Golf in China

[Wayne_Freedman]

I'm real excited. Am going to China for a golf trip next month.
Have any of you golfed there? What should I expect?

Here are the courses:


Beijing Golf Club Club
Pine Valley Golf
Beijing Yaoshang Country Golf Club or Beijing Win-river Golf Club
Beijing Huatang Int’l Golf Club
Spring City Golf & Lake Resort (Mountain Course)
Spring City Golf & Lake Resort (Lake Course)

[Dale_McCallon]

At least you are getting to play Pine Valley!

Can't help you with any of these courses--only ones in China I have heard of is the Mission Hills Resort.  I think it has six courses with a 7th being built.

[W.H. Cosgrove]

I am assuming that the Bejing Golf Club is the same as Bejing international that I played in 2000.  

This was arguably the best day in a two week tour of China.  Maintenance was being carried out by a seeming army of workers.  Putting surfaces were quite acceptable although not of the quality we are somtimes spoiled by in the US.  

The course was beautifully landscaped and picturesque.  

Female caddies were not only cute but supportive.  Their english did not extend past "nice shot", "good par" and unfortunately "that is O.B.".

Have a great time.  

[Joel_Stewart]

I've always thought Golden Pebble outside of Dalian was the top golf course in China?  

Wayne if you email me, I can provide you the name of 2 people (both Golf Magazine panelists) that just returned from a golf trip in China.

[harley_kruse]

Wayne

The key destinations for golf in China are more in the south and not so much Beijing due its freezing winter.  Despite this you will be in Beijing in Fall which is a good time of year.  One course you mentioned is Yaoshang. There is a brand new course there right next to the original one, its  called Jinmen Loch. Its built on natural sandy soil  and designed by Bob Shearer from Melbourne. Worth a visit.

Also its worth considering going to Shanghai where you will find:

Shanghai Links - a very un Nicklaus, Nicklaus course of links character complete with pot bunkers on several holes. 15 mins from airport
Binhai Golf - a links style of course on the coast. I was onsite designer/project manager here. Orinally under the site was completly under 1m of saltwater fish farms.we  pumped the soil/silt to creat 'terra firma' into which a links style course was created. In 1998 this course was on the coast.  With continual silt depostion from the mouth of the Yangtze river it is now inland 1 km. Its 30mins from airport
Shanghai Silport Golf Club - never played it but considered one of the better ones in Shanghai

I've heard that the condition of Golden Pebble Beach at Dalian is not so good anymore. It used to be considered China's no 1 until Spring City Opened. Suggest not worth the visit.

Spring City in Kunming is worth a visit to play the 2 courses.

The highest density of courses in China is in Guangdong province which is right next to Hong Kong. The main cities here are Shanzhen and Guangzhou.  Around Shenzhen there are several courses to play.  The Sand River GC , and Xili are 2 examples.  Mission Hills golf club (30mins from Shenzhen airport) now has 10 courses of which the Norman designed course will be open by end of September.  

Happy golfing

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Wayne,
I have never been to China, but like Dale, I have heard a lot of good things about Mission Hills--five of them, designed by  Schmidt & Curley.

Frankly you could do a lot worse as S&C courses are usually a kick to play and plenty strategic. The only badside would be 5 courses by one architecture firm might get a little tiring, but I can tell you with plenty of confidence that I could pick you out 7 S&C courses here in SoCal that are all unique and challenging and are worth the play, not to mention I think its like 10 courses they have there at Mission Hills.

Stay away from the Salmon Moose.

[Micah Woods]

Wayne,

I haven’t played any of the courses in Beijing. Beijing Huatang International is a Graham Marsh design. The weather up there in September should be fine.

Harley is right; Mission Hills has 10 courses now.  In Shanghai, I would also recommend both Binhai and Shanghai Links. They are on reclaimed land right next to the East China Sea on opposite sides of the Pudong airport. Both are excellent, a stiff breeze is usual at both, and architecturally they offer the most strategy of the courses I have played in China.

Rankings of China’s courses have always shocked me. I find that maintenance, advertising, and presence of a tournament give a reputation to a course that it may not be deserving of. Shanghai Silport hosts the Volvo China Open. It is a fun course for me to play, especially with its selection of short par fours. There is tons of water. The greens have some slope. Bunkers surround the greens. Trees have been planted to line the fairways. The eel in the clubhouse is excellent. But architecturally there is nothing remarkable about it.

With that said about the rankings, the best golf destination in China is indubitably the Spring City resort. It deserves all the accolades it has received. The Nicklaus course is on better land for golf, and has some spectacular holes. The 9th is a par 5 with a blind drive to the crest of a hill and then a steep descent to a skyline green with the huge Lake Dian as a backdrop. The RTJ II course is on terraces down to the lake, and it is visually breathtaking. There are some excellent holes and some that are constrained by the site. For overall experience, I would put Spring City in the same category as Bandon Dunes. The courses at Bandon may be better, but one doesn’t necessarily expect to find such a spectacular resort on the southern Oregon coast; one is perhaps more overwhelmed by the discovery of Spring City in essentially the middle of nowhere in what appears to be a jejune portion of Yunnan. David Wood is writing a book about a year-long golf trip to 29 countries; it may be titled “Around the World in 80 Courses.” More info is at this website:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/moore/185395_moore09.html

The favorite courses of Mr. Wood’s were at Spring City, according to the article.

Have a fun trip.

-Micah Woods