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| GOLF COURSE IN KATHMANDU |
You can find finest Golf course in Nepal and is the best of South Asia’s,
and one of the world's most spectacular Golf Courses. Undulating Bent Grass
Greens built to USGA specifications, soft cushions of local Bermuda fairways.
Lush unyielding forests-hundreds of years old.
Wandering hills and valleys opening to a holy river's plain. Cynical monkey's watching
your progress. Shy spotted deer peering from the trees. The lofty Himalayas keeping
score truly enchanting.
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HOLES 1 TO 18
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» Hole 1 - 395 Yards - Par 4 - Stroke
Index 13 - Leading Pros Play this to 4.1
The first hole is set against a distant backdrop of the 6,696 meter high snow
capped twin peaks of Dorje Lakpa. The fairway down below looks deceptively narrow
from the elevated tree. A gentle fade is what most often gets the ball on the fairway,
and will result in a medium to short iron to a large inviting double green.
Slightly left leaves an awkward sloping lie behind trees, and interestingly, a little more
left leaves you on the 4th fairway with a longer but reasonably straightforward approach to
the green. The danger of playing left though, is the stream on the edge of the 4th fairway.
It isn’t as far away as you might think.
A slight push right often favorably bounces off the steep bank down to the rough on the edge
of the fairway, however expect to lose many yards of forward roll should you take this route.
Block it right or slice a bit too much and expect to start your round with a ball lodged.
Hitting the green is easy but avoid being complacent. Make sure you put it close or be prepared for
your first putt of the day to be a monster.
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» Hole 2 - 405 Yards - Par 4 - S.I. 7 - Leading Pros Play this to 4.3
A gentle dog-leg right, this is again best played with a fade. Safety on the left is only if
you start left with a draw and get it all the way down on the 3rd fairway, however from down
there the hole is both longer, and the approach to the green much harder.
The fairway is quite wide, but the forest on the right makes most miss the fairway on the left
edge, where its just a matter of luck of getting a reasonable shot to the green. Get the right
angle into the green from the right half of the fairway.
The green is flanked by sand bunkers short and left, and on the left edge. You are best off missing
the green long and right, but not too long; the out of bounds wall has a drain just before it. Then
again, if the pin is anywhere left, long and right leaves you with an unenviable chip across 30 yards
of sloping green.
Wherever you miss your second shot, you will find several opportunities to test your short game on this
interestingly tricky green.
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» Hole 3 - 545 Yards - Par 5 - S.I. 5 - Leading Pros Play this to 4.5
The third hole is an outwardly benign par 5 measuring 545 yards from the almost hidden back tee. A creek
runs just right of the fairway for the full length of the hole. Over the stream is out of bounds.
There is plenty of space on the left to play towards, but that leaves little chance to get in position
for a decent approach to the green. A good long drive leaves you with an exhilarating second, a blind
shot over a tree capped hill onto the one acre double green.
If you remembered to check the pin position when on the first green, you may even be aiming for an eagle.
One can be sure all reasonably long hitters will enjoy attempting this one in two. For the conservative
it is a fair three shot par 5 requiring good placement on the 2nd, and a bit of luck on the third.
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» Hole 4 - 360 Yards - Par 4 - S.I. 9 - Leading Pros Play this to 4.3
At just 360 Yards from the championship tee, this seemingly baby par 4 is no longer as easy as
when first built, the best way to understand this is to be aware how the stroke index went
from 17 to 9.
The new green, one third the size of the original and some 30 yards further back, has turned what
was once the easiest hole on the course into a severe test of correct placement and short game
accuracy. The drive is as friendly as can be, with anything from a 5 iron to a driver being
acceptable.
It is the small firm green, steeply raised from the fairway and sloping menacingly towards the nearby
lake behind that makes it so hard to get a par.
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» Hole 5 - 187 Yards- Par 3 - S.I. 17 - Leading Pros Play this to 2.9
A short par 3 mostly over water to a long two-tiered green. The championship tees are rarely used,
so it’s closer to a 150 yard shot. Left and short is wet.
Hitting the green is easier than it seems. Getting down in two puts will be more of a challenge.
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» Hole 6 - 415 Yards - Par 4 - S.I. 11 - Leading Pros Play this to 4.1
A leisurely stroll through the forest brings you out of the valleys into the flat plain created by
the holy Baghmati river. The view here is spectacularly different, as are the three exciting holes
before you. The championship tee is down below, but a well elevated tee is often used, providing a
picturesque panorama from where a long drawn tee-shot well left of the apparent landing area would
serve you best.
