Departures Australia Spring 2017

BLACKBOOK DANZANTE BAY

BLACKBOOK DANZANTE BAY GOLF CLUB Situated on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and debuting in full this November as part of the Villa del Palmar Resort, this is the latest masterstroke by Rees Jones, the younger son of Robert Trent Jones Sr. It features incomparable views of the Sea of Cortez and the Sierra de la Giganta mountains, plus holes like the jaw-dropping 178-yard, par-3 17th (pictured), which he has called “the most spectacular we’ve ever designed”. danzantebaygolfcourse.com TEE TIME LAYOUTS TO LOVE The only major sport where the grounds are as varied as the competitors themselves, golf lends itself to fantastic – and fantastical – experiments, as these six stunning layouts prove. From a new tract on Baja California’s mesmerising coast to a nip and tuck on an English treasure, FARHAD HEYDARI rounds out the latest news STREAMSONG BLACK With two layouts, the Red and the Blue, already on Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Courses You Can Play list, this Central Florida resort, just outside Tampa, is already fêted among golf fans. This year, a new outsized sibling measuring more than 7,500 yards joins the rota, designed unusually as a par-73 on the same reclaimed phosphate mining tableaux by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner. streamsongresort.com STOKE PARK Already familiar to James Bond fans as the setting for the 007 movie Goldfinger, Harry Colt’s Buckinghamshire, England chef-d’œuvre now boasts new and challenging bunkering on the first 18 holes of this picturesque 27-hole tract thanks to a just-completed seven-figure investment. Dubbed Colt and Alison, the two nines have also benefited from new tee complexes and a myriad other cosmetic tweaks, which will also imbue the Lane Jackson nine next year. stokepark.com FROM TOP: © DANZANTE BAY, KEVIN MURRAY, LAURENCE LAMBRECHT 44 DEPARTURES-INTERNATIONAL.COM

Club Class The latest equipment to shave strokes from your handicap. By SIMON DADDOW PING G400 DRIVER The G400’s slightly smaller head is actually one of the most forgiving on the market. Improved aerodynamics mean more club speed, plus it sounds muted and powerful like an old persimmon driver. ping.com FROM TOP: © PANORAMA GOLF RESORT, PETER COX, © WEST CLIFFS GOLF LINKS; GOLF EQUIPMENT: © MANUFACTURERS PANORAMA GOLF RESORT Winding its way around meadows, forests, rivers and even a small village on more than 100 hectares, 50 kilometres southeast of Prague is this Czech Republic newcomer, courtesy of Michael Terech at design firm Golfer sro. A decade in the making, the 27-hole complex in the country’s Central Bohemian Region utilises the rolling landscape to great effect, ensuring a challenging parkland experience. panoramagolf.cz HOGS HEAD GOLF CLUB “We have incorporated all the great elements of golf that people seek when they come to Ireland,” says Robert Trent Jones Jr of his newest brainchild, adjacent to the scenic shoreline cliffs of County Kerry. The 18-hole headlands course is surrounded by farmland and routed along the edge of 30m coastal bluffs and an inland sequence along the ever-present Finglas River. “It is a golf course that will fascinate you and hold your interest every time you play it.” hogsheadgolfclub.com WEST CLIFFS Unveiled this year less than an hour north of Lisbon on Portugal’s emerging Silver Coast, the 7,003-yard links layout is spread across the course’s namesake clifftops and rolling dunes, offering views of the Atlantic from each hole. Planned by Dye Designs Group using natural contours, the project has been under way since 2003 and immediately joins the conversation for the premier links experiences on the European continent. westcliffs.com PXG 0341X FAIRWAY WOOD PXG’s first attempt at carbon crown woods. A thin highspeed face generates a low-spin, long-carrying ball flight. A TPE insert inside the sole cleverly tunes impact sound and feel. pxg.com CALLAWAY EPIC HYBRID Designed without the boundaries of cost, the Epic’s carbon crown makes its Callaway’s most forgiving hybrid. An adjustable hosel means ball flight can be tailored to fill loft gaps within your own game. callawaygolf.com MIZUNO MP 18 IRONS Going back to its roots, this is a full-on muscleback blade for serious ball strikers. Nick Faldo played a role in shaping every one of the iron‘s stunning curves. mizuno.com CLEVELAND CBX WEDGES More than 80 per cent of golfers play cavity-back irons, yet most use blade-style wedges. The CBX delivers tour-level spin with the extra forgiveness and improved levels of accuracy that only a cavity back can muster. clevelandgolf.com ODYSSEY O-WORKS RED PUTTERS Red putters have been a huge hit on tour this year. The O-Works teams the new colour with Odyssey’s brilliant “microhinge” insert which delivers more top-spin and smoother rolling putts. odysseygolf.com TAYLORMADE TP5 BALL Currently played by five of the world’s top seven players, its five-layer design is optimised to perform with every club in your bag. Choose TP5 for softer feel and TP5x for firmer feedback. taylormadegolf.com CONTACT PLATINUM CARD SERVICE FOR BOOKINGS DEPARTURES-INTERNATIONAL.COM 45