Legend Nicklaus adds value to first golf resort in Gelang Patah

Great to be here: Golf legend Jack Nicklaus (left) with Johor Ruler

Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar at the Forest City Golf Resort yesterday.

GELANG PATAH: The Forest City Golf Resort, valued at RM1.8bil, is poised to be another prestigious championship golf course in Johor, making the state a premier golfing destination.

It is also set to redefine golf tourism to embrace the “complete golf holiday experience”.

“Golf courses were mushrooming throughout the state in the early 1990s but a price war among the competitors, failure to add value to the golf packages and a lackadaisical attitude in upkeeping maintenance have affected the booming golf industry in Johor.

“The Forest City Golf Resort, offering a tri-course, with the first 18 holes designed by Jack Nicklaus and his son, is expected to further be a part of the bigger players in Johor to revive and add more value to the state as a golf paradise once again,” said Johor Golf Tourism Association president Colonel Mohd Jamal Salleh.

“A Date With Jack Nicklaus – the Golfing Legend” – a preview programme on what the golf resort has to offer, has brought Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar and golfing legend Nicklaus to the Forest City Golf Resort yesterday.

Master developer of Forest City – Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd (CGPV) – has, to-date, spent RM309mil on developing the golf resort, which has three golf courses, a hotel and residential units.

Johor boasts the highest number of golf courses in the country with 27 state-wide to date. But it is believed that there are only five that have tri-courses.

Datuk Mohd Othman Yusof, executive director of CGPV, said in his welcome speech that the first golf course named Forest City Legacy Golf Course, would give golfers the experience and affordability that are not found in other golf courses.

“Being only a stone’s throw away from the Woodlands checkpoint, this golf resort will attract international golfers, residents and visitors,” he said.

Nicklaus said the golf course was fully man-made as there was nothing there before.

“We had to work the ninth and 18th greens around a hill, and the golf course has beautiful river views.

“From a player’s standpoint, the golf course we have designed is unique as golfers cannot find anything like it in Singapore or Malaysia.

“Although the terrains are challenging, the golf course was built with the amateur golfers in mind, as well as for handicappers and professional golfers.”

-thestar online.