Mission Hills Haikou… 10 Courses in China’s Hawaii.

[Ryan Farrow]

Over the past 2 years Schmidt-Curley has been working on a pretty ambitious project on Hainan Island in the People Republic of China. I just wanted to share some of my experiences with the group.

A brief overview:  The entire site is on volcanic lava rock surrounded by some pretty lush tropical vegetation, Leeche Trees,  Elephant Ear, Banana Trees … now if we only had monkeys on site, it would be a home-run. As you will see, building a course on lava rock is not easy, lots of hammering, lots of excavators and dump trucks and most importantly, dirt, tons of dirt. Mission Hills bought a piece of property nearby (which sits just above the vast lava field the engulfed much of Haikou) and mined the site of its red dirt which was then trucked to our site.

Our company’s previous work with Mission Hills was done in tandem with some of the biggest names in golf, thus giving each course a recognizable persona to distinguish each course.  Going at it alone this time, Brian was focused on making each course, completely unique and different. Melbourne Sandbelt, Golden Age, Natural, Modern,  Links, Pete Dye and Oakmont tribute courses, bunkers with black sand, par 3 courses with 2 pins, 7,700 Yards to 6,200 Yards… truly something for everyone, and I’m sure something the tree house would enjoy, only if it was a little closer to home!

I will be posting a bunch of photos throughout the next few days, a lot of construction shots too. Feel free to comment, ask questions. If you have anything for Brian, feel free to ask, and I’ll forward it on.

[Ryan Farrow]

[Rob Miller]

Ryan- Great photos.  Looking forward to more. 

A few questions to start-

What was the inspiration from the Mission Hills group?  You mentioned Shenzhen was about the "big name" architect, so it seems Hainan is something like a collection of different courses of the world?   

22 courses?  Really?  How much real estate development is going into the project? 

What are the most unusual design features that's being implemented? 

Is there a signature tournament course?  Is there a "Top 100" course in there?  How will it compare to Shenzhen? 

Finally, if you build it will they come? 

I just passed that way, I broke a sweat just standing around.  Hope you guys are keeping cool.

Thanks for sharing the experience. 

[Peter Ferlicca]

I have a couple questions too?

Is this a club that manages all those courses?  Is it a private or semi-private club that runs it?  Because if you could join a club that has 22 different courses to choose from, your money would be well spent. 

How big were the staffs working on one individual project?

Does the black lava play the same as desert rocks?

Which kind of designed course was your favorite to work on? and second favorite?

That volcano bunker is amazing!!!!! Total Pete Dye, Woodland Country Club in Carmel, IN has a big volcano like that by a green.

[Ryan Farrow]

Rob,

only 10 courses. I know there have been a lot of rumors about how many golf courses this project is but we are only building 10 Golf courses now. I would know!

... It’s all part of a Larger Master Planned Residential / Resort Community. There are some core golf courses in the mix. But its resort friendly, not sure if there are any plans for membership (Shenzhen is a Members Club) I am fairly certain all courses will be open to the public and Resort guests now, and into the future.

There is not really any particular inspiration; we of course wanted to showcase the Lava Rock environment. Most courses do that, but there are some courses where we try and get away from that environment, just to keep things different.

Unusual design features? Lots!  Our Pete Dye course features some pretty wacky stuff, corkscrew bunkers, railroad ties everywhere!  Our Golden age course has some pretty wicked bunkers/ chocolate drop mounds… think back to the dark ages, where weird and quirky rules, but still the same strategic options, feel, play of a true golf age course.

Yes, there is a signature tournament course, our first course built named “Blackstone” Heavy on the Lava Rock, but plenty of room and width, no rough 7,700 + Yards irregular edged bunker, surface drainage and pretty tough. They will be having the World cup here in 2011 and a Greg Norman Celebrity Tournament here this October.
I think they will come, there is too much good golf here for it to sit empty. 15 minutes from the airport, will probably be everyone first stop on a Hainan Golf Trip.

PF,
The Shenzhen courses had different membership levels that gave you access to certain courses, Haikou should be run more like a resort, not a club.
The crews were big, and were working on multiple courses at a time, hard to really put a number on it… it was big!

The black rock basically plays as OB, but you typically get some good kicks back into the turf. We tried to keep the capping at about 70 Meters in width so it’s very playable.
Favorite course to work on, probably the Dye style course. Were doing lots of different stuff with the rock and railroad ties…. 2nd favorite…. Probably the Links Style, which we are working on now, looking very cool and faithful shaping wise to a real links, just hope we can make it play like one.

[Greg Cameron]

Ryan,where does the water come from?Is it paspalumn turf?

[Kye Goalby]

Ryan,

Maybe more important than where the water comes from...  I am really curious, where do/will the golfers come from?

[Michael Dugger]

"Only" 10 courses?

Dang.

I like the image of the excavators.  Crazy...

[Rob Miller]

Ryan-thanks.

What is the time frame for completion?  I imagine that things are moving fairly quickly.  How long does it take to build 10 courses in China?

[Ryan Farrow]

Greg,

The water comes from a large underground aquifer..... Then it comes from the sky in buckets as soon as the rainy season hits.. All turf is Paspalum. With a couple of different ground covers.

[Bill_McBride]

Who designed this masterpiece of minimalism?   

