The beautiful Tiara Melaka Golf & Country Club in Malaysia

Its 27-hole championship golf course, however, is built like an old school, exclusive member's club, where guests are slain by the course's many difficulties and the members, having unlocked the layout's secrets through hundreds of rounds, clean their clocks.

The golf course was designed by the global architecture team of Nelson, Wright & Hayworth, which has an extensive Asian portfolio that includes projects in Indonesia, China and Vietnam. Their design at Tiara is a bold one, full of water carries and split fairways, offering multiple routes to the hole.

The most difficult hole here is No. 8 on the Meadow nine. It's long, at 410 meters, but also plays uphill, dog-legging tightly through trees on either side and requiring a long carry over water off the tee. And watch out for the tree in the middle of the fairway. To negotiate this tree, It's almost a guarantee you'll have to shape your approach shot in some way - or at least hit a low ball - to reach the green.