| |
| The course is at the foot of a mountain and beside a big lake. Greens
are relatively small which is unusual because Nicklaus commonly designed big and
wavy greens. 6 holes have 2 greens each, short and long. Though all par 5s have
good layouts, they are relatively easy. The front 9 is very fun to play while
the back 9 is not that interesting. |
| |
| |
| A Par 5
reachable in 2. A 200-yard carry off the tee is needed to clear the lake. The
left side of the fairway and the green face the lake. If you decide to lay up,
the second shot is demanding because the landing area is squeezed by the lake
and the bunkers. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| A straight
and demanding hole. 2 inlets need to be negotiated on your way from tee to green.
You hit the tee shot to an island fairway almost surrounded by water. The green
is tremendously long more than 50 yards, divided into 2 greens. I played the shorter
green this time. The longer green increases the distance from 401 to 421 yards.
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| A gentle down slope, slight dogleg
to the right with water and bushes on the right. You hit the second shot from
a downhill lie, which is demanding. The undulating green is guarded by bunkers
and water on the right. The green and its surrounding area seen from the second
shot are scenic. |
| |
|
|
| An almost straight hole. A lake facing the left side of the
fairway comes into play on the second shot. The green is guarded by bunkers. |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
An “S” shaped hole with a dogleg
to the left around a lake followed by a sight dogleg to the right. The second
shot is downhill, so this very short par 5 can be reached in 2. I think that it
should be changed into a challenging par 4, and then the hole’s impression would
become more memorable. |
| |
|
|
| A challenging par 3 over a lake.
You should hit long rather than short because the bunkers guarding the front of
the green are quite deep. |
| |
| |
| It takes 30 minutes from Guangzhou by car.
I stayed at Yihe Hotel, a 5-minute drive from the course by car, and played the
following day. The hotel was excellent. If you like to play the black tees,
the longest, you should negotiate with a starter before you play. I tried to play
from the black tees but my caddie said that the tees were not allowed to play.
Luckily, I met a starter patrolling the course on the second hole and asked him
to allow me to play from the black tees, which I could play. The black tees were
not placed on the longest tee-grounds, so I played from there without the tees
The other Jack Nicklaus designed courses in China are Chung
Shan Hot Spring (中山温泉) GC – Jack Nicklaus Course, Pine
Valley International (華彬国際) GC, Shanghai
Links (上海林克司) G&CC, Hangzhou West Lake International
(杭州西湖国際) G&CC, Spring
City (春城) Ｇ＆ＬＲ - Mountain Course, Suzhou Sunrise
(蘇州中興) GC, Mission
Hill (觀蘭湖)GC – World Cup Course, Palm
Island (恵陽棕櫚島) GC, Wuyi Fountain Palm
(江門五邑蒲蔡) GC. |
A view from the clubhouse