A fade would follow the natural left to right slope of the terrain, and the shape of the hole.
However this would leave an array of trees to contend with. The right side of the green is severely
contoured sloping from right-to-left and guarded by bunkers along the shorter lines of play.
Although the second shot is often just a medium iron or less, this hole provides a strange
feeling of euphoric accomplishment after completion. Perhaps it is the distant mountains that
watch your progress silently.
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» Hole 7 - 520 Yards - Par 5 - S.I. 1 - Leading Pros Play this to 4.9
The downfall of many. A sharp dog-leg left, the out of bounds. Wall appears innocuous down the
left side of the tee shot.
A long draw carries the turn of the brick wall, setting up an opportunity to hit for glory in two.
All it involves is a carry of just under 200 yards over the grass eating Carp filled lake. Out of
Bounds menaces just yards left of the long narrow green. The so called safer route around the water
body still involves placing your second shot well away from a creek feeding the lake. The short
pitch from this angle is now to a green hardly 20 feet wide, made smaller by the stern slope into
a bunker beyond.
Most players will wish they had practiced their short game more.
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» Hole 8 - 225 Yards - Par 3 - S.I. 3 - Leading Pros Play this to 3.7
The green is dominated by a seemingly magnetic, huge, deep, wood-faced bunker that appears to sit right in the center.
This novel C-shaped green is unabashedly contoured to attract everything towards its 10 foot sandy abyss.
There is no safety anywhere as creeks seem to crisscross every avenue.
This is the type of hole where you cannot think too much. Keep your head down, hit the ball, and suffer
the consequences. Consider a par on this hole a collectors item to be treasured.
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» Hole 9 - 362 Yards - Par 4 - S.I. 15 - Leading Pros Play this to 4.1
Though appearing to be modest in length, it often plays much harder for shorter hitters. Out
of breath after reaching the well elevated tee, a golfer needs a reasonably long drive to
reach the ideal, flat landing area. A push to the right? Expect to add 50 yards to your
next shot.
The green can be driven by the real big hitters; high, long and left over the tall mass of
tress protecting the 1st tee. Catch those tress though, and be ready to drown your sorrows
at the half way house. Any tee shot under 230 yards from the back tee will leave you with
severely uphill second, to a blind double green contoured from left to right.
Stay well away from the central bunker in front. Hit the wrong part of the putting surface
and be satisfied with a 3 putt on this huge three tiered green shared with the 18th hole.
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» Hole 10 - 196 Yards - Par 3 - S.I. 16 - Leading Pros Play this to 3.1
A picturesque downhill par 3, the green is carved from
forested hillside to the left. To the right, it’s a long way
down to the valley floor. A real challenge from the elevated championship tees.
Much friendlier from the normal tees below.
When you’re on the green, take a moment to listen quietly. It is said that in winter
you might hear the cry of baby leopard cubs up on the forested hill on your left.
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» Hole 11 - 530 Yards - Par 5 - S.I. 4 - Leading Pros Play this to 5.3
At a modest 530 yards, this is a good example of ‘risk
–reward’ play. It is easily possible for any long hitter to reach the green in two,
but the drive must be both accurate and with a slight fade.
After a good long drive that must start well left and end up fading around the stream,
the long iron second shot must draw to carry over part of the lake guarding the right half of the
green. Hitting long into the bunker over the green would mean blasting out back towards the lake.
For the "normal" golfer, a safe 3 or 5 wood followed by a medium iron leaves
just a wedge in.
The creek runs throughout the length of the hole, down what feels like the center of the fairway.
Dense wooded forest looms unabated on the left. Once on the green, even the regulars ask their
caddies for advice. Beware the sucker pin if it’s placed back right.
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» Hole 12 - 518 Yards - Par 5 - S.I. 8 - Leading Pros Play this to 4.5
Perhaps the most spectacular elevated view, the climb leaves one feeling effects similar to
oxygen depletion. What appears to be an extremely intimidating tee shot from so high up is
in fact quite simple if played sensibly.
The hole bends gently to the left with a creek running along the left of the fairway.
All long hitters go for this in two and are usually rewarded for their efforts if they don’t pull
their drive too far left. The green itself is interestingly sloped steeply from right to left,
with the nastiest pin placement being just right of center.
