Over the course of the past few weeks I have been able to play on 3 Batam Golf Courses (Padang Sukajadi, Batam Hills and Tering Bay) and experience their respective packages for Singapore based Golfers. My review:

A. Condition of course:
1. Padang Sukajadi (good drainage, even if it rains course is playable), fairways are great and the greens well maintained)
2. Tering Bay – excellent drainage, despite continuous rains the course was well playable, fairways ok, greens in good playing condition
3. Batam Hills – poor drainage, despite no rain in the past 2 days and the sun being out for most of the morning many soggy patches. 2 greens were completely sanded, which left a less than positive impression

B. Condition of Facilities
1. & 2. Draw between Padang Sukajadi & Batam Hills: Padang Sukajadi has fairly new, modern and pleasant facilities, but they lack that special something – the architecture is a bit boring. And unfortunately their food offering is taste-wise somewhat weak – actually the weakest among these courses and the service in the restaurant is also only so so. Batam Hills has a very nice Club House, makes great use of the setting and the food tastes great and service is consistently good. But it is dated and needs some renovation work.
3. Tering Bay – Loved it 10 years ago…. and basically it has not changed since then: Nice architecture and ok food (great service though..), but it needs a major overhaul and this takes it a notch behind the other two clubs

C. Ease and quality of booking and overall arrangement

1. Padang Sukajadi: Nobody beats Ibu Fitri in this respect: Friendly, easy, quick and reliable – what else do I need to say. Also their Ferry Operator (Majestic) is by far better that Batam Fast and all the ground handlers (Passport and Bagage) have always delivered very well.
2. & 3. Draw between Batam Hills and Tering Bay. Booking process is easy, but not as easy as Padang Sukajadi (e-mail vs WhatsApp). Ferry in both cases is via Batam Fast – in the case of Tering Bay the Nongsa Route (from Tanah Merah) has the disadvantage that also on Weekdays it is full with uncles and aunties going for gambling – but it is faster and the land transport is shorter – so I’ll give it a draw. My experience with Batam Fast (on both routes) has been quite negative compared to Majestic: older boats and it always seems to take much longer to get the golf bags returned when travelling on Batam Fast than when travelling on Majestic.

D. Overall

1. Padang Sukajadi: Although the Course still has to develop in terms of size of trees and some work needs to done to get their F&B to the standard of the other clubs, they win my overall ranking due to the maintenance, quality of the greens and the brilliant booking and transport arrangements.
2. Batam Hills: Despite the soggy patches of the course, this is a very solid venue and in the dryer spells certainly a very good course. Downside is that when it rains it becomes unpleasant to play. Some upgrading of the facilities would be welcome.
3. Tering Bay: Good course layout with good drainage. Major work to upgrade facilities required, all looks very tired. But the staff are great – had a great caddie and in the restaurant they took exceptionally good care of me. Some other Ferry arrangement would also be welcome as sitting among the auntie/uncle gamblers is not my idea of a great transport to a Golf venue.

Incidentally the cost of the package coincides with the ranking. While minimal (abt. SGD 15 between cheapest and priciest) TB has the best price (and the only package that includes a basic lunch) followed by Batam Hills.