Launch the Virtual Tour in a new window

In 1999, the Sutera Harbour Marina, Golf, and Country Club, an isolated gem on the north coast of Malaysian Borneo, and part of an extensive resort and country club complex that had opened a few years earlier, finally gained a fraction of the prestige it had coming, when the Asian Tour arrived with one of its most prestigious event, the Sabah Masters. Working on lands reclaimed from the shores of the South China Sea, Marsh’s 27-hole design meanders through interesting and diverse stretches of terrain on the 394-acre property, playing past inland lakes and gentle fluctuations in elevation to find some great seaside vistas. As a centerpiece of Malaysian Borneo’s premier luxury resort, and a key component to the country club environment, Marsh’s work is a testament to his creativity and innovation, made all the more impressive by the fact that the Sutera Harbour Resort lands were reclaimed from the South China Sea. Facing topographical and ecological limitations, Marsh has still crafted a strong and interesting test here, a layout to be enjoyed both year-round, and around the clock: Sutera Harbour Resort is the only golf club in Eastern Malaysia to offer night golf, marking the perfect solution to the sometimes stifling humidity that lingers in the daytime heat of the day.

The Lakes Nine seems from the tee deck to open with a short and innocuous par five, but one suspects that upon reaching the fairway, the thought is lost, and one must conceive that the architect Marsh hoped to lure players into a false sense of security precisely by allowing them this underestimate. Between the pond on the right, bordered by no more than a thin flange of rough to prevent good drives from spilling over the bank and into the hazard, and a stand of tropical foliage on the left, only a perfect driver sets up a chance to reach in two. While the green is favourable to long approaches, shaped and contoured as it is like a horse’s saddle, bunkers in the stirrups can leave a difficult up-and-down for either par or birdie. The wise play is a good mid-iron short of the green, leaving a simple pitch up the slope, and a reduced likelihood that one will storm to the second tee frustrated. Such a state of mind can be devastating at this devilish 155-meter hole, where bunkers at every edge frame a broad green with a host of excellent pin positions. If the flag is in the front-right corner, be vary wary, as the pond, which appears to be for aesthetics only, creeps up almost to the fringe here, and comes close enough to even snare good shots that spin back from the flag. 

At the fifth, there is perhaps a lull in strategic design, but the hole seems best fit as a precursor to the Garden Nine, and as a showcase for Sutera’s stunning South China Sea backdrop. From a slightly elevated tee, drivers and fairway woods should be striped at Sapi Island, which offers the perfect directional reference for good tee shots. Approach shots at this 350-meter hole seem simple enough after a good drive; wedges and short irons are the norm. But the green sits at an awkward confluence of slopes, such that a bold play at a tucked flagstick will often pitch off the green and trickle down into a deep collection area, from where a par save can be a tall task.

Eight, the first in a strong closing pair of fours to the Lakes nine, offers a green with more modest grades, but at 370 meters and flanked from tee to green by a long stretch of pond, the brunt of this dogleg’s difficulty is found long before the putting surface. Nothing short of a precise drive will suffice; misses left are likely wet, while cautious plays to the right will find banked fairway traps, or worse, imprisonment beneath dense stands of a rare breed of equatorial conifer. If the fairway is found, the approach is equally challenging, as it must carry to a green pinched on both front edges by menacing traps. Nine offers no reprieve, either, as the back end of a strong closing pair. Drives must find dry land between the pond left, and serpentine canal that encroaches on the landing area. From there, the mid-iron approach to this 350-meter par four is uphill to a green with several distinct shelves, each slotted behind bunkers and swales, so finding the right tier is the first step towards avoiding three-putt bogeys.

The Heritage Nine moves away from the inland portion of the resort’s reclaimed land, and tiptoes in a few spots along the new shores of the South China Sea. In addition to some great views, some of the course’s strongest holes can be found here. Particular praise should be heaped on Marsh’s work at the 503-meter 11^th, a robust three-shot hole that starts from an unimposing, low-profile tee before slowly turning and rising to an elevated green, set before the busy Kota Kinabalu port and the entrance to the South China Sea. The risk in a bold drive here reaps little reward, as it is the second shot that is the most critical. Irons into the green must come from a flat lie in the fairway, as bunkers nuzzle up to all sides of this already minuscule green. Par is a strong score here, as the Heritage Nine’s middle holes are among the most benign at Sutera, offering a good chance and reaching the closing stretch with the possibility of a great score intact.

Keeping dry at the 13^th and 14^th holes is imperative to this goal, but the final three holes offer a chance for a satisfying close to the round. 16 is a short par four, with its tee deck set near the shores of the sea, and the emphasis here is on finding the fairway. The short approach to the elevated green must carry the yawning traps whose banks creep right up to the front fringe, making the target seem as narrow as any. Do not be fooled by the deception, though, as the green is broad enough to accept a good smart shot with an extra couple of clubs.

The last at the Heritage Nine returns to the Sutera clubhouse, a straightaway 482-meter par five with a surprisingly tight fairway. Again, like many of Marsh’s par fives at Sutera, the temptation to attack these holes ought to be dulled by a good golfer’s conservative reason. With a shallow pond protecting the front and left sides of the final green, hard plays for eagle have little merit or positive expectation. Eminently playable, especially compared to the Lakes and Garden Nines at Sutera, safe, strategic golf is the key to success here.

The Garden Nine at Sutera, last in the troika of loops that weave their way around the resort property, can boast of several credentials that elevate its status; best seaside views, and best signature hole, among them. Before working its way out to the sea, the Garden’s stern test opens inland with the long par-three 20^th. At 168 meters, nothing less than a great long iron or fairway wood will find the center of the green, elevated as it is above four or five bunkers that are positioned to snare any miss. Better to play wisely here, even accepting bogey, and to attack its Garden Nine partner, the 171-meter 22^nd, where the broad, receptive green is wide open in front, allowing shots to bounce up and funnel toward a center-cut flagstick.

Two holes later, at the 330-meter 24^th, guests at Sutera finally enjoy a lasting stretch along the coastline. The views of the South China Sea and the small archipelago of islands strung along the horizon make for a perfect setting. Drives need to carry a small, landscaped inlet, where one will often spot fishermen lolling in the soft tide, to a fairway whose left edge is protected from the sea only by a thin stand of trees. Bailout plays to the right will likely be blocked out, so only a straight and true drive slotted between the fairway traps makes the green accessible. With a short iron, finding the green should be easy enough, as it sits flat and innocuous at the end of the shoreline.