Penang Golf Club (Bukit Jambul)

A tight hill course above Bayan Lepas.

Penang Golf Club, still widely known by its old name of Bukit Jambul Country Club, is, in the club’s own words, the only 18-hole championship course on Penang island. It occupies a hilly, once-jungle site at Bukit Jambul, between George Town and the airport, and looks out over the city, the Penang Bridge and the mainland. Robert Trent Jones II designed it, and Vijay Singh won the 1992 Malaysian Open here. For golfers on a George Town food-and-heritage trip, it is the round you can play without leaving the island.

Penang Golf Club (Bukit Jambul) green fees and tee times.

Visitors are accepted, but the rules are tighter than at most resort courses. Where2Golf says visitors are welcome Monday to Thursday and very restricted from Friday to Sunday, that you must book in advance and that a handicap is required; buggies and caddies are both compulsory. Members book through the QisoftClub app, so visitors should go through reception by phone on +60 4 644 2255, by WhatsApp on +60 11 3602 1952, or by email to info@penanggolfclub.com. The club does not publish visitor green fees online. Golfasian and other agents can confirm a tee time and price, and add transfers.

The round, in perspective.

The club opened in 1984 on about 130 acres of hilly, rocky ground. Golfasian describes a tight, rolling parkland where accuracy beats length: many bunkers have grassy faces that hide them from the tee, and the greens are often small. The official site gives 5,848 metres at par 72, with Bermuda grass fairways and tees and Tifdwarf greens. The 4th is a narrow par four, the 8th a long par three, and the 10th, the signature hole, drops from a tee about 100 feet above the fairway. On 23 October 2010, after management passed to Taiyo Resort, the club took its current name; Where2Golf dates the revamp and reopening to 2012 and gives 1985 as the founding year.

Know before you go.

Visitor days

Monday to Thursday; very restricted Friday to Sunday (as listed by Where2Golf)

Handicap

Required for visitors

Buggy and caddie

Both compulsory

Group size

Maximum four players

Range

Floodlit range 7am–11pm; Mondays from 10am

Make the trip work.

Ask for a weekday morning tee time and bring a handicap certificate. The course is short in metres but plays longer than it looks because of the climbs and the forced accuracy, so take extra balls rather than more clubs. Fees are on request; ask whether the buggy and caddie are included in the quote. The floodlit driving range, open until 11pm, is handy for a session the evening before.

The club is at No. 2 Jalan Bukit Jambul in Bayan Lepas, a few kilometres north of Penang International Airport (PEN) and about 12 km south-west of George Town. Allow roughly 15 minutes by Grab or taxi from the airport and 20 to 30 minutes from the heritage centre, depending on traffic on the coastal expressway.

Where it is.

Somewhere to settle in.

Most visiting golfers stay in George Town, where restored shophouse hotels and larger seafront properties along Gurney Drive put you close to the hawker centres. Bayan Lepas and Bukit Jambul, near the course and the airport, have business hotels and serviced apartments. Batu Ferringhi, on the north coast, is the beach option but adds 45 minutes or more each way.

Make a trip of it.

Penang Golf Resort at Bertam, on the mainland across the bridge, has 36 holes and suits a second day. Off the course, George Town’s UNESCO-listed core, with its clan houses, street art and shophouse cafés, is the main reason most people come. The funicular up Penang Hill is a cool escape from the heat, and the hawker stalls at Gurney Drive and Chulia Street are worth an evening.

Find your season.

Penang is warm all year, around 31–32°C by day. December to February is usually the driest and most comfortable time to play. The heaviest rain tends to fall from September to November, with another wetter spell around April and May. Storms usually arrive in the afternoon, which is another reason to book early.