The unique Cyprus course is set either side of a huge ravine and requires plenty of buggy-driving.
skysports.com plays the unique Cyprus course
Aphrodite Hills golf resort, nestled up above the ancient town of Paphos in Cyprus is a dramatic course based on two plateaux either side of a huge ravine which offers some unique challenges for a golf course.
Opened in 2002, Aphrodite Hills is the premier golfing destination in Cyprus, but will be joined by the recently-opened Nick Faldo course at the nearby Elea Estate once their accommodation is built, providing two excellent facilities that will propel the island into the big league of golfing destinations.
A five-star resort with hotel and restaurant, Aphrodite Hills has apartments and villas scattered all around the huge 234-hectare estate, with the golf course weaving its way between these and along one plateau and back across the next after crossing the mighty ravine.
As with many of these resorts, practice facilities are excellent, with a double-ended 350m driving range, short game area as well as putting green coupled with an academy area containing three full-size holes for learners to hone their game before taking on the main course.
Designer Cabell Robinson says the course is the "culmination of my 35 years designing courses", and he first visited the site 20 years before opening - the delay probably came with designing and building the miles and miles of buggy paths in and out of the ravine!
Buggy time
Buggies are mandatory here, and it doesn't take long to find out just why as, after the second green, you drive a kilometre down into and up the other side of the huge gorge that separates the two parts of the course.
There is actually a tee box for the third which would mean driving off over the valley, carrying at least 200 metres (220 yards) just to reach the other side and further to get onto the fairway. Robinson says making the carry is 'a thrill of a lifetime' but it looked a lot further to us and we did not even attempt to take on this hefty challenge.
Robinson has built generous fairways, and rough in between holes is not the hardest to escape in the world, but then again you spend enough time in your buggy driving around, you don't want to add on any extra time searching through knee-high scrub looking for lost balls.
Views are stunning over the Mediterranean from most holes, but the par-three seventh hole is the showpiece feature, as you take on the canyon with a shot right over the abyss to a small green 30m below which is guarded by bunkers back and right.
It's a great thrill striking a ball over the ravine (even if you don't make it or slice it off into the valley like myself) while the drive down the twisting buggy path down to the tee is also a thrill in itself, even if my playing partner could literally have not taken the corners any slower on the descent.
You then drive back up the other side to the green, by which time you may have forgotten what the result of your shot from the other side was! Hopefully you are not in the back bunker, trying to splash out of the sand with the spectre of the ravine lying in wait for anything hit too thin.
The course was in great nick though, with well-manicured Bermuda grass fairways, well maintained bunkers and large, tiered true-rolling greens of American creeping Bent grass, which played a tad slower than those we had played at nearby Elea.
Sea views
The eighth and ninth holes offer superb views of the sea from right on the cliff tops, and the ninth hole runs alongside the hotel and apartment complex down the right, although holidaymakers in these need to beware of slicers as many a golf ball has ended up there!
We spotted a couple of golf balls on top of the roof of a poolside bar at the hotel, but thankfully none were courtesy of our party despite a big slice from one of us (who will remain nameless) on the ninth.
Doglegs on 14 and 16 make for challenging holes, while a long par three in between at 15 is another tough hole to get through on the run-in.
The par-five 18th is a great finishing hole with water on the right guarding the green and the terrace bar of the clubhouse behind offering good viewing spots to watch floundering members of your party coming home.
Clubhouse facilities are as you would expect, with excellent dining and superbly furnished both inside and out on the classy terrace bar, while a fully-stocked pro shop sits just underneath.
Those who don't like to spend too much time in buggies may get a little frustrated, as you do have many lengthy drives in between holes that could lead you to question why they put a golf course in such a vicinity!
However, views are spectacular, and hitting and driving up and down the ravine does offer a unique and fun experience for most people, and looking beyond the gimmicks the course is well designed and well maintained.
It's a type of course you need to play, anyone who has will always ask 'Did you make it?' about the par three over the ravine. Throw in the views, the drives and the challenge of the course itself and you have a thoroughly enjoyable experience all round.
