Guangdong golf courses

One of the greatest female golfers of all time has tried her hand at designing a golf course at the Mission Hills Golf Club. The Annika Course, designed in part by Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam is the shortest of the 10 courses at Mission Hills.

Located in one of the more mountainous regions of the complex the front 9 enjoys significant changes in elevation creating problems for club selection and when the wind blows creating a challenge making the holes far trickier than normal.

The course is set in a beautiful rolling landscape which is dotted with hollows that have invariably been created into ponds to further test and challenge the golfer.

If you are an avid fan of bunkers then this is most definitely the course for you. Bunkers are scattered about the entire layout of the course and some are more terrifying than others.

A huge plus for the Dongguan Hillview Master Course are the greens which are unusually fast for courses in China so well worth a visit if you like slick greens.

One of the design aspects of the course is the various ways of playing it. You can be aggressive seeking the tight lines and dangerous carries, selecting which side of the split fairways you would prefer, or you can play a more controlled and delicate approach to the course.

It is a difficult decision as the way the course is setup creates doubt as to how to approach the round.

The second hole is a beautifully crafted par 3. At 177 yards is not the longest but the visual aspect of the rocks between the pond and the green draw the eye to water hazard that shouldn´t really come into play but can all too easily play on the mind of the golfer.

The third is the first example of the split fairways and presents the golfer with the first decision as to whether they should play aggressively or be a little more cautious in their approach.

The par 5 fifth is a great example of hole that can be attacked, if you go for the green in two the hole plays almost straight. Play to get there in three and you will play a hole that almost becomes an “S” shape. Get the play wrong and you could end up in some of the deepest bunkers you may have ever seen. With some of the bunkers reaching 3 meters in depth so you could be faced with the face of the bunker and no view of where you are trying to get.

 It is a great experience to play here and for that reason alone you should put on your list of courses when you are in the area. 

South African golfer Ernie Els has created a name for himself as not only a world class golfer but an emerging talent on the golf course design circuit.  The Els Course at Mission Hills Golf Club lays testament to the fantastic eye the “Big Easy” has for designing courses that will stay long in the memory for their challenge and their beauty.

Measuring 7049 yards from the back tees the course boasts no parallel holes, creating an intimate setting for golfers to enjoy.  Swathes of lush green and perfectly manicured fairways are framed by the dense forested areas creating the image of luxury.

Arguably England´s finest golfer, Sir Nick Faldo has become somewhat of a legendary golf course designer with many of his courses hosting tournament events around the globe   The Faldo Course at Missions Hills Golf Club is absolutely no exception to Faldo´s ever expanding golf course design portfolio and his growing reputation as one of the big names in course design. 

Widely considered the best golf instructor in the David Leadbetter has dabbled in course design with the Leadbetter design at the Mission Hills Golf Club in China. 

Leadbetter in creating the course was to provide a course where golfers could learn to “play” the game and with that in mind he created a course which he claims will require every club in your bag. This point is up for debate but what can be said of the course is this: I would not say it is a course to learn to play on. At 7117 yards from the back tees the course is long, although it possesses some short par fours and a very short par three the length the course does play shorter than its yardage. 

For many visitors to the Mission Hills Golf Club the standout course is The Norman. 

Designed by the “Great White Shark” the course is typical of the challenging designs that Greg Norman has become renowned for. Taking his inspiration from the Sand Belt courses on which he grew up, Normans attention to detail creates simply stunning golf courses that you will never tire of playing and the Norman Course at Mission Hills is no different.

One of Spains greatest golfers has designed what can only be described as a golfing masterpiece with his course at Mission Hills. The Olazabal course designed by Jose Maria Olazabal is considered as one of the finest courses in China and it not difficult to see why.

Set in the Mission Hills Golf Club complex the course has access to stunning club houses and hotels and provides golfers with everything they could possibly need to enjoy a golfing break.

The layout of the Ozaki Course in Mission Hills is very ordinary. Its holes literally sit on some of the best land on the resorts main property with a course designed between rolling hills covered with dense virgin forest scrub. While the World Cup, the Norman, Faldo and Olazabal courses in Mission Hills are tougher golf tests, Ozaki (formerly Canyon) is definitely one of the nicer courses in this complex. On the Ozaki Course in Mission Hills, Shenzhen, gentle elevation change, excellent use of sand and the subtle influence of water all combine to provide a delightful little track – little, because from the blue tees it just manages to creep over 6,100 yards.

Palm Island Golf resort, located in Hui Yang District of the Guangdong Province is around 40 minutes from Hong Kong and the Shenzhen regions. Travel connections are superb with the course being just a few minutes from three major motorway routes making for great ease of access. A shuttle service from Hong Kong is also available making this one of the most accessible golf courses in the region. 

The resort is made up of 3 loops of 9 all with their own character and style. Designed by the Jack Nicklaus design group, the resort boasts a reputation of fine fairway and challenging greens. 

One of the most influential and individual designers of the last 50 years, Pete Dye has created a course that stands out from the other courses found at the Mission Hills Golf Club in China.

With the construction of the Pete Dye Course, Mission Hills has added a course like no other to the already baffling number of golf courses in one complex.

The Rose-Poulter Course at Mission Hills, previously the Duval course was remodelled by two stars of international golf, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter.

It is the first design by the English pair and it marks a design debut for both players. The players were tasked with a complete overhaul of the original David Duval design and achieved astonishing results, taking ideas from the Blackstone Course in Haikou and that is clear to see in the stunning remodelled course.

The Vijay Course at Mission Hills, China was designed and constructed principally by Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley with input from former World Number 1 golfer, Fijian Vijay Singh. Although called the Vijay course, Singh actually had very little to do with the design. 

Overall the course is very much an innovation with some interesting design features, you will need to play from the back tees to really enjoy these features which generally do not come into play from the forward tees. Although for the average golfer, playing from the back tees could pose a challenge too strong to actually get any enjoyment from it.

The World Cup Course at the Mission Hills Golf Resort in China was purpose built to stage the 1994 golf World Cup, hence its name and was the founding course of the impressive Mission Hills Golf Club, now home to a staggering 212 holes of golf.

Designed by legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus the course has been well out and although it measures over 7,300 yards the course is not as difficult as that yardage may suggest.