After my round in Hong Kong I took the train to Guangzhou and got in that night. The next morning I took a cab to the Guangzhou bus station, and then took a two hour bus to Zhong Shan, to play Chung Shan Golf Club (actually also Zhong Shan in Chinese). The course is actually south of Zhong Shan, so I had to take a 30-minute cab from the station to the course. It's really in the middle of nowhere, but the course is surrounded by mountains and has a lot of room, which is nice. I arrived at the clubhouse and had the following conversation with the receptionist:
Receptionist: Which course would you like to play, the Nicklaus or the Palmer?
David: Can I see the Scorecards?...I think I'll play the Nicklaus
R: I think it would be a better decision to play the Palmer
D: Why?
R: Because the greens on the Nicklaus course are under repair.
D: Can I play it anyway?
R: No, I'm sorry, you can't
So just like that I went off to play the Palmer course. I didn't really have a preference so it was fine. I think the Nicklaus course is regarded as a slightly better course, but the Palmer course, built in 1984, is the first golf course in China, so it has a lot of history. I really enjoyed my round, the greens were in great shape, but the fairways and rough was pretty dry and patchy. The rest of the course could definitely use a little maintenance. One weird thing is that out of bounds stakes were placed somewhat arbitrarily. There were a few holes where if you hit a crooked drive, you could find it and it was in the rough, but it was in the rough for another hole, so they marked it out of bounds. There was also some out of bounds behind a few holes, again where you could play from.
I started my trip yesterday leaving my hotel at 10:30AM. I got back at my hotel at 9:00PM, so it was a pretty long day. If I were to redo this part of the trip or recommend it to anyone, I think anyone interested in Chung Shan should do one night in Zhong Shan and play both courses.
The second green, a par-3 (all of the yardages were given on the course in meters so for this entry I'm going to omit yardages)
The signature, par-4 third, named one of the top 500 holes in the world. A sharp dogleg left with a creek running below the green.
The approach up the third
The par-5 fourth hole, the toughest hole on the course. Where the fairway dips down there is a small pond.
The fifth hole, another sharp dogleg. The tree on the right side obstructs an approach from the right portion of the fairway.
The second shot on number six, a par-5 (the green is the one before the water). The hole is a sharp dogleg left, where the tee shot is straight away to this spot, but then the hole turns almost 90 degrees left
A look down the fairway of number nine
A closer look at the green on number nine
Number 11, a long par-3
Number 12, a par-4
Number 13, a par-3 with everything sloping to the left, towards the water. The wind was also pushing everything there today
The green complex on number 15
Number 16, with Zhong Shan in the background. There's water all down the right hand side, and then again on the left side by the green
The 17th, a par-3
The tee shot on 18, a par-5
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