Hainan Island the new golf mecca

[Anthony Gray]

  Over 100 courses

[Greg Tallman]

The Myrtle Beach of Asia

[Tim Leahy]

Don't tease us Anthony, give us a link to something!

[Michael Goldstein]

Have Doak and C&C done work at Myrtle?? I suspect that when their two courses open on Hainan that threads relating to China might get a better hearing on GCA.

[Greg Tallman]

Have Doak and C&C done work at Myrtle?? I suspect that when their two courses open on Hainan that threads relating to China might get a better hearing on GCA.

Doak - yes at Legends Resort
C&C - i don't think so

Special Note: It is actually possible to have a quality golf destination without the work of Doak and/or C&C.

[Anthony Gray]

Have Doak and C&C done work at Myrtle?? I suspect that when their two courses open on Hainan that threads relating to China might get a better hearing on GCA.

  Who are the other 98 GCA?

  Anthony

[Jaeger Kovich]

Have Doak and C&C done work at Myrtle?? I suspect that when their two courses open on Hainan that threads relating to China might get a better hearing on GCA.

  Who are the other 98 GCA?

  Anthony

At least 10% (10 courses) belong to Mission Hills Haikou, which means they are Schmidt and Curley... one of their associates, Ryan Farrow, is a frequent poster here.

[Michael Goldstein]

Schmidt Curley are very busy in China. The Lava Fields course there was just ranked in the worlds top 100 by a UK publication. I'd do a photo tour but didn't have time when I played it.

I've heard good things about the Weiskopf course near Sanya.

[Jim Nugent]

Have Doak and C&C done work at Myrtle?? I suspect that when their two courses open on Hainan that threads relating to China might get a better hearing on GCA.

I've heard nothing about the Doak and C&C courses at Hainan.  Can anyone give some info? 

[Mark Chaplin]

Hainan Island is 13000 sq miles or 1/4 the size of England. New golfing mecca with 100 courses? I think not.

[Eric Smith]

From last year's FT article that was posted on here...


At last count, Hainan – slightly bigger than Belgium – had 22 courses, although many people believe it could easily reach 100 within five years...What’s less certain, though, is whether the provision of 100 golf courses – let alone the 200 to 300 touted by one provincial official – makes sense on Hainan...

Here is the link to the article...http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/22639c8a-ef65-11de-86c4-00144feab49a.html#axzz1W2OAzTiU

[Tom_Doak]

Have Doak and C&C done work at Myrtle?? I suspect that when their two courses open on Hainan that threads relating to China might get a better hearing on GCA.

I've heard nothing about the Doak and C&C courses at Hainan.  Can anyone give some info? 

Jim:

Bill Coore has just finished his course at Shanquin Bay, along the coast in the southeast part of the island, near Boao.  I've heard him compare the site to Pebble Beach.  But I have only seen a couple of construction pictures.

We have two projects for the same client, both described in my last GCA interview.  It's taken longer for them to get going than anticipated -- everything in China is going to happen immediately, except for the interminable delays -- but the first project, which is right next to the main city of Haikou, is about to start moving dirt in September, and the second, on the northeast tip of the island at Mulan Bay, sounds like it may get started before the first course is finished.

There is indeed a lot of activity on Hainan.  We hope we can add something to the mix.  Our first site is subtle; the second is as dramatic as can be.

[Anthony Gray]

  Will all of these courses be public?

  Anthony

[Ryan Farrow]

Anthony, all 10 course at Mission Hills Haikou are open to the public.

In general, there are only a handful of truly private clubs in China... Pretty much anyone can walk into a club and pay an un-accompanied guest fee, most of the time these prices are published on their websites. I'm surprised there is not more exclusivity considering how much the Chinese love to showcase their wealth. A super exclusive club membership like an Augusta or Seminole would be a huge notch on their belt, but that type of club doesn't exist here. You can probably cite a lack of history, tradition and truly great courses as a missing part of the equation (among others), we will see if that changes in the future.

I have lived in Hainan for over 2 years now, I wish I could say I knew how many courses there really are but I do not buy into the 100 figure... Probably in the high 60's now... but Schmidt- Curley already has 13 open for play & #14 is being grassed right now...so I could be wrong. The Government pretty much has the golf industry on lock-down with an announcement coming soon, along with an assorted list of guidelines and permits for existing courses & proposed developments deemed legal, even for Hainan Island, though it is technically exempt from the 2004 moratorium now.



Golf Mecca? Perhaps. The World Cup is coming in November and there are some truly outstanding sites and plenty of un-developed coast line. Our Courses at Mission Hills, Tom Weiskopf's courses in Wanning and Bill Coore's course in Boao have certainly raised the bar, and set the standard going forward. It will be an interesting time piece to say the least. If there are 40+ different architects building a course on the Island in a 4-5 year period... I don't think you can say that about anywhere else in the world. The more the merrier in my opinion.