course report
A Peach of a Place
Built over a former refuse site, Guangzhou’s Peach Garden Golf Club is a great example of golf changing the landscape for the better BY THE EDITORS PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM BREAZEALE
As a pure golfing experience, Peach Garden is a lot of fun. Sensibly, Hollinger has kept the landing areas wide and the rough is as short as the fairway grass at lesser clubs. Instead of forcing you into hitting fairway woods and long irons off the tee (like so many courses in the region that are flanked by jungle do), Hollinger practically thrusts the driver into your hands. There’s little in life that feels better than connecting sweetly with the longest club in the bag – and there’s more opportunity to do so here than at any other course in the immediate region. Although Peach Garden’s three nines aren’t overwrought with trouble, low scoring is not easy to come by due to the imaginative green complexes. Not only are they protected by expansive bunkering – and in the case of the par threes, by potentially threatening amounts of water – the putting surfaces are a danger in themselves. Multi tiers, runoffs and collection areas place the onus on one’s short game, and even gifted exponents will do well to prevent three putting at least once. Peach Garden is a good example of a relatively new course doing things right. Conditions have
Background
Since entering the China market in the early nineties, Mark Hollinger from JMP Golf Design Group has become one of the most prolific architects on the mainland, with over fifteen projects to his name. The American, whose work includes the highly-rated Luxe Hills in Chengdu and the wonderful South Course at Agile in Zhongshan, has garnered a reputation for turning featureless sites into compelling courses – and he’s done it again with Peach Garden Golf Club. Situated to the west of Guangzhou in Nanhai (a thirty-minute taxi ride from Guangzhou East Station, which is served by the MTR’s Guangdong Through Train from Hung Hom), the club, which officially opened in 2005, is located within a “vacation zone” and consists of twenty-seven holes and an agreeable clubhouse. The Fontainbleu Hotel, a so-say five-star resort, is a five-minute shuttle bus journey from the club and a good choice for those not wanting to tear back to Hong Kong in the same day. 66
HK Golfer・APR/MAY 2010
The Golf
Over the years, Chinese golf developers have received a bad rap from environmentalists for what they (in some cases, righty) perceive as the insensitive bulldozing of prime woodland and farmland sites. Indeed, the central government’s reasoning behind the continuing moratorium on golf course construction is to protect valuable pastures for agricultural cultivation. While this moratorium hasn’t stopped the emergence of hundreds of new courses springing up across the land (developers get around this by building courses on land planned as “green space”, “exercise fields” and “arboretums”), even the HKGOLFER.COM
Guangzhou Greens: Peach Garden's conditioning has so far proved impressive
beard and sandal brigade wouldn’t have too much of an issue with Peach Garden’s delightful rolling parkland-style layout. Hollinger was “highly uninspired” when he made his first site visit back in 2000. The property was littered with a disbanded brick factory and an enormous refuse site. Furthermore, the land lacked quality soil and a decent water supply. It was, quite literally, a dump. Fast forward a decade and the course blossoms with a variety of vegetation and its attractive landscaping has undoubtedly enriched the whole area. To say the land use transformation has been impressive would be understating the matter. HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・APR/MAY 2010
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Need to Know Peach Garden Golf Club
Green Fees (Visitors): RMB650-1,450 (WD/WE) Contact: Nanguo Peach Garden, Songgang, Nanhai, Foshan City, Guangdong. +86 (0)757-8523-1888; peachgardengolf.com
EXPERIENCE
East/West Course Yardage: 7,236 Par: 72 South Course Yardage: 3,480 Par: 36 Designed by Mark Hollinger (JMP)
VISION so far proved exemplary, with the Paspalum fa ir ways a nd Bermuda Tif Eagle greens providing silky playing surfaces, a direct result of the club spending money where it counts.
Clubhouse / Amenities
Bunkered: Hollinger's imaginative hazards leave a lasting impression.
Well equipped without being too large, flashy or pretentious (for the region), Peach Garden’s nineteenth hole houses a comfortable locker room and restaurant, which serves up Chinese and international favourites. The health spa at the nearby Fountainbleu Hotel is the place to go for a post-round rub down, while the friendly staff, generally speaking, has more than a grasp of English thanks to an extensive learning programme initiated by the club’s management.
The Verdict
Peach Garden is a good example of a relatively new course doing things right. Conditions have so far proved exemplary, with the Paspalum fairways and Bermuda TifEagle greens providing silky playing surfaces, a direct result of the club spending money where it counts. In many ways, then, this is the ideal club. While its location won’t suit those looking for a quick jaunt across the border, Peach Garden is well worth consideration for those who have business in Guangzhou or are contemplating a short break away. It’s worth noting that when the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link opens (the China track is scheduled for later in the year, with Hong Kong coming online in 2016), journey times will be significantly reduced.
Luxe Hills, China Hole 2 Par 3
WORLD CLASS RESULTS Mark E. Hollinger ASGCA
Address: 1513 Folger Drive, Belmont, California 94002 USA Tel: 1-650-620-9670 Fax: 1-650-620-9707 China: (86)136-6018-6366
www.jmpgolf.com 68
HK Golfer・APR/MAY 2010
HKGOLFER.COM