[David_Elvins]

Ryan,

Great stuff,  what are the logistics for a golf course designer on a job like this?  Are all ten courses built at once or are they staggered slightly?  How many engineers/archies did you have on the job?  Was their like a diffferent lead archie for each course?  Was there much chance for desinging in the field or was it strictly to plan?  What were the construction crew like at following plans?  Ta.

[Ryan Farrow]

Kyle,

Sometimes I wonder that myself. But China's golf market has a lot better future than ours in the U.S.  eventually, the courses will fill up.

 1.4 Billion is a lot of people, and they are picking up the game fast.


Michael,

those excavators/rock hammers were all in 1 bunker, I think it was 12-14, couldn't get all of them in the photo.

Rob,

I would like to think we can finish grassing everything in the next few months, but rainy season is almost here. There is still a lot of detail work and landscaping to get the courses ready for play.

David,

We started working on our first course, the tournament course but quickly started hopping around, next thing you know we are working on about 5 different styles of golf courses at one time. Its always a little bit of work getting the shapers to adjust, but they get on board pretty fast, you just need to get them going in the right direction and then your gold.

Brian designed the courses, did greens drawings for just about every green out here, every once in a while we would work them out in the field... some courses were pretty close to the plan, some courses had a lot of field adjustments.... we tried not to force too much, especially working in the rock. If it made sense to change something in the field, we did.

[Ryan Farrow]

It's all about the rock!












And Railroad Ties!

[Matt Day]

Ryan
Great photo's. Looks like there is something for everyone in those pictures

I'm looking at a first ever visit to China in March 2011 with a friend who manages a number of courses in Melbourne and Sydney.

As much as the looking at the architecture we're keen to learn about the golf market in China as it may have the potential to provide business opportunities for golf in Australia.

Would you recommend trying to get to both Mission Hills properties to see and play or is Shenzhen not accessible to visitors? We also possibly planned going to Beijing, any courses in that area worth looking at.

Any advise would be appreciated

[Tom_Doak]

Ryan:  Was Mr. Dye involved in your "Pete Dye style" course in any way, other than inspiration?  If not, are you [or the client] really going to call it that publicly?

[Ryan Farrow]

Matt, I would recommend a trip to Hainan, by the time your here in 2011, who knows how many courses, by how many different architects will be open. The land is so varied throughout the island, there will be something for everyone: mountain courses, sand dunes, clifftop ocean, beaches, mountains, rain forest, lava rock.... its pretty varied, and there should be some really really good options here in a few years time.

Shenzhen is not the most friendly place for outside play, I would say its more club than resort. You can do it, but its expensive. Beijing? Haven't been and I have not heard many great things about the golf, if you go, go for the duck.

I would say your next best bet is Kunming, we have something special about to pop up out there, plus you always have the Spring City courses that are always ranked at the top of the China Lists.

[Ryan Farrow]

Ryan:  Was Mr. Dye involved in your "Pete Dye style" course in any way, other than inspiration?  If not, are you [or the client] really going to call it that publicly?

No, he was not involved.... and there is no plan to use his name, in fact, we are still working on a name right now. The course kind of shot off in another direction midstream, which kind of made the old name obsolete. The course is a trip, should be fun at just around 6,200 yards. I think Pete would like it

[Ryan Farrow]

Ok, here is the last hoorah! All photo credit goes to Tom Breazeale, who just finished a 3 week photo shoot.






















There are a few more shots I never got around to uploading, if you want to check them out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24895187@N02/sets/72157623961396287/

[Harris Nepon]

Great pictures Ryan. Course looks awesome to me. Most have been a ridiculous project to manage.

You have mentioned the rainy season in a few posts. How will the rain impact the courses? Does it not rain for days and weeks at a time? Will the bunkers constantly wash out? Or is something done to keep it from happening?

 How will they keep up with maintenance during that time?

Are there special aspects to keep in mind when designing courses for a region with so much rain?

Again, looks like some great golf. 

[Ryan Farrow]

Great pictures Ryan. Course looks awesome to me. Most have been a ridiculous project to manage.

You have mentioned the rainy season in a few posts. How will the rain impact the courses? Does it not rain for days and weeks at a time? Will the bunkers constantly wash out? Or is something done to keep it from happening?

 How will they keep up with maintenance during that time?

Are there special aspects to keep in mind when designing courses for a region with so much rain?

Again, looks like some great golf. 

Harris,

We are having a bit of a problem with wash outs but no matter how well you protect against them, it will happen if it rains enough. Liner, sand trapper, etc..... none of it really works like they say it does.  Typically, on any course, the next morning is spent pushing sand back up on the faces after a heavy rain, just part of the job and not a whole lot anyone can do to prevent it. I guess the bonus in Asia is (depending on how you look at it) that labor is cheap and its just a regular part of the budget and upkeep. Washouts really didn't prevent us from doing what we wanted with the bunkers.

[Matt Day]

thanks for the advise Ryan, looks like we will start with Hainan as the priority and view Shenzhen as an added bonus if we can get their.

I wasn't all that excited about China, but your photos has changed that

[Ryan Farrow]

I wouldn't blame you for not getting excited.... China was pretty neglected in the past, unfortunately a lot of big name designers in the had just mailed in projects. Combine that with a lack of decent contractors and you'll see why the quality is what it is over here.
   Now you see a lot of smaller firms who have come to China in search of a job to keep them afloat, as well as some big name companies focusing primarily on this region because things have been so bad on the home front..... The bar is being raised here and in the next couple of years the best new golf courses will be coming out of China.