- Phoenix Hill Golf Course
- Reviewed by:
Review Summary:
What to say? There are some great holes here, but there are also some exceptionally difficult ones too. Are they all fair? Probably not, but hey, that's golf. If you're looking for a memorable round then this is the right place. By the same token, if you're looking to lose endless golf balls this is most definitely the right place. A totally unique experience.
| Address | Xiangxin Road West, Yantian District, Fenggang Town, Dongguan City |
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| 007 booking hotline | +852 2187 3146 or book-on-line |
| No. of Holes | 27 |
| Back tee/par | A-3,315 yards/36, B-3,491/36 & C-3,360/35 |
| Designer | Various |
| Course Traffic | Buggy |
Scorecard / Putting Green / Starter / Midway House / Driving Range
Introduction
Phoenix Hill, is situated on the border of Shenzhen and Dongguan districts, only a 40 min drive from the HK-mainalnd frontier crossing at Huanggang, thanks to a brand new road. Currently open to everyone – lifetime memberships are unlikely to be issued anytime soon – the course is unusual in that it was developed in harness with the local government, thereby getting around that pesky moratorium on golf course construction, which was issued by Beijing a couple of years back. Anyway, forget about that – any new course located this close to Hong Kong is welcomed by us with open arms.
Club Facilities & Service
The huge clubhouse commands a spectacular positron overlooking the course and the nearby town of Fenggang, is opened on Oct2010. Spacious with proshop and reception(1, 2) on the ground floor while changing room(1, 2, 3), restaurant(1, 2) on the 1st floor. 43 hotel rooms are also available on third floor.
Fairway & Green maintenance
Both fairways & greens were in decent shape.
Caddy Service & knowledge
Generally good. Mine couldn’t speak any English but we managed to get along regardless. They weren’t too quick to get down and fix pitch marks though; but perhaps, quite rightly, she expected me to do fix them myself – which, of course, I did. Still, amusing company and could read putts. The most important thing a caddie should advise upon here is club selection. If you’re thinking of hitting a driver and she hands you a 5-iron then take note: more than likely the fairway, which is often hidden from the tee, is about 10 yards wide. It’s that kind of place.
Course Design
First off, this is one spectacular course. Laid out around a series of disbanded mines, Phoenix Hill features excitement at every turn: huge elevation changes, massive ravines and a fair amount of other scary hazards. Unfortunately, it also features some insanely/silly narrow landing areas, making it one of the hardest (and most frustrating) courses in the region. Think of it as a mixture of Wind Valley, Jiulong Hills with a bit of Century Seaview thrown in. We’re sure it becomes a lot easier after you’ve played it a few times, but goodness! First-timers are advised to bring literally dozens of balls, because not only are the fairways miserly, but there are also a number of forced carries over jungle and water. Blimey. Nevertheless, there are some great holes out here – the par threes are a particularly good set – and the views of the surrounding area are certainly jaw-dropping. We were fortunate to play the course on a particularly pleasant sunny afternoon, which obviously made the experience all the better.
The new 9 holes (C course)is opened & ready for play, the designer must have heard tons of complaints about the tough & unfair design of the old A & B and finally decided to make this par 35 C course a touch easier by widering few of the fairways but most the greens are elevated. but few of the holes are still pretty funky…..just look at the C2 & C4, crazy holes!
Photos
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A1 Hole: 390 / 360 / 319 / 305
Par 4 / Index 4The difficulty continues with this short downhill par-4. Again – surprise, surprise – an extremely narrow fairway. Trouble left and right and the green features a tonne of slope. Nice easy start, isn’t it?
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A2 Hole: 165 / 146 / 126 / 114
Par 3 / Index 7Nice little par-3 this one. Because of the elevation change, only a PW or less is required. Green slopes back to front.
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A3 Hole: 525/ 490 / 463 / 445
Par 5 / Index 6Cracking dogleg left par-5. Long hitters can drive over the corner of the quarry to save a lot of yardage. The second shot – if you’re going for it – will have to flirt with water on the right.
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A4 Hole: 154/ 154 / 122 / 93
Par 3 / Index 9
Another lovely par-3, this time surrounded by Lychee trees. Big bunker short of the green is the main worry here.
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A5 Hole: 552/ 526 / 491 / 465
Par 5 / Index 5
Strong par-5, but a potential birdie chance if you can get a good drive away. The line off the tee is straight over the right bunker. A good hit will catch the fairway slope and gain a few extra yards. Nice hole.
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A6 Hole: 393/ 365 / 341 / 320
Par 4 / Index 8Downhill par-4 to finish the front nine. Be careful though. Water cuts across the fairway at around 240 yards, so driver might not be the club.
