Mission Possible

I have arrived in China and although I have internet access in the hotel I can’t get to my blog site – I guess this is one of those sites that has been blocked by the Chinese authorities. So I am writing this off line and will upload once I get to somewhere where I can access the site. (interestingly the FTP site used by my Houston clients to send me well data is also blocked, but some other sites that I thought may be blocked were OK)

I left on the midnight flight out of Perth and had arrived at the airport around 9-30pm or so. While waiting in the immigration queue, I chatted to a couple of guys who I later met up with in the Qantas lounge. They were a couple of dropkicks from Shell. Not really – they were quite pleasant, I just told them I’d say that in my blog, so “Hi guys”. It was pleasant chatting to them rather than just sitting on my own and one lived only a few km from my place.

Once we’d taken off, I changed into my Qantas PJs and went straight to sleep, without food or entertainment. I got about 4 hours solid sleep and then seemed to be awake but lying down with eyes closed after that. We landed about 7.30 and by the time I’d passed through immigration, collected my bags – not helped by waiting at the special package carousel for my golf clubs, which turned out to have come on the regular one – changed some money, found my driver and walked to the car park, it was 8.20.

The drive was quite good; I was the only passenger in a 7 seater. Passing through the border took about 15 minutes but the China side seemed little different from Hong Kong - similar buildings, roads and vegetation. However there did not seem to be the same desparate use of space that is typical of Hong Kong with building 3 or 4 storeys instead of 30 or $) in HK. We stopped for petrol (about the same price as Perth) and I saw something I hadn’t seen for a while – people serving you petrol. It wasn’t till we left the petrol station that I realised we’d change from driving on the left to driving on the right.

I was a bit before 10 when we arrived at Mission Hills and the room wasn’t quite ready. A bellboy took me to the clubhouse, which is a few hundred metres away but I couldn’t check in for today’s round till I had a room number. I wandered through the golf shop but didn’t buy anything. It seems sizing will be an issue, so I’ll probably have to get men’s shirts.

My room was ready soon after and it is more like a mini suite with a huge bathroom with a separate shower, king size bed, lounge area and a desk. Internet is wireless. I have a little balcony as well with a view of the hills. It is definitely 5 star.

About an hour to tee off so I’ll end here.

Mission possible

This is written a bit later than some of the stuff that follows but fits into the narrative sequence here. I guess this one advantage of doing it off-line for a few days.

There are 12 golf courses here, which is one of its main claims to fame and it is in the Guinness book of records as the largest golf club in the world. A lot of their souvenirs and publicity material has the “216 (holes)” logo. It is not, as I dad expected, 12 courses more or less self contained and side by side but they stretch over some 10 km or so from one end to the other and there are 2 hotels and 3 club houses. I am staying in Don Guang – the new hotel. How new, I didn’t realise until someone told me it only opened last November. Depending on the course you are playing you may have to travel to another clubhouse to start your round. In fact I chose, by accident or design to play all 3 of my rounds at courses from the Don Guang clubhouse. The courses themselves intertwine so when you are playing one course the fairway next door may be from a different course and a few holes later you are next to a different course again. A lot of the holes seem to be carved out of the mountains with steep hills covered in dense vegetation only 10 metres from the edge of the fairway.

The clubhouse is a multi storey building with reception on the ground level. You check in there and they give you a little folder with a credit card sized card. You then go down a level to the caddie master, where you check in again, get your bag, a cart and a caddie. There is a practice putting green near there, but the driving range is 5 minutes away by cart.

Each course has 5 tees with the black being the longest, then yellow, blue, white and red. Each has a different rating and slope and there is a board showing your playing handicap for each handicap index range. The men play blue to black and the women play red to blue. Naturally I played the blue.

There are kiosks around the course with restrooms and a limited selection of food and drink. You don’t pay for anything but it gets charged to your card. After the game you settle up back at reception. In fact you hardly need cash at all in the hotel or clubhouse. You need some to tip the caddies and the shops (or use a credit card) but everything else can be charged to your room and settled in one go when you leave.

I’ve been told that the caddies don’t get paid but get free food and board. Their income is solely from tips and I gave the recommended 50 RMB, which is a bit under $9. They also have a card and you evaluate them by placing it in one of 4 slots after the game – from fair to excellent.

The clubhouse also has the shops, restaurants and bars, a spa and also a conference centre a level above reception. The shops sell branded clothing shoes etc and a few souvenirs. The pro shop downstairs sells golf equipment. I was thinking of getting a tee shirt with the Mission Hills logo (after all you can get a Callway shirt anywhere) but may have to settle for caps and ball markers. (Later – In the end I just got a cap with the Leadbetter insignia on it.)

Now back to our story…..

Leadbetter or worse

Wed 2^nd

It took me a bit of time to find my way around the system the first day but the previous post more or less describes what I had to do.

