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Raffles 1887

RAFFLES READS

Sand traps and a singing beach

Close to the 'singing beach' on the south coast of Hainan, the Clear Water Bay Golf Club consists of two international standard 18-hole, par 72 courses offering a strong European and American links course flavour. The fairways are exquisitely shaped and designed to look flat, yet contain hidden secrets. SPENCER ROBINSON of the Asian Golf Industry Federation found the courses both challenging and fun

MORE than 30 golf courses have sprung up across Hainan Island over the past 20 years, earning China’s southernmost province a reputation as a haven for both domestic and overseas golfers seeking an exciting destination with multiple playing opportunities.

With so many to choose from it’s hard to pick a favourite, but the two courses set among tropical palms on Clear Water Bay (Qingshui Bay), a long par-five away from Raffles Hainan Clear Water Bay, are certainly contenders.

Created for Hainan’s Clear Water Bay Golf Club by the award-winning firm of Schmidt-Curley Golf Design, the courses are two of the most popular on the island. Their location, close to Hainan’s famous singing beach – 12 kilometres of glorious coastline, so named because of the special sound the soft, pure white sand makes when one steps on it – also lends the courses a unique charm.

Measuring a hefty 7,333 yards from the championship tee boxes and playing to a par of 72, Clear Water Bay’s ‘A’ Course is characterised by high-flashed bunkers and several windswept, seaside holes that will not only take your breath away but may also divert your golf balls from their intended target. It acts as an ideal complement to the ‘B’ Course, which also stretches beyond 7,000 yards from the tips and is set on terrain dotted by picturesque lakes and groves of stately coconut palms.

From a golfing aesthetic viewpoint, a variety of bunker styles are especially striking. Some are steep, others are grass-faced. Others, too, are within sandy waste areas. Enough? Not quite. Watch out also for a number of punishing pot bunkers lying seductively in wait to welcome your errant shots. Avoid hitting into these bunkers, if you can. But if entering these traps is a fate that befalls you, fret not. Just take a deep breath, savour the view across the Gulf of Tonkin to the coastline of Vietnam, and embrace the moment.

"The ‘B’ Course has a unique look that relatively few projects in China have embraced. Despite the hazards, it’s a design that players of all abilities will enjoy... plenty of width to playing corridors, and bunkers are typically flat-bottomed, giving them more bark than bite"

- Lee Schmidt

Lee Schmidt, who co-founded Schmidt-Curley Design with fellow-American Brian Curley in 1997, takes pride in his work at the Hainan Island venue. “The ‘B’ Course has a unique look that relatively few projects in China have embraced. Despite the prevalence of hazards, it’s a design that players of all abilities will enjoy,” he says. “We were sure to provide plenty of width to playing corridors, and bunkers are typically flat-bottomed, giving them more bark than bite.” 

Two short par-fours are among the highlights. Players who challenge a bunker and lake down the right side of the 380-yard third hole are rewarded with a short pitch to the green. Those who select a safer line off the tee are left with an exacting approach shot, especially when the pin is placed back right.

Meanwhile, the 337-yard 15th hole has an exceptionally generous landing area. But don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. The putting surface is perched high above the fairway and protected by deep bunkers and grass hollows. Miss the green here with your approach shot and your prospects of walking off with a par on your scorecard will be severely diminished.

Hainan itself has a heritage strongly influenced by the Li, a unique group of ethnic minorities who have lived here for 1,000 years. They have a devout faith and carry out traditional, mystical rituals. Sadly, even equipped with those special powers, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to extricate yourself from the bunkers at Clear Water Bay Golf Club. What can be guaranteed, though, is a thoroughly above-par experience.

Clear Water Bay Golf Club is less than an hour by car from Sanya Phoenix International Airport and downtown Sanya.  

Spencer Robinson is Chief Communications Officer for the Asian Golf Industry Federation, the Asia-Pacific Golf Federation (Asia's golfing governing body) and the Faldo Series Asia. He began his career at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong in 1984, where he became Chief Sports Writer. He continues to be a close observer of Asian sport, writing for many leading publications and commentating for TV channels.