China Golf

Golf is an increasingly popular sport in China, and a great pastime if you’re on the road for business! Club China explores the best greens the great Republic has to offer

Hainan: golf holiday destination on the rise

Breathtaking backgrounds and 300 sunny days per year

Labelling China’s southern island of Hainan ‘China’s Hawaii’ was not just a case of clever marketing; there is really some real truth in the comparison. Both have the same latitude, the same ideal surfing conditions and the same lovely weather with 300 sunny days per year. And Hainan even has volcanoes. They form a breathtaking background for the island’s top and fast-growing attraction: its superb golf courses, attracting both international and local golf lovers.

Thanks to its great weather conditions and its beautiful landscape, Hainan has been a successful Asian holiday destination for quite some time. It has rainforests, hot springs and great lovely beaches. There are luxury resorts all over the island and countless of other features that attract tourists from all over the world to the island. The fastest growing category among Hainan’s attractions is golf. There are dozens of top quality golf courses on the island and the landscaping and building will continue for years.

Golfing masterpiece

There are numerous lovely courses, like the Yalong Bay Golf Club, a 36 hole golfing masterpiece – design Robert Trent jr. – with two faces. The first 18 holes are perfect for the weekend player, the back 18 provides the ultimate golfing challenge for those with a low handicap. Then there is the 18 holes Sun Valley Golf Club course with its endless skill inducing challenges that will put your handicap to the test. There is the West Coast Golf Club, the Meishi Mayflower International Golf Club (unique for its night golfing experience) and the links-style Hainan Boao Golf & Country Club, supposedly one of the golf courses the most special features in China.

Built around a volcano

Hainan's newest golf attraction is the prestigious Mission Hills Haikou, built by the same organisation that created the world-famous Mission Hills venue in Shenzhen. Opened in March 2010, the club now boasts a total of ten courses, six of them built around a volcano. Building will probably continue for years, until Mission Hills Haikou has about 30 courses. The huge golf complex offers just about anything for the golf-loving vacationer, from luxury hotels to numerous restaurants and spas and a outdoor theme park by the name of Lava Lagoon, with a large outdoor freeform swimming pool, a man-made beach, volleyball courts and water-based sports.

Menu of genres

At Mission Hills Haikou, golfers can select from a menu of golf design genres. Each layout has a distinct ‘personality’ that results in different levels of difficulty, all kinds of bunker styles, variations in green sizes and undulations, landscaping, par and yardage; it is truly a golf destination in itself… Recognition of Mission Hills Haikou is underway. From November 24-27 the world can watch some of the world’s best of the best golfers compete for the 2011 Omega Mission Hills World Cup. If you are not convinced already that you should pack your golf bag to travel to Hainan, you will be after the final putt on November 27th!

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