sure to be a “jaw dropper” for many when they step onto the tee for the first time. The green itself is set in the centre of an undulating amphitheatre, the slopes of which house three picturesque yet steepfaced bunkers.

Brace yourself for a nerve-wracking shot, as a pulled shot to the right will often require a bunker shot to a downhill slope with water beyond the green surface and of course, a watery grave awaits a miss-hit to the left.

The 18th tee occupies the highest spot on the course – confronting patrons with a spectacular, if somewhat daunting finishing hole with the clubhouse complex laid out before them. The medium long arfour doglegs to the right and is split by a waterway positioned just beyond the landing zone.

Source: The Clubhouse