Sutera Harbour Golf and Country Club

The verdict

Sutera Harbour is the golf at the heart of Sabah's flagship resort, laid out on reclaimed waterfront on the edge of Kota Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo. The Australian player turned architect Graham Marsh designed twenty seven holes here as three nines, the Lakes, the Heritage and the Garden, with any pairing playing to a par 72. What sets it apart is the setting: this is coastal golf with the South China Sea in view, sunset over the water famous enough that the resort sells the evening as an attraction in its own right.

For the traveling golfer it is the natural reason to route a trip through Borneo. Kota Kinabalu is the gateway to Mount Kinabalu, the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park and some of the best diving in Asia, and Sutera Harbour lets you fold a genuinely good resort course into all of that. The course is fair rather than fearsome, manicured on Bermuda grass, and built to be enjoyed by a mixed group, which is exactly right for a destination where the golf shares the bill with the sea and the mountain.

The holes worth the trip

The hole everyone comes for is the 11th, which faces the South China Sea and gives Sutera Harbour its postcard image, the sort of seaside par that justifies an afternoon tee time just to catch the light coming off the water. It is the high point of a routing that makes the most of its waterfront edge, with the sea and the marina framing several of the better holes.

Graham Marsh built a course that asks for position more than power. Water and well placed bunkering shape the strategy across the three nines, and the breeze off the sea can stiffen the seaward holes late in the day, turning a gentle yardage into a real test. The greens run true on Bermuda grass and reward a confident putting stroke.

None of the nines is brutally long, so from the right tees this is an enjoyable resort round rather than a championship ordeal, which suits the destination. Time your round for the back nine to finish near sunset, take the sea breeze into account on the coastal holes, and Sutera Harbour delivers a memorable day where the views compete with the golf for your attention.

Where to stay nearby

The course sits inside the Sutera Harbour Resort, which runs its own waterfront hotels and a marina, so the easy play is to stay on the property and walk to the first tee. It puts you on the Kota Kinabalu seafront with the golf, the spa, the marina and the sunset all in one place, which is ideal for a group splitting its time between rounds and the rest of Borneo.

Kota Kinabalu itself is right there for restaurants and night markets, while the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park are a short boat ride offshore and Mount Kinabalu is a day trip inland. For a longer Malaysia tour, pair the Borneo leg with the resort golf of the peninsula, such as The Els Club Teluk Datai on Langkawi.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near Sutera Harbour.