Tucked away amidst the idyllic suburb of Johor Bahru is Ponderosa Golf & Country Club, just 15 minutes from the city centre.Intimidating to golfers of all levels, this superb 18-hole layout promises compelling golf experience and service with a smile. Though considered short by some golfers but with the sand and water hazards Fream so strategically placed around the course and tricky undulating gr
eens, you have an interesting playground that can be made more challenging by stepping back a tee box or two. The fairways are turfed with Zoysia Matrella and the greens with Bermuda Tifdwarf. The 7th hole is Ponderosa's signature hole. This is a 168-metre par-3 hole whose first shot must carry a large pond which runs along the approach and all the way past the green. Matured khaya trees serves as obstacles for errant tee-shots, left of the green. Precise clubbing is paramount, especially when the winds pick up in the late afternoons, to carry and land the ball on the correct level of this relatively small undulating green that runs from the back to front. Bunkers flank the green on either side, so keeping your tee shot on line is a must. A truly challenging hole layout and the toughest of all the par 3s. The par-5 ninth hole that plays dog-legged left from tee to green, measures 543 meters and has proven to be the longest and most difficult hole on the golf course. Here thickets of matured khaya trees, a creek, fairway mounds and hollows, uniquely high-lipped fairway bunker, narrow green-approach, intimidating greenside bunkers and a large undulating putting surface, all combine to make for a testy finishing number on this opening nine. Hole 16 is tagged the most interesting par-4 hole on the back nine. This dog-legged left jewel measures 370 meters off the blue tee and has a huge pond with waterfall features to the left, that runs from tee to green. The tee shot is best played to the right-center of the narrow fairway, anything left is water. Bigger hitters may attempt to cut across the pond for a shorter approach to the green. The well-contoured green is guarded by sand bunkers on both sides and has the Tebrau River in the background to add to its character. Ponderosa Golf and Country Resort Berhad. Registration No. 199101005957 (216267-M).
