Golf Central

Do you like your par-4s wayyyyy uphill, at 450-yards-plus? Do you like golfing with an oxygen mask? We thought so. Well if you like your golfing holidays mixed with a bit of errr. ... "hillwalking" ... then the Himalayas may be just your ticket.
     A long-time favourite spot for yoga freaks, fitness fanatics and people who simply want to vanish, the Himalayan mountains are becoming a popular golf destination.
     A round at the Gokarna Forest Golf Resort & Spa, in Katmandu, Nepal, will only set you back $50. The track was designed by Gleneagles' own David Kidd and claims to have the only bent-grass greens in South Asia (the par-5 11th is pictured above). Golfing at Gokarna also carries the unique panache of being able to say: "I played golf in the Forbidden Valley", home to the Surya Nepal Masters, an event on the Indian-based PGAI Tour, a feeder circuit for Asian Tour hopefuls.
    In addition to the golf, you can see monkeys in the nearby forest, get a lovely back massage and spoil the missus senseless in the "Harmony Spa", and probably have really nice Nepalese curry, too.
    The long-haul airfare is the big problem, and there's that Maoist thing, but hey - that never stopped '80s rock legend Bob Seger from singing: "If ever get out of here, I'm going to K-K-K-K-Katmandu..."
    So what's stopping you ... other than not having a Bob Seger-sized budget? Super-fit IGWT editorial chief Iestyn George likes his golf the hard way, having claimed to have played at least three great golf courses with holes called "Himalayas." Mr George went down with a crocked hamstring in a six-a-side football match yesterday, though, so John Terry he may not be - however, if he is game enough to play the Himalayas, you should be, too.
    Penang-based businessman raves Richard Long raves about golf in Nepal. "You see all these different colors in the morning and evening, the snowy mountain peaks change colour after sunset. The air is thinner and the ball flies further," gushed Long to the Wall Street Journal.
    In addition to Gokarna, there's also the stunning 9-hole Himalayan Golf Club in Pokhara, the Royal Nepal GC in Katmandu, and the Nirvana Country Club in Dharan. Nepalese tour operators Earthbound Expeditions can hook you up with a six-day golf and casino package including Gokarna.
    So off you go, then ...