Nirwana Bali Golf Club features wonderful views overlooking the Indian Ocean. There are many rice terraces positioned on roughs and creeks crossing fairways on some holes. The rugged cliffs with three holes running along the Indian Ocean, terraced rice paddies and coastal landscape, have all been preserved to provide spectacular natural hazards. When the prevailing strong sea winds blow, the course becomes more difficult. The par 5 hole 6, the par 3 hole 7, the par 4 hole 13 and the par 3 hole 14 are superb, these holes are not only beautiful but also the ocean comes into play.

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A dogleg to the left with a terraced rice paddy along the left. It was my first time to see a rice terrace in golf courses, so it was very impressive. When you hit there, it can be tough to play the ball, so you probably need to pay a one-stroke penalty and drop it nearby. The green is small with good undulations, which makes putting really interesting.

You can hit the green with a middle iron or so. The elevated green has sloped 2 tiers with 3 bunkers guarding the green, so this is a hole which tests your accuracy on the second shot.

This is a relatively short dogleg to the left par 5, reachable in two shots. The second shot is gently downhill with a great view of the blue Indian Ocean. It is easy and reachable in two shots but the green is well protected by a front left bunker. To avoid the bunker you tend to hit to the right where another deep bunker awaits your shot, which makes it difficult to get a birdie. The ocean lies very close to the green, so you can hear the waves and enjoy the comfortable sea breeze as you putt.

This signature hole over the ocean. As you aim for the green, the famous temple of "Tanah Lot" floating in the ocean is the backdrop, with water on the left and the front and bushes on the right. This hole is devilish enough to forgive your bad shots to the ocean or bush because the scenery is just like a postcard.

A dogleg to the right. The second shot is downhill and you probably will use a short iron to the green, which looks like an island, with water on the front and the left, a hazard on the right and OB on the back, so an accurate approach shot is needed.

A slightly uphill and a dogleg to the right, short par 4. It is an easy hole but is framed perfectly with great views of the Indian Ocean.

The hole was awarded 3rd place by Asian Golf Monthly’s 2002 Best Par 4 in Asia (excluding Japan). This slightly uphill, a dogleg to the right is an easy hole but is blended perfectly with the great views of the Indian Ocean.

The employees were kind. All caddies were female and well trained. In 2002, my family and I stayed 3 nights at Le Meridien Hotel which was awarded the best golfing resort in Asia. The hotel has an open-air outside restaurant with tables on stone steps, and you can enjoy watching TV or movies by a huge screen as wide as about 500 inches while you have a dinner at night under stars. I luckily watched a match for the 3rd place and the final of soccer 2002 World Cup at that time (Brazil won and Korea was third) and had a great experience.

The other Greg Norman designed courses in Asia are Laguna Bintan GC, River Side GC, Tering Bay G&CC in Indonesia, Thana City G&CC in Thailand, Shirasagi GC in Japan, Jade Palace in Korea and Kai Kou (Xiamen) GC, Mission Hills (觀瀾湖) GC – Norman Course in China.