Palm Resort Golf Country Club – Cempaka Course

The Cempaka Course is the most demanding of the three layouts at Palm Resort Golf & Country Club in Senai, Johor. Designed by Hiromasa Inagawa alongside the resort’s two companion courses, it plays to par 72 across 7,156 yards from the pro tees. Where the Allamanda Course is built for resort play and the Melati leans links-style, Cempaka is the one used most often for local tournaments — and the design reflects that.

The club sits on 800 acres of rolling terrain five minutes from Senai International Airport, roughly 30 minutes from Johor Bahru. For golfers coming from Singapore, it is a practical day-trip destination — close enough to be accessible, far enough to feel like a proper golf trip.

Course Overview

Concentration is what the Cempaka Course asks for from the first hole to the last. The combination of narrow fairways, severe doglegs, nine water hazards, and more than 60 sand bunkers means there is rarely a hole where you can switch off and swing freely. Stiff breezes off the surrounding terrain make club selection a recurring problem, particularly on the back nine.

The greens are Bermuda TifDwarf — wide, undulating, and quick enough to reward golfers who can read breaks well. If there is an advantage to be found on the Cempaka Course, it is on the putting surface. Players who can dial in their speed early tend to pick up shots here that others leave behind.