The Asian Tee Party

Golf resorts are as much about luxury and wellness as they are about golf. Here are five of the best 'stay & play', golf resorts in Asia to head for this winter.

- MERAJ SHAH

Yes, the hallowed crests and vales of St. Andrews at Scotland are still the holiest grail. True, the links courses in Ireland are still the true test of any semblance of mastery over this fickle, cruel and magnificent game. But there's a whole new set of experiences out there for golf nuts from multiple-course repasts in Mauritius, Thailand and Delhi to tropical gems in Langkawi and Mauritius. Gather your clubs, lie through your teeth to your better halves, and slink away with your golfing buddies to indulge your greatest vice, at some of the finest golf resorts in Asia.

Black Mountain Golf Club, Hua Hin, Thailand

Golfers are confronted with a surfeit of golf courses in Hua Hin-as many as ten championship layouts-but most make a beeline for the top-rated Black Mountain Golf Club, designed by Australian Phil Ryan and the venue for numerous Asian Tour events. Set in the shadow of the Black Mountain, and dominated by rocky outcrop, Black Mountain is a modern layout characterised by large greens and peppered with bunkers (highlighted by red pampas grass, very common on courses in Thailand). Among Black Mountain's features are rock faces set in to the mountains and natural creeks that run through the course. The par-3 11th is Ryan's signature hole: it has a green cradled by a wall of white stones and protected by an expanse of water. The course also has dramatic elevation changes which make for interesting tee shots, none more so than on the downhill par-5 sixth hole, with its twin fairways. Not surprisingly, Black Mountain has become a winter home for a bunch of Swedish golf pros including the likes of Johan Edfors (who owns a villa here) and Henrik Stenson.

Classic Golf & Country Club (ITC Grand Bharat), NCR, India