Laguna Golf Bintan

Lagoons, rainforest and a tee perched over the sea.

Laguna Golf Bintan is the golf course at the heart of Laguna Bintan, the beach resort area on Bintan’s north coast that also holds Banyan Tree Bintan and Cassia. Greg Norman designed it, and Golfasian dates it to 1998. The appeal is variety: sea views early on, lagoons in the middle of the front nine, then a run of holes through dense forest and the granite boulders typical of this coastline. The official visitor rate is unusually complete, covering a shared buggy and caddie, insurance, range balls and the transfer from Bintan’s ferry terminal.

Laguna Golf Bintan green fees and tee times.

There is no online tee sheet; the Book now buttons on the rates page lead to the contact page, so email the pro shop at proshop@lagunabintan.com or call +62 821 7107 0227 to reserve. Visitor rates are published in rupiah and include green fee, twin-share buggy, twin-share caddie, golfer’s insurance, a bottle of water, 40 practice balls before you tee off and return land transfer from the Bintan ferry terminal. Weekday rates exclude public holidays, while weekend rates include them. A cheaper rate applies after 1.30pm, and guests of the Laguna Bintan hotels pay about a quarter less. Flights are limited to four players, and the club may pair smaller groups together. Golfasian lists the course as open every day.

The round, in perspective.

The par-72 course occupies 60 hectares and is routed as two nine-hole loops, with the ninth returning to the clubhouse. Holes two to four bring the first sea views. Six to eight wrap around calm lagoons, and the ninth climbs uphill as a par four to the clubhouse. On the back nine, holes ten to fifteen wind through jungle and rock formations, before the long par-four 16th turns back towards the coast. The 17th is the signature, played from a tee above the sea over natural rock formations. Golfasian reports a 2016 update that revised all 18 greens, reduced and repositioned the bunkers and added mounds and fairway tiers; the clubhouse was refurbished the same year.

Know before you go.

Group size

Maximum four players per flight; smaller groups may be paired

Buggy

Two golfers per buggy; cart-path-only rules may apply after heavy rain; under-16s may not drive without written approval

Caddie

Twin-share caddie included in the visitor rate

Dress

Collared shirts and soft-spike shoes, strictly enforced

Spectators

Non-players need management approval to go on the course

Make the trip work.

Ferries from Singapore usually reach Bintan mid-morning, so a day trip suits an early-afternoon tee time and the cheaper after-1.30pm rate. If you are staying in the resort, ask your hotel for the guest rate before booking: 18 holes on a weekday drop from Rp1,750,000 to Rp1,310,000. A nine-hole round, from Rp1,100,000 on weekdays, fits a short stay. Take soft-spike shoes and a collared shirt, as the club’s rules require both.

Ferries from Singapore’s Tanah Merah terminal cross to Bandar Bentan Telani on Bintan, and Golfasian puts the course about 15 minutes from the terminal; the transfer is included in the visitor rate. Tanah Merah ferry terminal is a short taxi ride from Changi Airport, so it is possible to land in Singapore and reach Bintan the same day.

Where it is.

Nearby: 1. Ria Bintan Golf Club (6 km) · 2. Batam Island Country Club (28 km) · 3. The Els Club Desaru Coast (40 km) · 4. Indah Puri Golf Resort (45 km) · 5. Sentosa Golf Club (58 km) · 6. Orchid Country Club (64 km)

Somewhere to settle in.

The resorts within Laguna Bintan, including Banyan Tree Bintan with its villas above the rocky shore and the apartment-style Cassia Bintan, qualify for the club’s hotel-guest rates, which are roughly a quarter below the visitor price. The wider Lagoi area, served by the same ferry terminal, has further beach hotels and the Plaza Lagoi shops and restaurants, so non-golfing partners have plenty to do while you play.

Make a trip of it.

Ria Bintan Golf Club, Gary Player’s 27-hole layout, is also in Lagoi and makes Bintan a two-course trip. Batam’s courses are a different ferry route but work as part of a longer Riau Islands itinerary. Off the course, the resort beaches face the South China Sea, and mangrove boat tours in the Lagoi area make an easy half day.

Find your season.

Bintan is equatorial, so the heat barely changes through the year. From about November to February the north-east monsoon brings more rain to the north coast and rougher seas for the ferry. From roughly March to September conditions are calmer, although short tropical downpours remain common in the afternoons.