Tiger Woods and Robin Hood

BINTAN ISLAND, Indonesia – Fortunately, it is only a 55-minute high speed catamaran ride from Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Bintan Island, Indonesia. For the sooner the sports person gets to Bintan Island, the sooner one is able to enjoy all the sporting and tourism attractions that the Indonesian tourist haven has to offer.

Synonymous with Bintan Island is Bintan Lagoon Resort, host of the Aviva Bintan Triathlon 2007 which will be held on May 26 to 27, 2007. First held in 2005 with 500 participants from all over Asia and Australia, Ms. Tia Ayesha, public relations manager of Bintan Lagoon Resort, adds that the triathlon drew over 900 competitors in 2006. But to talk of the triathlon competition without describing the beauty of the resort and its golf courses is to get ahead of the story.

Actually, it is my second time to go to Bintan in four years. Around March 2003, tobacco executive Jack Bakker (married to the former Ofelia Mananquil of Tarlac) invited me to play golf at Bintan Lagoon Resort. This time around, I’m in Bintan for a meeting of the steering committee of the Asia Pacific Professional Leaders in Education (APPLE). The committee is meeting in Bintan Lagoon to finalize plans for the third APPLE conference to be held in Hong Kong from July 11 to 13.

APPLE officials certainly did not make a mistake in choosing Bintan Lagoon as the meeting venue. For sports lovers, Bintan Lagoon is the perfect spot to indulge in one’s favorite sport. Bintan Lagoon invites the visitor to explore its Pasir Panjang (Long White Beach), make a splash with more than 30 water sports or enjoy over 30 activities such as tennis, soccer, volleyball, archery, darts, table tennis and, the centerpiece of the resort, golf.

Over at the 31-bay undercover golf driving range, Tia Ayesha points out an interesting attraction: the left side of the driving range is for budding Tiger Woods while the right portion is the archery range for future Robin Hoods! This clever play on words and names merely whets one’s appetite for the two 18-hole golf courses in Bintan Lagoon.

The Jack Nicklaus-designed Sea View course offers majestic sculptured bunkers, a strategic use of the natural landscape and some unique water hazards. The par 72 course masterpiece of the Golden Bear measures 6,443 meters with five different tee locations to suit golfers of all abilities, sizes and shapes.

Three holes that stand out in this fantastic work of golf architecture are considered the premier highlights of the course: 12th – par three, with a stunning backdrop of the South China Sea and considered the signature hole. Due to the high winds at certain times, club selection can be increased by at least four clubs, especially from the championship tees (that I never dared to try); 13th – par four whose outstanding feature is a split green, as one of the streams on the course runs through the middle. It is the handicap one hole as course managers say it is the most difficult and challenging in the course; and 18th – a fitting end as this hole is characterized by large bunkers and rolling mounds.

A second 18 is the Ian Baker-Finch Woodlands course. Designed with the front nine holes snaking out from the resort and the back nine to the clubhouse, the Woodlands course has been laid over dramatically changing terrain. Many of the greens are surrounded by steep slopes and mounds to create an amphitheater effect. So much for golf and back to the Aviva Bintan Triathlon 2007.

The Triathlon 2007 to be held on Saturday, May 26 is divided into three races: Olympic distance (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike and 10 km run) and sprint distance (750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run). More on the triathlon and other amenities in Bintan Lagoon Resort next week.