Croatia's unique 9-holer

The emergence of Eastern Europe as a golf destination has been further underlined by the creation of an artificial par-3 course at The Solaris Hotels Resort in Sibenik, the oldest Croatian town on the shores of the Adriatic

Described as a hybrid course by Eric Van Tassel, Mirage's International project manager, it's unusual in that all the teeing areas and putting greens are synthetic. The course has an enclosed beach-side location with ocean views, water hazards sand bunkers and a driving cage.

"The idea behind my design was to create something simple enough for first time golfers to navigate being challenging enough for more experienced players, "Eric told Golfmagic. "The course will allow inexperienced golfers to learn first, the two most difficult skills associated with the game, chipping and putting as opposed to merely concentrating on the driver."

He says that the course is condensed (average length about 40-50 yards) and has been designed so the tees are protected by trees, golfers playing short shots, threaten little danger to other players.

With seeding of the grass around the holes only recently completed, these areas will not be mature enough to play from until next year but the tees and greens are playable.

Cost of building a similar course is upto $1.3million depending on the location and the elevation required above the water table. The three acre area at Solaris had to be raised between two to three feet overall to accommodate the course.

He says each green has around a 1.5 percent slope from back to front to help drainage and to hold approaching shots, which are restricted to wedges you can hire on site, together with putters..

Palma Urban Golf

Son Gual is without question one of the most visually stunning designs on the continent - and recently hosted a European Seniors Tour. Built by German Adam Pamer, who made a fortune out of double glazing and bought a holiday home for his wife and family, it was designed by three time national amateur champion, Thomas Himmel. Pamer spent some €40million moving tonnes of earth around 160 hectares to create this magnificent golf location, which opened in 2007.

Everything about Son Gual is big - elevated tee boxes each averaging around 900 square metres, run off areas around the greens making them look larger than they actually are, bunkers that can flank half the length of the fairway and lakes waiting hungrily waiting to swallow errant shots. All this against the backdrop of the Tramuntaner mountain range.

At 6,621 metres from the championship tees, many visitors will he happier playing from additional forward tees for men and women, though it's still a par-72. Any nett score approaching that will be well-earned and make a the sumptuous food and delicious local Mallorcene wine in the vast clubhouse, taste even better!
mallorca
Son Muntaner

Alternatively head back into the historic town with its beautiful maze of streets, 13th century cathedral and traditional restaurants serving many of the island's fish specialities.

Next day, perhaps, head west for the hills of Son Vida and the Son Muntaner course, set in a wooded valley where, close by the 15th tee Mallorca's oldest olive tree, Sa Capitana, has grown for nearly 1,000 years. It's sister course, Son Vida, next door is less challenging but equally enjoyable.

The town of Palma has much to offer and with fabulous courses so close at hand, it makes a ideal base from which to escape the dark, dank British winter.

Ping K15 Irons

The K15 Series is part of the latest expansion of PING's award-winning product line. So what did testers Paul Simpson and Dave Tindall make of these new "super-game improvement" clubs? Read on.....

K15 Irons/Hybrid

Paul Simpson - handicap 14

It's always something of a thrill to get your hands on a new set of clubs and particularly so when they come from Ping.

Having used my current set of irons for some time now - foolishly purchased for their sleek aesthetics rather than ease of use, a fatal mistake for any mid-high handicapper - it was a genuine pleasure to use the new K15 irons.

The wide sole enables the clubs to sit comfortably behind the ball, almost positioning and aligning themselves, and it wasn't long before I was struck with the realisation of how easy they are to use.

At no point did I feel the need to force shots, such was the ease in getting the ball airborne without any loss of distance, and as a result I was swinging easier and more consistently.

Their chunky design and dark grey finish won't be to everyone's taste, but if they consistently send the ball where you want it to go I don't think anyone would complain.

I also got a chance to try out a No.4 hybrid which on first impressions makes you think that the unusual shape and design shouldn't be used for hitting a golf ball.

In practice though, given the option of using a traditional long iron or this club I'm all for change.

Easy to set up, solid off the face and out of the rough far easier to use, another eye opener for preconceptions.

The clubs are classed as 'game improver' and I would defy anybody not to improve their game using them. They simply make a difficult and frustrating sport easier and as a result more enjoyable to play.

Dave Tindall - handicap 22

Our test clubs were the 5, 7 and 9 irons and I struck the ball nicely with all three clubs.

Having mapped out my club distances using G15s, I was pretty confident that the K15s would produce similar yardages and so it proved.

As well as hitting full shots I was also very impressed at how much control I got with the 9 iron around the greens.

Several times I got up and down with a chip from off the green (where we high handicappers often find ourselves) and, as we know, saving shots in such circumstances makes a big difference to the scorecard.

Looks-wise I'm fairy neutral about the clubs - neither particularly liking or loathing - but, as Paul says, performance is the key and I felt confident with the K15 irons from the start.

I got very good results with the hybrid too although I personally can't help thinking orthopaedic shoe when looking at clubs shaped in this style. Bottom line though is how you strike the ball and there were no complaints here.

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