Enjoy Jakarta Golf – the Backstory

Jakarta delivers the experience like no other golf destination! 

Enjoy Jakarta Golf is a destination and an invitation! The golf clubs in and around Indonesia’s bustling capital city are exceptional in their ability to deliver a great golfing experience to the visiting golf traveller. 

Enjoy Jakarta is the brand of the Jakarta Tourism & Culture Office (JTCO) and with Enjoy Jakarta Golf the JTCO aims to highlight the tremendous facilities and experience available to visitors who play golf and to avid golf travellers. 

In this backstory to Enjoy Jakarta Golf, we highlight a few of the outstanding attributes that make Jakarta such an attractive, vibrant and relatively undiscovered golf destination, including: 

• The best caddies in the world! Highly trained, multi-lingual and incredibly personable, the caddy experience in Jakarta is second to none. 

• Beautiful landscaping and presentation of the golf courses with great variety from inner city oases to the Bogor highlands just 45 minutes from the capital. 

• Outstanding clubhouse facilities with remarkable gastronomy and hospitality. 

• Iconic VIP rooms at virtually all clubs that are available for groups of visitors to hire. Definitely the best way to make a golf trip extra special! 

Jakarta golf clubs certainly know how to look after the first-time golf visitor and how to deliver a tremendous experience both on the course and in the clubhouse. 

The On-Course Experience – Quality & Character 

Natural hospitality of the caddy experience 

Without doubt, the enjoyment of playing golf in Jakarta is enhanced dramatically by the exceptional caddy experience. At all golf clubs in Jakarta, having one caddy per golfer is mandatory, which makes for a consistent experience wherever the golfer chooses to play. Most courses have in excess of 150 caddies, all employed from the local community, and all receiving regular training on how to assist the golfer – member or visitor – to get the most out of their game. 

Whilst convivial service and a sense of humour may well be natural traits within the caddy community in Jakarta, this is enhanced by the professional training regimen that all caddies must go through. For example, all caddies at the Bogor Raya Golf Club go through a three-month language course before they can caddy, to ensure that they can pick up enough English, Chinese, Japanese or Korean to converse with the club’s visitors. In fact, the life skills a caddy learns in Jakarta are a tremendous asset and are put to good use should they choose to move on to other areas of the hospitality industry. 

Beautifully presented courses, landscaped by great designers 

Many golf destinations around the globe can boast well-designed and well-maintained golf courses, and Jakarta is no exception, with excellent designs by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Robert Trent Jones Jr among others. The maintenance of the golf courses is remarkable, very often helped by weekly half-day or full-day closure to allow time for organic recovery and dedicated conditioning. 

Where Jakarta excels and really stands out is in presentation and variety. Enormous efforts have been made to ensure that not only are the playing surfaces in great condition, but also the surrounding areas, ensuring that all golf courses are framed beautifully. Pride in maintaining the non-playing areas is obvious in many courses, which is no doubt in part due to the employment of hundreds of gardeners and green-keeping staff from the surrounding villages and towns which already have experience of working on the land. 

Variety is the spice of life! 

The variety of courses is also surprising for visitors heading to the capital of the world’s fourth most populous country. Enjoy Jakarta Golf encompasses immaculately-presented ‘garden’ courses, courses with mountain vistas with expansive views, rivers and lakes, hills and woodland, as well as urban courses that somehow manage to transport the golfer to a quiet, green oasis away from the surrounding hubbub of this vibrant city. 

Set up for first-time visitors 

All courses employ full-time starters and marshals throughout the year, which keeps the pace of play up and the round time down. Nobody likes hanging around on a golf holiday! Jakarta really looks after the first-time golf visitor, and with the mandatory use of caddies, clear tee box signage and consistent distance markers, every golfer can relax and focus on the game in hand, enjoying their surroundings, without worrying about where they are going, which direction to aim or how far they need to carry the golf ball! 

Remarkably, in Jakarta there is consistency with how the distances are measured, with all fairway distance markers (predominantly in metres) being measured to the centre of the greens, to avoid confusing the first-time visitor who travels daily to a different course. 

Another feather in the cap of the Enjoy Jakarta Experience is that all golf courses use coloured pin flags to indicate the pin position on the green (back, centre or front). 

