Course Review: Sentosa Golf Club & Walt Disney Magnolia Course

The European Tour stays in the Far East as the Barclays Singapore Open welcomes the world's best players to Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong Course, one of Asia's top rated layouts. The challenging par 72 course was designed in 1982 by prolific California based architect Ronald Fream whose many international credits include the Club at Nine Bridges in Korea and Pezula in Knysna.

In 2007 the Serapong underwent an extensive $12 million upgrade by the Bates Design Group that included both course design and greens technology. Playability and conditioning were improved on the newly contoured and enlarged greens by incorporating SubAir and PermOPore systems. Also, the undulating terrain of the course was lengthened by almost 200m and the water hazards and bunkers reconfigured, with the breath-taking skyline of the Lion City's harbour presenting a picture-perfect backdrop. A signature hole on the course is the spectacular 440m par 4 fifth that's built on reclaimed land and is the second of the four-hole Dragon's Tail stretch that skirts the South China Sea.

The final event of the Fall Series on the US PGA Tour brings the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic and the last chance of survival for those players in danger of falling out of the Top 125 on the Money List and losing their playing privileges next season. The event takes place on the four courses at Walt Disney World with the Magnolia Course hosting the finale on Sunday.

Open since the first day the resort opened in 1971, the Magnolia boasts wide and inviting fairways criss-crossed by creeks, with water in play on 11 holes. Ninety-seven bunkers punctuate the landscape as the 6900m course meanders through 80 hectares of Florida wetlands and the large undulating Bermudagrass greens offer a variety of challenging pin positions.

The green of the par 3 sixth is fronted by the world's most easily recognisable bunker – the Mouse Trap – formed in the shape of Mickey Mouse. This perfectly manicured course is named for the abundance of fragrant magnolia trees that enhance the setting of a design that masterfully blends with the natural beauty of the area.

A Golf Weather
Editorial