39 20, but perhaps understand that that might come once the course is a little more user-friendly. It was extremely difficult to build but mind-blowingly spectacular and interesting. And it took 14 concepts before arriving at the final one, because I was determined to squeeze the very best out of what was on offer. “There were ancient stone walls in the old-world landscape, and some were used to determine the strategy of holes. We built new walls for the same reason. With the cliffs and walls determining strategy there are not many bunkers. They were not needed, and the very difficult ground conditions of peat and rock were another consideration. Sand for greens, tees and bunkers came from Ireland, and the turf for greens and tees from Yorkshire. Despite all these difficulties, the cost of construction was between six and seven million pounds – not the much higher costs nominated in some publications. I visited the site 27 times during the process and it’s my favourite place.” The increasing popularity of golf in Asia has meant that a lot of Australian golf architects have spent a fair amount of their time travelling across the continent. Harrison’s biggest Asian job, while working for GNGCD, was the Nirwani Bali course, which opened in 1997, and was immediately heralded as one of the very finest courses anywhere in Asia. “You don’t often get the opportunity to design holes directly along spectacular and beautiful cliffs, but Nirwana Bali offered five holes that had a wonderful interaction with the ocean,” says Harrison. “It took a long time to choose the best arrangement of these holes, and I hope they have strategic interest and variety. I was then determined that the inland holes would not be poor cousins to those on the ocean. We constructed extensive areas of active rice terraces throughout the inland holes to create the illusion that the course had been constructed through them, and to make the holes spectacular to look at and Balinese in flavour. They are properly functioning rice fields and are farmed by the local people. The planting of different areas was staged so that at any one time some sections are nearing harvest, some are wet, and others are green.” But Nirwani Bali has been closed since 2017. In 2015, Donald Trump licenced his name to the resort, and plans were put together that included a new hotel and associated Trump Tower. The course closed two years later for a BOB HARRISON Nirwani Bali in Indonesia, one of Harrison’s biggest jobs while working for Greg Norman in Asia Photo: Bob Harrison
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