The Els Club Teluk Datai

Overview: The Els Club Teluk Datai is an 18-hole, par-72 championship course on Langkawi’s northwest coast. Ernie Els redesigned the course within a rainforest setting beneath the Mat Chinchang mountains, carrying the routing from jungle slopes toward the Andaman Sea. The current official course page gives 6,760 yards from the championship tees. Five holes reach the seafront, while natural streams, tree lines and the contours of the land provide the main hazards. There are no bunkers, so the course’s identity comes from the surrounding forest, water and changing views rather than manufactured sand.

History: Golf first came to this site in 1992 under the earlier Dalit Bay identity. The course was then comprehensively redesigned by Ernie Els and officially relaunched as The Els Club Teluk Datai on 28 October 2014. The new course was immediately recognised as a major golf-travel arrival: Tourism Malaysia recorded its World’s Best New Golf Course and Best New Golf Course in Asia awards shortly after the opening. The historic date and the current 2014 routing are kept separate so the profile does not confuse the old course with Els’s redesign.

Did You Know? Teluk Datai’s signature idea is the deliberate absence of bunkers. Ernie Els and his team relied on the rainforest, streams, tree lines and coastline to provide the visual and strategic hazards instead. The official overview identifies five seafront holes, while the current hole guide singles out the seventh as a shoreline hole. That combination of jungle, mountain and sea is what gives the course its distinctive identity.