Representative image Photo: ristok from Helsinki, Finland · CC BY-SA 2.0
Shanqin Bay Golf Club
Wanning, Hainan, China
18 Holes · Par 71 · On request · Coastal
— About
About Shanqin Bay Golf Club
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Shanqin Bay is the most highly regarded course in China and one of the most difficult in the world to play. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw routed it across a headland on the south-east coast of Hainan, on ground that was once a military fort — remnants of the fortifications are still visible from the course. The site gave them cliffs, chasms, dunes and dense vegetation within a single property, and the result looks nothing like the resort golf built elsewhere in China during the same decade. It plays 6,894 yards to a par of 71 over seaside paspalum, with the sea on three sides. Access is the obstacle: the club is private, the membership numbers in the dozens rather than the thousands, and play is by invitation.
- Ranked first in China and around 35th in the world
- A Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw design, rare in Asia
- Built on a former coastal fort, with the fortifications left in place
- Cliffs, chasms and dunes on a headland with the sea on three sides
- Private with a membership in the dozens — among the hardest courses in the world to play
History of Shanqin Bay Golf Club
Coore and Crenshaw were commissioned by CITIC, and the course opened in 2012 as a deliberate counterpoint to the volume golf being built across Hainan at the time — a single course on a single headland, for a membership small enough to count. It entered the world rankings almost immediately and has since settled around the mid-30s globally, first in China and second in Asia, which is a remarkable position for a course barely a decade old in a country with no long golfing tradition. The land had been a coastal fort, and the architects kept what they found rather than clearing it.
Signature holes at Shanqin Bay Golf Club
The routing works along and above the shoreline, with the South China Sea in view from much of the property and on three sides of the headland. Coore and Crenshaw's usual restraint is evident: the drama comes from the site's cliffs and chasms rather than from manufactured features, and the fairways are wide enough to give the wind something to do.
When to play Shanqin Bay Golf Club
October through May is the best season on Hainan island, when temperatures are 20–28°C and humidity is manageable. June through September is the typhoon season — hot, humid, and subject to significant rainfall and occasional storm disruption. Hainan's year-round warmth means winter golf is an excellent escape for mainland Chinese and Asian visitors; booking well in advance for peak winter months (December–February) is recommended.
Playing Shanqin Bay Golf Club: tips
This is not a course you can arrange to play in the ordinary way. Shanqin Bay is private with a very small membership, there is no published green fee, and access is by invitation through a member. The club is at Longgun in Wanning county, on Hainan's south-east coast — about 6 km from Longgun town, and a long way from Haikou in the north of the island. Do not confuse it with Mission Hills Haikou, a large public resort complex roughly 125 km away.
Visit Shanqin Bay Golf Club
Longgun, Wanning, Hainan 571521, China
Wanning, Hainan, China
— Facilities
Practical Information
— FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Shanqin Bay Golf Club
Can you play Shanqin Bay Golf Club?
Only as the guest of a member. Shanqin Bay is a private club with a membership in the dozens, and it publishes no visitor green fee. It is among the hardest courses in the world to arrange a game at.
Who designed Shanqin Bay?
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, on a former coastal fort site at Longgun in Wanning, Hainan. It opened in 2012.
Is Shanqin Bay part of Mission Hills Haikou?
No. They are separate and unrelated. Mission Hills Haikou is a large public resort complex on the north coast of Hainan, roughly 125 km from Shanqin Bay, which sits on the south-east coast and is private.