Once I got to the caddie master, I got my bag, took out my putter and some balls and did some practice putts. My caddie came over when it was time to head for the tee and we got the cart organised. I had hoped to go to the driving range but was told there wasn’t enough time. It was a 5 minute drive to the tee and I had a bit of a wait before my tee time. The caddie said we would be playing alone since our partners hadn’t turned up so I hit off. Then another cart appeared and a Chinese couple joined me. He is a member here.

The Leadbetter course is comparatively easy. It has no lakes, except one on a par 3 that is not really a problem and a few creeks, which are mostly dry. There are plenty of bunkers and the fairways tend to be undulating so quite often you are hitting off the side, up or down a slope.

The course is quite pretty and I’m afraid the photos don’t capture the actual views. The air is, unfortunately, hazy. Although the fairways look lush and green, in fact they are a bit patchy in places and cut quite short. This is no doubt due to it being the end of the dry season. The greens are also a bit rough and sandy in places, while still being quite fast. They are hard so you can’t throw the ball up and expect it to stick or spin back.

I started well with a lovely drive down the fairway and over the hill, but drives on the fairway were quite rare. I only managed to par 2 holes all day and even bogies were something of a triumph. However, I only lost one ball all day, when I sliced a drive that nearly took out a course marshal. They were all over the course keeping everybody moving. We seemed to wait every hole but in the end we were under 4 hours 30 which wasn’t that far off the target time.

I bought a couple of drinks on the way round at the kiosks. We had 3 chances and I think the same one was passed twice. You don’t actually pay money there but run up a tab which you settle at the end. It was 113 RMB or nearly $20 which seemed expensive for a couple of soft drinks, but they had charge me a single cart fee. I was sure that was included and when I returned from my room with my reservation confirmation, I got that back.

I then showered and changed and wandered over to dinner. The restaurants are all in the clubhouse, which is separate from, but close to the hotel. I chatted to a group of guys in the bar, 3 Americans and a German who all lived in Shanghai. 2 of them were from Houston. They had played both the Leadbetter and the Annika today, which seems to be too much of a good thing. They asked me if I was the Australian lady who got the hole-in-one and I replied I was lucky if I got a hole-in five today.

I then went to the restaurant and saw an older American eating alone and joined him. He wasn’t here for the golf but was on business and staying at the other hotel. Apparently he came over on the shuttle just for a change of menu. We chatted for a while before he left to shuttle back.

I’m not saying that I was tired and hence my poor golf but I did fall asleep between courses, so it may have been a factor. It was before 10 when I went to sleep.

Annikan't

Thu 3^rd

It was after 8 when I woke up and I felt much refreshed. I dressed for golf and took my gear with me to breakfast at the clubhouse. This is typical of a lot of hotels in Asia with a buffet that includes the usual western bacon, sausages, hash browns etc, chinese food, salad and cold meats, fruit and cereal and jucies all on the outer circle of the serving area. The inner circle had pastries and baked goods and another area had eggs, either pre cooked or made while you waited.

Once I had (over-)eaten my breakfast I checked in and went to the caddie master. I arranged to go to the driving range. This required a cart and someone to drive me there, and cost 11rmb for 30 balls but with a 50 RMB fee for non-members. Still for about $10 I was able to get myself sorted out enough to enjoy the $200 game so it was a decent return on investment. We drove back to the caddie area and I saw some Aussie ladies in their cart. It turned out one of them was the one who had the hole in one. With more than 30 minutes to my tee of I went to the putting green.

Eventually I stopped, got a drink etc and then noticed it was nearly my tee time. They hadn’t organised a cart or caddie for me so no one had came to get me. It was again a 5 minute drive to the first tee, but when I arrived there were still 2 groups waiting so in the end it was OK. Today I again played with Chinese this time 3 men, one at least, was from Hong Kong. Most of the conversation was in Cantonese, although 2 of them spoke English to some degree.

The Annika course is unusual in that it has 6 par 5s and 6 par 3s rather than the more common 4 of each. I started with a great drive, so that time on the range was well spent, hit a good 5 wood, then chipped on for regulation and got my par. The second hole a par 4 my second shot just caught the bunker and I had a 6. Another par 5 followed and with a massive drive, I had only an 8 iron to the green. I again missed into a bunker but got another par. I was feeling pretty god but it was another 10 holes before my 3^rd par. I was hitting the ball much better today but missed a few putts and did enough silly shots to result in a poor score, although I did break 100 (96). I came good at the end with 3 pars in the last 4 holes.

Once I had completed the post game formalities, (again explaining that I had already paid to have a single cart)I headed to the bar and caught up with that Aussie group. There were 9 men and the 2 ladies playing and, as it turned out, another 9 who went shopping instead. I joined them and we had some pleasant conversation and a number of drinks before they headed back to the other hotel. I arranged to meet them for dinner.

There is a shuttle between the 2 hotels that leaves every 30 minutes from about 6am to 9.30 pm (depending on which way you are going). I had a shower and was there with time to spare. A good thing too, as they were right on time and stopped for less than a minute. It takes about 20 minutes to drive between the hotels and this was at night when the traffic was light. You actually need to go through the town.

