The Els Club Teluk Datai

Rainforest, limestone peaks and the Andaman Sea.

The Els Club Teluk Datai is Langkawi’s headline round and one of Malaysia’s most scenic. It sits in Datai Bay in the island’s far north-west, where ancient rainforest runs down from the Machinchang peaks to the Andaman Sea, and the course uses all of it. Golf Digest ranked it fourth in Malaysia in 2022. Expect the company of macaques and dusky leaf monkeys. The rates are published and include a GPS cart, range time and insurance, which makes planning straightforward, and two of Langkawi’s best hotels, The Datai and The Andaman, are next door.

The Els Club Teluk Datai green fees and tee times.

Book in advance, by email to reservations@elsclubmalaysia.com, by phone on +60 4 959 2700, or through KKday, which sells green-fee packages. The club publishes seasonal visitor rates for 18 holes with insurance, a shared electric cart with GPS and an hour on the range before play, plus a 10% service charge. A Datai Pledge conservation surcharge of MYR 10 per round has applied since August 2023. Caddies are optional at MYR 120. Malaysian residents with valid ID and guests at The Datai Langkawi get special rates, and groups of 16 or more can arrange custom packages.

The round, in perspective.

The course opened in 1992 as the Datai Bay Golf Club to a design by Ted Parslow, and Ernie Els reworked it substantially in 2010. It plays to par 72 from 6,760 yards off the back tees, 6,209 from the club tees and 5,311 from the front. The holes wind through tree-lined, undulating rainforest, crossing natural streams, before breaking out to the coast. The sea comes into view at the par-three 5th and the par-five 7th, and the finish is the reason people come: the par-four 16th, named Paradise Found, and the par-three 17th, Andaman Shores, play along the shoreline. Length matters less than accuracy here. The forest swallows wayward shots, and the shade keeps rounds cooler than on Malaysia’s open courses.

Know before you go.

Included

Shared electric cart with GPS, one hour on the range, insurance, locker room, engraved bag tag

Service charge

10% on top of published rates; MYR 10 Datai Pledge surcharge per round

Caddie

Optional, MYR 120

Rentals

Clubs MYR 180, shoes MYR 100; range MYR 50 an hour, unlimited balls

Wildlife

Macaques raid unattended carts, so keep food and valuables zipped away

Booking

Advance booking required; special rates for Malaysian residents and Datai guests

Make the trip work.

Total cost for a visitor in the April to December rate period is MYR 695 plus 10% service and the MYR 10 surcharge, about MYR 775, before any caddie. The December to April rate is higher. Use the free range hour; the opening holes in the forest need a straight driver. Keep food and phones zipped away, because the macaques know exactly what a parked cart contains. The academy is run by Troon Golf, and the pro shop stocks the essentials if you are travelling light.

Langkawi International Airport (LGK) is about 40 minutes’ drive from Datai Bay, and Kuah town about 35 km. Langkawi has frequent flights from Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Singapore, and ferries from Kuala Perlis, Kuala Kedah and Penang. Taxis are fixed-price from the airport.

Where it is.

Somewhere to settle in.

The Datai Langkawi and The Andaman, two five-star resorts on the bay, are minutes from the clubhouse and both offer stay-and-play packages; Datai guests also get special green-fee rates. For more choice of restaurants and nightlife, Pantai Cenang on the south-west coast has hotels at every level, about 45 minutes away.

Make a trip of it.

Langkawi is a one-course destination for serious golf, so pair the round with the island. The SkyCab cable car and Sky Bridge climb the Machinchang range above the course, the Kilim Karst Geoforest Park mangrove tours leave from the north-east coast, and Datai Bay’s nature walks start from the resorts. For more golf, Penang’s courses are a short flight away.

Find your season.

Langkawi’s driest months are December to April, when the Andaman coast is calm and sunny; this is also the most expensive rate period. The south-west monsoon from about May to October brings showers and lower rates, and the rainforest shade helps on hot, humid days.