Embrace the experience and enjoy the surroundings 

Buggies are compulsory on most courses, although both Soewarna Cengkareng and the Jakarta Golf Club are walking courses. With once caddy per golfer being mandatory, it is easy for the golf visitor to walk between shots to really experience the course, while their caddy will move the buggy on and bring the desired clubs. There is no better way for the first-time visitor to get a good feel for the course, whether they choose to walk or ride. 

Eating and drinking is all part of the golf experience! 

Every course has plenty of nicely-designed rest stops with food, drinks and toilet facilities, all clean and well-presented, and open at all times. The consistency of golf courses throughout the region enables Jakarta to deliver an enjoyable experience to the visiting golfer and is one of the golf destination’s principle strengths. 

The Off-Course Experience – the Best Facilities & Friendliest Service 

The best start to a day on the golf course 

The Enjoy Jakarta Experience begins when you arrive at the golf club. The reception, pro-shop and check-in staff are all eager to help and will immediately put the golf visitor at ease. The clubhouse facilities, signage and service will smooth away any residual stresses and ease the visitor into the game and, upon return, present a comfortable and enjoyable atmosphere in which to relax, celebrate or recover! 

Jakarta’s clubhouses are well-designed and welcoming to the visitor, with large entrances and well-located reception desks. Staff are always on hand to assist visitors on their arrival. Staff in the reception areas and pro shops are all very friendly and hospitable and visitors will be well directed to the check-in, pro shop, lockers and restaurants. The pro shops are well-stocked and conveniently located at all clubhouses. 

The VIP Experience is unique to Jakarta 

Perhaps the unique stand-out service at clubhouses in Jakarta is the availability of VIP rooms for golfers to hire for their own small group of friends or colleagues. Nearly all golf clubs have a number of VIP rooms of different sizes which can make for a truly unique Jakarta Golf Experience. For those visitors mixing business with pleasure, most of the clubhouses also have meeting rooms. 

Jakarta also caters for the competitive types… 

If you need to hone your skills in anticipation of a lucrative win or simply want to loosen up, the pre-game practice facilities are excellent at all golf clubs – often with both covered bays and grass bays on the driving ranges, most of which have their own refreshment outlets. Chipping areas, bunkers and putting greens are all readily available and well located. Most of the golf clubs also have teaching facilities which can be used by groups travelling with their golf professional. Some courses even have practice holes. 

Après-golf doesn’t get any better! 

After a great round of golf (whether actual or envisioned!) the locker-rooms and changing facilities are outstanding at all golf clubs. Despite most clubs being predominantly membership based, visitors usually share the members’ locker rooms and are provided with keys for their own lockers which are always ample in size. Locker rooms in Jakarta are consistently spacious, clean, staffed and with plenty of shower facilities, fresh towels and vanity items. 

The restaurants are all of the highest standard with a great range of food for all tastes which is a tremendous asset seen throughout Jakarta, beyond the golf clubs. International golf travellers will be able to opt for familiar dishes or local specialities. Visitors will be able to enjoy a post-golf massage at nearly all courses, with Soewarna Cengkareng including a complimentary 15-minute massage for all players. Many also have Jacuzzis, saunas and other spa facilities for visitors to make use of after their round of golf. 

If you need to make a quick getaway, the receptionists at all golf clubs have quick access to local taxi services. 

Great Value for Money 

Important to all golf travellers is the cost of the holiday or business trip – and therefore the value for money presented by the experience. Despite the exceptionally high quality of the golf courses, maintenance, landscaping, clubhouses, locker rooms, restaurants and overall service, the Jakarta Golf Experience can be enjoyed at very competitive prices, particularly Mondays through Fridays. 

For price-conscious golf travellers, here are some quick tips: 

• Aim to play golf on weekdays; the popularity of members’ play at weekends always places a premium on Saturday/Sunday rounds. 

• Avoid Indonesian public holidays; they are often busy with rates set at weekend prices. 

• Remember that prices are nearly always inclusive of the buggy, caddy fee, insurance and tax as well as the green fee. 

• The frequency of flights to Indonesia’s capital city should enable you to maximise your time on the golf course, either playing on the day of arrival or departure, with golf courses on the way to or from the airport.

