LAUCALA ISLAND - FIJI

Nearly five years after Nanea opened for play in 2003, David McLay Kidd was back in the Pacific. This time on a private island called Laucala, about 45 minutes’ flying time by private plane from Fiji’s Nadi International Airport.

Laucala was owned for many years by publishing giant Malcolm Forbes. After he died, his family sold it to Dietrich Mateschitz, the man who put Red Bull in every nightclub and 7-11 in the world.

Red Bull helped make Mateschitz extremely wealthy. Forbes says he’s worth $3.7 billion. He owns a Formula One race team and a professional soccer team. He paid for Kidd to build a world-class course out of the thick jungle that covers much of the 3,000-acre resort island.

Unlike the other courses listed here, you don’t need to know a member to play Laucala. You simply need to be loaded. Access to the course, which opened as a full 18-hole layout earlier this year, is for resort guests only. Laucala has 25 villas. To spend just one night in the cheapest bure will set you back $4,000. If you want to stay in Mateschitz’s personal house, which offers views across the entire island, you will need $30,000 … for one night.

By the way, Mateschitz doesn’t play golf but when he stays on the island he uses the course as a walking track.

www.laucala.com