I had a quick look through the shop at the old clubhouse and was heading for the lobby when I met part of the group coming the other way. They had booked a table in the Japanese restaurant (a good thing with more than 20 of us) but we were able to order from the other restaurant’s menu as well. In the end I settled on the seafood claypot, which was very tasty. It was a pleasant meal and I got to talk to some of the players that were too far away in the bar and a couple of the non players as well.  They are all from a golf club in Mackay and after their 4^th game tomorrow have another week or so touring through China and Hong Kong. I left with about 10 minutes wait for the last bus back. I was the only passenger.

One of the disadvantages I have is that I am usually travelling alone, especially when it is for business (or on the way to or from business). I expect to be away 5 weeks this trip, which is a lot of lonely meals in restaurants, so it was great to be welcomed into this group today

Hardly Norman

Fri 4^th

This was my third and last course and reputedly the hardest course in Asia. One reason may be that the rough is closer and very unforgiving. Today was the first day I actually didn’t finish some holes and more or less scored as a stableford.

I played with 2 Australians  - a father and son – from Victoria. The elder would have been in his 60s or 70s and they said they were 25 handicappers. It was a pleasant change to have a conversation during the round and we had some drinks and a snack afterwards as well, which didn’t happen the previous days.

My ball striking was much better today and I hit the ball a lot straighter off the tee in particular. This didn’t always result in better scores as there are a lot of bunkers and I found quite a few of them. I did get a lot of bogies (12 or so), no pars but one birdie on a par 5 with index 1. So despite everything else, I can say I have birdied the hardest hole on the hardest course in Asia.

Some of the other holes were very tricky as well. In particular, there was a par 3 that was only 85m to the hole today, which was at the front of the green where it was only about 5 m wide. On the left was a steep drop only a metre from the edge of the green and a similar steep mound on the right. We also had a couple of par 3s that we had to hit over water.

After the drinks, I came back to my room where I’ve had a long soak in what may possibly be the best bath I’ve ever been in. I tried to find out what it was on the net but couldn’t find the particular model on the manufacturer’s site (Toto).

I then had a late dinner and then took some night shots of the clubhouse and hotel

Moving on

Sat 5^th

I was planning a sleep in this morning since there is no more golf and my pickup wasn’t till 12:30 but I had forgotten to turn off my regular alarm on my phone (for golf) and got woken up at 6am instead. I tried to get back to sleep but by the time I’d got out of bed and turned it off I was awake. I then watched TV for the first time since I’d got there. I eventually had a shower and a late breakfast and packed my bags. I still had a while to go so I checked out, got my bags downstairs and went for a walk. I’d seen the white statue - you can hardly avoid it - from the hotel and parts of the course but not up close. I was told it was of Chairman Mao.

I still had a bit of a wait in reception and read from my kindle till the driver arrived. We left just before 12:25 and took about 40 minutes to the border. The traffic again was fairly light. It took another 25 minutes to get through immigration and then we were driving on the left again. I arrived at the airport about 2pm with a couple of hours before boarding.

Once I got the the Cathay lounge, I connected this laptop and I tried again to load the blog. This time I could view my page but I was unable to log in to upload. I guess it will have to wait till I’m in the US.

My overall impression of my experience is positive. Mission Hills is one of those destinations/experiences up there on the list of things to do for golfers, like the Trans-Siberian is for train buffs and the QE2 for cruise aficionados. You won’t suffer if you never do it but if you have the chance (and the money) it is certainly worthwhile.

The course is famous for being the biggest – both in terms of the number of courses and apparently the clubhouse as well – and has lots of big names as the signature designers. The courses are picturesque and tough, and the layouts are interesting and challenging. There are lots (and I mean lots) of bunkers, doglegs, elevation changes and the rough is very tough, but to be brutally honest, at this time of year the fairways and greens at my home club are in better condition.

Would I come again – that’s only a maybe. The golf is definitely on the expensive side and there are lots of other places to play that would give better value. I’ve only played golf in Pattaya (and Royal Hills) so there’s Chang Mai, Hua Hin and even Phuket just in Thailand. My 4 days in the Nevada are about 1/3 cheaper than the 3 days in Mission Hills so by the end of next week I’ll have a comparison of value, challenge and interest.

I did no sightseeing whatsoever so there’s an avenue for further reasons to return to China and those Queenslanders and also some friends from my club combined golf and sight seeing on organised tours.

Would I recommend it – that’s a more definite yes. If you have the opportunity and can afford it, it is a great experience. One of their publicity blurbs says (something like) – Mission Hills, the destination of choice for the world’s greatest golfers, celebrities and elites. I’m sure I fail to qualify for at least 2 of those and probably so do most of us. However, the other group there is “the keen golfer with enough money for an upmarket holiday” and I do meet those qualifications.