Awana Golf & Country Resort

Few golf courses in Southeast Asia demand as much respect from the elements as this one. Perched at roughly 3,300 feet above sea level in the Titiwangsa mountain range, Awana Golf & Country Resort plays through dense tropical rainforest where cooling mist rolls across the fairways most mornings and afternoon thunderstorms can arrive with little warning — conditions that shape every round as much as the layout itself.

The course was designed by Ronald Fream and opened in the early 1980s as part of the broader Genting resort development, offering a genuine highland alternative to Malaysia's coastal and lowland tracks. Elevation changes are dramatic throughout, with the surrounding jungle pressing tightly against the fairways and lending the round an enclosed, almost cinematic quality. The thin mountain air and firm, fast conditions that come with altitude give the course a different character than most Malaysian resort layouts.

Genting Highlands itself is best known as a casino and entertainment destination, and Awana functions as the resort's more serene, outdoors-oriented counterpart — a place where the golf genuinely earns attention on its own terms rather than simply riding the coattails of the hilltop complex above.