| The
course is very long, over 7300 yards, over an almost flat terrain. You can see
greens from tees on many holes, which gives you a good impression. Overall the
course is not too tough and its fairways are relatively generous, so you don’t
feel it is as difficult as the total yardage might indicate. However, the course
provides an excellent layout where good shots are rewarded and bad shots are penalized.
The last 9 holes are especially great and you can enjoy all kinds of golf challenges
with each hole varying dramatically. |
| An excellent par 5 that can be reached
in 2. A precise and long drive is required down the narrow fairway guarded by
bunkers. Bunkers are also well positioned on the second shot. A lake bordering
the right side of the narrow fairway extends to greenside, so watch out on left
to right balls. If you hit every shot accurately, you will be rewarded by a birdie.
But if you slice or hook the ball, you end up with a bogey easily. This
hole has undergone a big change in 2004. In the past, the area where drives used
to be a lake and bushes, and you had to hit the fairway on the right of the lake
which does not exist under the current layout. Then, the second or third shot
is across the lake to the green whose front is guarded by water, which made it
a stunning dogleg to the left. The former layout was selected as one of the best
500 holes in the world in 2000 by US Golf Magazine. I don’t know whether or not
the new hole will be selected again but the club maintains that the new hole is
even more difficult. Personally I prefer the old hole but I can still completely
enjoy playing the new one. |
| It takes one and half hours from Hong Kong by
a club car. The car is better and more comfortable than a bus because you can
shorten the time through immigration. The adjacent hotel was very comfortable
and I enjoyed the view of no.1 hole of the Ozaki Course through the window. The course requires players to
have handicap certificates and is open to members and their guests only. I
played with a single-handicap member from the black tees or tournament tees, which
should be possible to play on weekdays. It seems that playing from the black tees
is not allowed on Saturdays and Sundays. The black tees actually had no tees on
the grounds, so we played from the sides of the yardage makers. Playing from the
black tees, it is a very demanding and difficult course. When advanced players
play from the blue tees of 6300 yards, 1000 yards shorter, they are not only misled
into thinking that the course is easy but also tend to become bored because the
hazards in proper positions such as bunkers or lakes don’t come into play. There
are yellow tees between black and blues tees, so the medium & advanced players
understand the course better if they use at least the yellow tees. I played
in 2003 and the fairway conditions were bad because I guess too many players like
to play at this popular course. At the end of 2003, the old fairway turf was replaced,
so the course condition this time was good. This club immediately became
famous because the World Cup was held at the World Cup Course in 1995. The Dynasty
Cup, a Ryder Cup-style shootout between Asia and Japan, was also held at the World
Cup Course in 2004 & 2005. Mission Hills GC is the world’s biggest
golf complex with 10 courses or 180 holes as of 2004, overtaking the huge Pinehurst
resort in North Carolina, which has eight 18-hole courses. The picture shows the
10 designers who are all world-famous players or a teaching pro. The 10 courses
are designed by Jack Nicklaus, Vijay Singh, Nick Faldo, Jumbo Ozaki, Ernie Els,
Annika Sorenstam, David Duval, Jose Maria Olazabal, David Leadbetter and Greg
Norman. | |
A view seen from behind 18th