The Hong Kong Golf Club

The Hong Kong Golf Club - New Course
香港高爾夫倶樂部、伊甸場

Course Data

Location	Hong Kong, China
Yardage	6531 yards Par 70
Course Rating	70.5
Playing Date	12 Jul. 2005 & 4 Apr. 2010
Designer	Various designers over 70 years
Opened	1931
Caddie	Yes
Golf Cart	No

Rating

Overall Rating

4.20

Course Layout	4
Difficulty Level	4
Greens Condition	5
Fairways Condition	4
Landscaping & Views	4


A view from the clubhouse			This club has 3 18-hole courses, Old, New & Eden. Among them, this New Course is the most challenging, the longest and the most pleasant course to play. The trees on the course are fully-grown and give the course a great feeling of its tradition.

A parkland flavor

Beautifully contoured 5th green

3rd　 Par 5　530 yards

A challenging dogleg to the left par 5 with great views. If you hook the ball to the left from the tee, it goes onto an adjoining fairway and high trees between the two holes make the second shot extremely hard. If you hit too much to the
right side, it is not good either, because it is further to the green and it might even go into a hazard. So, an accurate tee shot is a must for this hole. Three bunkers each on the right and the left, around 100 yards from the green, are tactically placed and the closer to the green, the narrower the landing area of the fairway becomes, so your second shot needs to be accurate, too.

3rd　Par 5　530 yards (3)

3rd　Par 5　530 yards (2)

3rd　Par 5　530 yards (1)

7th　Par 4　396 yards

7th　Par 4　396 yards (2)

7th　Par 4　396 yards (1)

One drawback is that this is a blind hole from the tee. Because the hole drops down 15 yards from fairway to green on the second shot, you can’t see the flag. However, you will be impressed with views of the green, the splendid trees surrounding it and the grand mountain behind he trees which you suddenly see as you walk along the fairway.

8th　Par 3　197 yards

8th　Par 3　197 yards (2)

8th　Par 3　197 yards (1)

You had better avoid the left side of the green because it has a sharp slope. On the right side of the green, a bunker is in play. Moreover, the green isn’t
wide but deep, so precise shot is required.

9th　 Par 4　449 yards

A long par 4 dogleg to the left. In order to reach the green in two, you need to hit a long drive. A long iron is used for the second shot and if you hit it poorly, you may find your ball in a pond guarding the left side of the fairway or in right–and–left bunkers in front of the green, which makes saving par difficult.

9th　Par 4　449 yards (3)

9th　Par 4　449 yards (2)

9th　Par 4　449 yards (1)

12th　 Par 4　466 yards

12th　Par 4　466 yards (2)

12th　Par 4　466 yards (1)

A long and difficult par 4. A tight fairway is lined with matured trees and OB on both sides.

15th　Par 4　395 yards.

15th　Par 4　395 yards (2)

15th　Par 4　395 yards (1)

Personally speaking, I think that this hole has the best layout on this course. First, because it is a slight dogleg to the left and you tend to choose the most direct route off the tee to the green. But if you curve the ball a little bit to the left, it will land in a deep bunker or in trees on the left side of the fairway, both of which are no-go zones. Then, if your tee shot is too far right, the distance to the green becomes much longer and sometimes trees lie in the way to the green. The green is highly elevated, 10 yards in height, and a bunker in the front of the green is in play. Furthermore, the green isn’t big, so the second shot becomes very nerve-wracking.

16th　 Par 4　426 yards

Your tee shot must be skillfully placed not only because of the narrow fairway but also as there are trees near the fairway on both the left and the right. Long hitters need to be careful of the creek crossing the fairway. The green is very deep and elevated with right and left bunkers in play, which make the second shot challenging, too. But because this is very beautiful hole, you can feel fantastic hitting every shot.

16th　Par 4　426 yards (3)

16th　Par 4　426 yards (2)

16th　Par 4　426 yards (1)

19th hole

Visitors can play on weekdays but not on weekends. There are 5 private golf clubs in Hong Kong and Macau and this club is the most prestigious with the longest history among them.

Menbers' lounge

Restaurant

Swimming pool

Some famous professional golfers are invited to attend the “Hong Kong Open” held here every year. There are three 18-hole courses in the club. For the Open, the club chooses the best 18-hole combination, which is not open to the public, from this New Course and The Eden Course. If I were able to play this type of quality 18-hole composite course, the course layout rating on this course in my opinion would become a number close to 5 that is the highest.　

There are three levels of caddies, A, B & C, and the fees vary according to the level. For C, they just carry bags, level bunkers and clean balls. For B, in addition to the above they watch carefully where balls land and sometimes read greens. For A, they are interns or have intern-level skills and are familiar with advising on every hole and reading the greens. Each player has his own caddie, costing about US 21 dollars for C and US 35 dollars for A.