Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club

I got a tee time at Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club, a private club in the heart of Pudong. The club is part of a huge residential complex with European-style mansions lining the course. The course hosted the BMW Asian Open from 2004-2008, and winners of the event while it was held on this course include Miguel Angel Jimenez, Ernie Els and Darren Clarke, so a pretty nice list of winners. While it wasn't raining, it was 95 degrees outside with a heat index of 107, so it was pretty brutal. The course plays 6810 yards from the tips and when the tournament is held here the pros play it at 7343 yards.

The first hole is a short par-4, 380 yards, with a slight dogleg right. I hit a pretty terrible drive to start my round, but hit a good recovery shot at of the rough, and heard the first "hao qiu" of the day from the caddy.

Hole 1

Hole 3, a 192-yard par 3

Hole 4, a 413-yard par 4 with a stone wall guarding approaches to the green

Hole 6, a 416-yard par 4, the toughest hole on the course. Trees on the left guard the green against misplaced drives. To have a shot at the green, drives need to be put out to the right side of the fairway.

Hole 8, a 155-yard par 3 with a waste bunker running up the right-hand side and a severely sloping green. The postage stamp hole for this course.

The approach to the ninth hole, with the clubhouse behind the hole.

The tenth hole, a 376-yard par four with a creek running up the left-hand side, which opens up in front of the green, guarding it against poor approach shots.

The 11th hole, another short par 4, 358-yards. A nice risk-reward hole, where one can take driver up the left hand side and have a wedge into the green, or can take a hybrid or iron and have a mid-iron into the green. Any tee shot left out to the right side is in the water. I took driver here and hit my best drive of the day, leaving less than a full wedge into the green.

The par-3 12th, 184-yards

The approach shot on the par-4 14th, another short par-4. A drive hit too far is into the waste area, and if the wrong angle is taken off the tee the trees in the fairway can completely obstruct the approach shot.

The well-bunkered, 427-yard 15th.

The 197-yard par 3 17th.

The tee shot on 18, a 533-yard par 5.

Overall, this was a really nice, strategic golf course. The rough wasn't very thick or tall but the way the course is routed around the trees (or how they planted the trees around the course) can completely obstruct shots. Also, almost all of the trees are not very tall and the branches start at a very low point, so it was tough to keep shots underneath the trees. I thought the par threes and short par fours were the best part of the course. The landing areas required a good shot and they rewarded good shots while punishing misses. My favorite stretch of holes was 10 through 12, and overall the back nine has very few weak holes. The most penal part of the course today, however, was the weather. With over 60% humidity and a heat index of 107, on hole 17 I could barely swing a club and was just thinking about the air conditioned clubhouse.

The caddies at the courses in China are surprisingly helpful given how recent golf is in China and the fact that none of the caddies play golf. My caddy knew the yardage from all of my shots to the green without looking at sprinkler heads or a yardage guide, and I checked her yardage against my laser-finder and she was right on the money almost every time.

A few differences between caddies in China and those in America: Caddies in China are almost all female (I've seen one male caddy during my time in China and it was last year in Dali). Some Chinese caddies bow to you after the round is finished. None of the caddies here play golf, they all live in dorms on the property, and are more involved in some aspects of the game. For example, once I hit my approach shot onto a green, the caddy would mark my ball for me, line up my ball to the break and point out where in the green I should aim my putt. It takes a bit of the fun out of the game, but I wasn't going to tell her to stop doing it and her lines were pretty accurate, again surprising considering she had never swung a golf club in her life. Finally, and most unfortunately, all of the caddies are forced to wear these ridiculous uniforms: pink pants and a pink turtleneck sweater. I could barely walk in shorts and a polo, and I have no clue how she made it in the clothes she wore.