I arrived in Siem Riep, Cambodia the night before my golf round and stayed at Enjoy Boutique Hotel. I contacted the course via email a month before to book and set up transportation. The responses were swift and everything was sorted out quickly. I was picked up on time and had a wonderful 10 minute drive to the course. As you drive onto the property you are surrounded by trees and feel secluded from the rest of the world and are greeted by friendly staff ready to collect your clubs and get the cart ready.
The clubhouse is open planned with the halfway and proshop being together. The facilities are fantastic and they have a wonderful range for you to use prior to teeing off. The course itself had some fairways that are not perfect, but this does not take away from the beauty or the playability of the course. Although the greens look like the might run a bit slow, they are actually very smooth and true. If you putt on the right line, chances are the ball is going in.
The course itself is not designed to intimidate you with distance, but rather allows you to take calculated risks for birdie rewards. There are two or three short par 4’s that are reachable, but if your drive is wayward, chances are you are going to reload. As I did on the 5th, which led to a wonderful 7, considering I was playing 5 after dropping from the water hazard from my second tee shot. The risk factor is in the location of the water hazards and sand traps that can be found on almost every hole, especially bunkers. If you’re looking for a good score, you need to try and take advantage of the par 5’s, which I did not and minimise your mistakes off the tee, again which I did not do for 18 holes.
I would highly recommend you play with a rangefinder to help you trust the distances as your eyes can be tricked at times. The layout is easily understood and you will find yourself asking questions on every tee shot on whether to go for it or play for par. Fortunately, Jane, my designated caddy, was an absolute star and was able to give me the distances to the various hazards which informed most of my poorly made decisions. I think she could see that I had a bit of golfing skill, so Jane generally let me run the show and was incredibly helpful throughout the round.
The halfway food is more tailored to western tourist tastes, but do have local cuisine on the menu as well. If you’re ever in Siem Riep and have a day to yourself and you want to be outside and take advantage of a brilliant course, with cart, caddy and range all included in a $165 fee, I would highly recommend it.
Sir Nick Faldo has created a wonderful championship course that is both challenging, rewarding and extremely fun to play. The space has been utilised brilliantly and I had a smile from ear to ear, from start to finish.
how to get there
You would need to get a flight to Siem Riep Interational airport. Before I book my flight I emailed the course at info@angkor-golf.com. They replied really swiftly, so I figure you can do the same. I suggest you take advantage of getting a Cambodian sim outside, just so that you can use the taxi apps and keep in touch with the hotel of your choice.
price and rating
At US$ 165, it is quite a pricy experience. However, the price included the driving range, caddy and golf cart. You definitely feel that you are getting your money’s worth throughout the round and I didn’t feel as though I was paying for nothing.
Overall. I would rate this course a solid 9 out of ten toes. The course is usually in great condition and is a blast to play, unfortunately I feel as though the price is quite high, but this is pretty common around Asia due to the lack of space.