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A7 Hole: 401 / 370 / 348 / 325
Par 4 / Index 3A fairly gentle opener – compared to the rest of the course that is! Fairly narrow, but a solid drive will clear the right fairway bunker. The second plays uphill to a two-tiered green.
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A8 Hole: 341 / 313 / 309 / 287
Par 4 / Index 2That’s not an illusion – the fairway is THAT narrow. Two choices off the tee here – a mid-iron to the ‘fat’ of the landing area past the bunker, or whack it over the corner of the quarry and hope for the best.
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A9 Hole: 394 / 365 / 345 / 306
Par 4 / Index 1Another word: VERY DANGEROUS. That’s the green in the distance, but where’s the fairway? Good question, I didn’t know either. A 5-wood over the left half of the tee box in front of you is the play. The fairway actually runs out at around 240-yards. Needless to say, don’t go left. Good luck!
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B1 Hole:183 /172 / 160 / 153
Par 3 / Index 3Gulp! Reminds us of a par-3 at Wind Valley. A big carry over the cliff – it’s an enormous drop – but there is a bail out area to the left. Par is a great score.
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B2 Hole: 595 / 570 / 544 / 529
Par 5 / Index 1This is a strong cadidate for hardest hole on the course. Fairway runs out at around 250 yards – and given that it plays downhill, this is more than a little mean. The hole doglegs sharply to the right, with a ravine needing to be cleared on the second shot. The approach plays steeply downhill. To complete the misery, the green features loads of slope.
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B3Hole: 148/ 130 / 130 / 116
Par 3 / Index 8Another shortish par-3 with jungle to clear. Green slopes a huge amount from back to left, so it’s a really tough shot if the pin is cut at the front. Not that that bothered my playing partner for the day (who shall remain nameless). Using a 9-iron he managed to ace the bloody thing. Amazing and thanks for the beers!
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B4 Hole: 606/ 580 / 557 / 535
Par 5 / Index 5A mighty par-5, although it does play a great deal shorter because of the drop in elevation. A sensible strategy required. For the really long, it becomes a risk-reward hole. Don’t let the yardage fool you – it’s possible to get mighty close to the green in two. Only if your bold – of stupid, of course.
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B5 Hole: 402/ 370 / 342 / 313
Par 4 / Index 6Longer hitters have the advantage of being able to carry over the hillside on the left for a shorter approach. The second plays sharply uphill to a very strongly contoured green. Ouch! Par is brilliant.
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B6 Hole: 356/ 336 / 293 / 279
Par 4 / Index 9Whatever you do, don’t go for it! Although you can’t see it, there’s an enormous ravine to the right of the fairway, which catches pretty much all first-timers out. Take a long iron/hybrid and knock it down the middle. The slope will leave you with only a wedge to the green.
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B7 Hole: 438 / 415 / 380 / 373
Par 4 / Index 4One of the tougher par-4s here. A long drive, avoiding the right bunker, is required if you’re going to reach the elevated and well-guarded green in regulation. Most of the trouble here is left.
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B8 Hole: 177 / 166 / 147 / 142
Par 3 / Index 7Long and well-guarded par 3
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B9 Hole: 586 / 560 / 507 / 474
Par 5 / Index 2If you’ve ever needed a clear-cut reason for moving to the white tees, then this is it. The carry over the water from the blue here is long – about 235 yards long. That’s carry! Length aside, this is already a tough par-5, with bunkers galore. If you insist on playing from this tee then you might consider hitting a short iron to the other teebox – that’s what my playing partner did and he managed to salvage par.
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The 1st hole is a big downhill (both left & right has OB…sounds difficult but in fact the fairway is reasonably wide), the approach is back up the hill.
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The 1st hole is a big downhill (both left & right has OB…sounds difficult but in fact the fairway is reasonably wide), the approach is back up the hill.
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This is a short & downhill reachable par 4 but you need to be careful with the ball going right as there are factories/people there….
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This is a short par 5, the landing area of the teeshot is not too tight but the 2nd shot is very narrow & going major uphill…be careful.
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Better be a little long on the par 3 as left, right & too short are no good.
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The landing area of this uphill dogleg right is tight….. pressure!
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This is a big downhill long par 5, the 2nd is going to the right. No need to be upset if have a bad one here…just enjoy the special environment here.
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A slightly downhill par 3 with a slightly elevated green.
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The tee shot is downhill and going back up again.
007’s Rating
What to say? There are some great holes here, but there are also some exceptionally difficult ones too. Are they all fair? Probably not, but hey, that’s golf. If you’re looking for a memorable round then this is the right place. By the same token, if you’re looking to lose endless golf balls this is most definitely the right place. A totally unique experience.
Recently, enhancement is taking place, the management decided to shape the course to less demanding, fairway are being widen to give higher handicapper an easier time.
The environment is getting mature, and the management put much effort in gardening. A bunch of new resident can be found in some holes.
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