- Holiday Islands Golf Club
- Reviewed by:
Review Summary:
Overall: Excellent off-course facilities, enjoyable (if a bit long) course with a good mix of holes. Shame it's so far away but then again it's worth staying the night and playing twice. Even more so when the new course opens.
| Address | Huadou Developing Area, Qingcheng, Guangzhou |
|---|---|
| 007 booking hotline | +852 2187 3146 or book-on-line |
| No. of Holes | 27 |
| Par/Back Tee | 72 / 7,338 |
| Designer | Liang Guo-kun |
Scorecard / Midway House / View1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 / Lobby / Driving Range1, 2
Introduction
Located close to Guangzhou International Airport (20 mins), Holiday Islands is one of Guangdong’s newest clubs and is designed by Liang Guo-kun who is also responsible for the very good Junan Country Garden GC and Shenzhen Green Club.
Like most courses in Guangdong, Holiday Islands is part of a larger commerical project which includes a magnificent clubhouse and a 200 room hotel. The rooms(1, 2) here are certainly among the best in the province which is just as well because at 2 hours from the HK/Mainland border – it makes a lot of sense for HK golfers to stay the night.
Club Facilities & Service
Excellent – Reception / Restaurant / Proshop / Locker Room(1, 2, 3, 4) Everything is brand new and tastefully done (for China anyway).
Fairway & Green maintenance
Mr Liang – the course acrchitect- actually specialises in landscape design and the layout is defined by some very attractive trees and shrubs.
Sep 2005: The condition is generally very good: the exception are the tees which feel like you’re playing in the desert. Greens are running nicely.
Caddy Service & knowledge
Not bad.
Course Design
At over 6,800 yards from the regular blue tees this course is very long! Fortunately, the fairways are very generous and while there is rough, you really have to be hitting it wildly to find it.
Water is also much in evidence but, again, if you’re hitting it well, it shouldn’t really in play. The exception to this is at the club’s signature hole – the par 3, 4th. With its wide but shallow island green this is one of the region’s most spectacular holes and it will take a well-struck mid iron to find its heart.
The course also features a lot of undulation (more so on the back nine) and more often than not you’ll be faced with some interesting lies on the fairways. On the higher parts of the course, wind plays a big factor as well so hitting one extra club to the greens might well pay dividends. The putting surfaces are some of the biggest in the province and feature some tricky (not outrageous) slopes so prepare yourself with a good half an hour on the practice green before teeing off.
Overall, this course suits long hitters and good putters. I have a feeling John Daly would feel right at home here. If you’re not built like the ‘Wild Thing’ taking a step down to the white tees is not a bad idea.
Photos
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A1 Par 5 Gold535 Blue502 White450 Red417
Downhill left turn, water and bunker in play while you approach the green
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A2 Par 4 Gold369 Blue363 White306 Red284
Dogleg right, aim right for your tee shot in order to have a better approaching distance.
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A3 Par 3 Gold172 Blue147 White128 Red100
Uphill Par3
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A4 Par 4 Gold386 Blue322 White266 Red238
Uphill short Par 4
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A5 Par 4 Gold375 Blue348 White320 Red287
Downhill left turn
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A6 Par 3 Gold186 Blue162 White143 Red123
Downhill Par 3
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A7 Par 4 Gold379 Blue352 White330 Red282
Downhill teeshot follow by carry over water approach shot.
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A8 Par 4 Gold355 Blue326 White312 Red292
Downhill right dogleg
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A9 Par 5 Gold561 Blue532 White509 Red480
Dogleg right with numerous bunkers. Green is on the opposite side of the water
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B1 Par 6 Gold 583 Blue538 White 509 Red439
Uphill dogleg left. Due to the slope, distance play a lot more than the actual.
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B2 Gold180 Blue158 White137 Red118
Downhill , overhit will lead to lost ball
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B3 Par4 Gold383 Blue362 White327 Red254
Short dogleg right, chance to shave a couple of strokes.
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B4 Par 4 Gold395 Blue379 White350 Red289
Upslope dogleg right. 220 yards carry over the middle bunker. Green is surrounded by some nasty bunkers.
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B5 Par5 Gold590 Blue561 White498 Red470
Upslope tee shot then all the way downwards
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B6 Par 3 Gold138 Blue118 White110 Red100
Nice short Par 3
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B7 Par 3 Gold200 Blue176 White151 Red126
Uphill Par 3
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B8 Par 4 Gold366 Blue345 White306 Red250
Downslope right turn, a bush stands right middle of the fairway, avoid it.
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B9 Par 4 Gold376 Blue356 White330 Red293
Downhill right turn, happy ending hole
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C1 Par 4 Gold416 Blue388 White339 Red317
Straight away par 4. Masses of sand in front of the green.
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C2 Par5 Gold596 Blue573 White532 Red480
Long par 5 but acres of room. Have a bash with the driver and 3 wood. Plays a lot shorter than the yardage suggests as you can cut a lot of the dogleg off on your second.
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C3 Par4 Gold436 Blue405 White355 Red328
Good hole. Decent drive will leave mid-iron, downhill approach to a huge green. Water behind.
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C4 Par 3 Gold188 Blue168 White153 Red130
Signature Hole – Guess why?
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C5 Par4 Gold410 Blue386 White328 Red306
Dogleg left, uphill par 4.
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C6 Par4 Gold418 Blue387 White320 Red298
Opposite to the 5th. Dogleg right, downhill.
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C7 Par5 Blue580 Blue561 White500 Red460
Very exacting par 5. Position is the key.
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C8 Par 3 Gold198 Blue175 White143 Red115
Relatively straightforward par 3 down the hill.
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C9 Par4 Gold453 Blue430 White373 Red348
Tough par 4. Second plays downhill and green is guarded by traps on the left. Better to be short and left rather than long and right.
007’s Rating
Overall: Excellent off-course facilities, enjoyable (if a bit long) course with a good mix of holes. Shame it’s so far away but then again it’s worth staying the night and playing twice. Even more so when the new course opens.
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