• On busy days in the city, take a trip out to Sentul Highlands (a rarity as a public course, being government-owned) or Bogor Raya, with its beautifully-manicured vegetation. 

• The slowest month with least play is the fasting month of Ramadan; conversely the month preceding Ramadan is very busy, as is the month following Ramadan. 

• Courses often have more availability during school holidays and the longer vacations. 

• Use the knowledge, experience and better prices available to IAGTO golf tour operators. 

Golf Plus – Enjoy Jakarta! 

When the golfer is not on the fairways, Jakarta has a wealth of attractions and activities, both day and night. 

Here are just some of the things they can do off-course: 

Shop till you drop! 

Jakarta has 173 shopping malls with a wide range of international and local brands. From high-end luxury brands such as Chanel and Gucci to Indonesia’s own local goods, Batik Keris and Ikat Indonesia, you can almost find anything you’ll ever need and want in this beautiful city. The annual mid-year Jakarta Great Sale event and periodic shopping marathon and midnight shopping experiences are the type of events you won’t want to miss if your visit coincides with them. Shops often stay open late into the night, allowing shoppers to grab bargains even after a day on a golf course. 

Savour Jakarta’s restaurants and bars 

Indonesia is known as a country rich in herbs and spices – Indonesians were trading spices across the oceans more than 2,000 years ago – and its heritage recipes will both indulge and impress your palate. Jakarta’s traditional foods ensure you enjoy the ultimate thrills of taste; it is a city where the diversity of foods, cultures and lifestyle meet and entwine with exotic results. On the food front, there’s nothing you cannot find in Indonesia’s lively capital. From rich and flavourful traditional Indonesian dishes to the most satisfying Western cuisine in luxury settings and everything in between, all are available in every corner of the city. One of the most recent additions to the Jarkarta epicurean scene, the rooftop Cloud Lounge & Living Room offers a five-star food and drink experience coupled with spectacular night view of the city. It defines the dynamic of Jakarta today. And if you decide to take a day off from golf on a Sunday, why not join the burgeoning Sunday brunch crowd and enjoy a long, leisurely midday meal at eateries such as the Hotel Borobudur Jakarta’s Miyama Japanese Restaurant? 

Be a night owl 

Jakarta is known as the city that never sleeps. Beside enjoying the International-standard golf courses during the day, at night you can experience a night to remember every night. From quiet and relaxing to loud and lively, whatever experience you are looking for, there are numerous bars, clubs, and lounges that will cater to your taste. Clubs stay open until well past midnight for those who want to party through the night, and venues often have happy hours until 8pm, helping to keep down the price of a night out on the town. 

Get out and explore! 

Jakarta is a multi-cultural city like no other, where traditional heritage blends with the 21st century and influences from around the world. It is home to 10 million people with multiple ethnic backgrounds – hence its nickname, the City of a Thousand and One Faces. This unique city offers visitors a cultural kaleidoscope at every turn. Take a break from golf and discover its fascinating historical heritage buildings, museums and traditional markets, or take a ferry trip out to the marine paradise that is the Thousand Islands – actually only 128 islands – where you can spend the day boating, swimming, snorkelling or simply laying back on its pristine, secluded beaches. In the evenings, take in a shadow puppet show or a traditional theatre, dance or music performance. 

Sling your hook 

With its setting on the Java Sea, Jakarta offers deep-sea fishing right on its doorstep. Fishing enthusiasts can take an excursion out into Jakarta Bay from Ancol Marina or head to Banten, on the westernmost point of West Java, to pit their skills against marlin, sailfish and other deep-sea sport fish. Other water sports are also on offer for those who want to get active on, in or under the water in addition to tackling the water hazards on Jakarta’s golf courses. 

And relax… 

Whether it’s a post-round massage to ease those aching muscles, a tone-up or an indulgent aromatherapy treatment with Indonesian herbs, you can find full-service spas at many of Jakarta’s five-star hotels as well as at golf resorts. Enjoy age-old therapies once reserved for the privileged few in beautiful new spa centres, with facilities that also include saunas, steam rooms, whirlpool baths and gymnasiums.