Not a long Par 5, with much of the challenge being reigning yourself in to playing it sensibly.
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» Hole 13 - 146 Yards - Par 3 - S.I. 18 - Leading Pros Play this to 3.2
Playing downhill, this hole is a lot shorter than the yardage
suggests. The green has been shaped between a wooded hill
on its right and another hill forming its backdrop.
The pleasantly elevated tee somehow offers a refreshing feeling.
The green is one of the fastest and trickiest on the course, its inverted
bowl shape posing most of the problems. Guarded by a deep bunker on its left, it’s not
so strange a place to end up. A miss to the right though is more frustrating, unless you
are fortunate enough to hack it back onto the green from a steep slope covered with thick
undergrowth.
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» Hole 14 - 417 Yards - Par 4 - S.I. 6 - Leading Pros Play this to 4.6
Somehow this one always gets messed up. The professionals have yet to master it. Members smirk when
visitors carry their driver onto the back tee. The key is really in the tee shot. Get it in play,
and the hole comes alive.
The fairway slopes naturally from the hill on the right toward the stream along the
left edge, the place where most end up, the ball cleaned in sparkling mountain water for a stroke
penalty. The fairway narrows to just a dozen yards at the ideal landing area before expanding again
to its full width.
The green is fairly large and forgiving, with a friendly bunker to the left. Right or long is hostile
with out-of-bounds awaiting you. Keys of playing it safe for a high handicapper; a mid iron of the tee,
then lay up well short, and remember, thought it doesn’t look it, the green is fast from front to back,
caused by the bent grass sloping toward the setting sun.
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» Hole 15 - 553 Yards - Par 5 - S.I. 2 - Leading Pros Play this to 5.2
The longest hole on the course, one often feels it may never finish. The Silver Oak lined out-of-bounds
boundary wall runs all along the right from the tee shot. A creek protects the left edge of the
reasonably wide fairway that seems narrower due to the penalties on either edge.
Hitting the fairway is not all that difficult, but getting it in the right place is what
counts. The hole turns sharply right after the tee shot, and the Silver Oak trees at the end of the
fairway have grown tall. If you’re too close to them, your second shot cannot be hit towards the green.
Instead you have to hit well left, which leaves a much more difficult and longer third.
Thus the ideal tee shot is between the creek and the center of the fairway, and the second shot as
much right as you can safely play. From there on it’s upwards to the lofty green perched way up on
a plateau. With three severely contoured tiers, a slight misjudgment and you will find yourself in
all sorts of trouble. The bunkers will often save you from rolling back towards the valley floor.
Did anyone notice it was never even mentioned that one should attempt this green in two?
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» Hole 16 -197 Yards - Par 3 - S.I. 14 - Leading Pros Play this to 3.1
A beautiful hole to photograph. Just a mid iron is needed to carry the scenic lake that separates you
from the distant green. The forest takes away any safety play down the left hand side. A large tree
branch juts out from the left, giving slickers no easy angle.
The green is generously sized for this length of shot, yet it is hit less often than one
might expect. Perhaps it is the water that causes most to over-club, or duff. Once on the putting surface,
the width wise ridge causes the main challenge.
The caddies love this hole, for they will be selling your balls back to the pro-shop
the next morning.
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» Hole 17 - 394 Yards - Par 4 - S.I. 10 - Leading Pros Play this to 4.0
A narrow gentle dog-leg left that requires a controlled length shot from the tee,
anything from a 4 iron to a 3 wood. The creek strategically allows shorter hitters to
play their driver safe to the right, yet lets one play longer to the left for considerable
advantage. From the former position you will have a long iron left. From the latter just a
short iron.
The double tiered green can be very tricky when the pin is cut on the top tier especially if one
has a side hill putt.
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» Hole 18 - 390 Yards - Par 4 - S.I. 12 - Leading Pros Play this to 4.1
A fitting climax to an enjoyable and challenging round of golf. The tees are set high up and deep
inside the forest.
In the distance, the aesthetically designed clubhouse beckons. To its right the combined
9th and 18th greens lie awaiting. The well defined flat fairway in the valley below is wide and
inviting. After that it is all uphill all the way. Grassy hollows dot the fairway and approach area
adding an interesting feature. The second shot would range from a mid to short iron.
A large bunker protects the middle half of the green that slopes at places severely from
left to right, and at the same time towards the bunker. Proper placement on the huge putting surface
gives the home players a distinct advantage
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Golf Score Card
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