Mission Hills’ Olazabal Course: A Worthy Host for the World’s Best

As recently as 1983, mainland China did not have a single modern golf course. Yet a little more than a generation later it boasts more than 400, with hundreds more in various stages of development. The offerings range from mountainous tracks in the foothills of the Himalayas to courses replete with ocean views on tropical Hainan Island.

But no club reflects the newfound devotion and reverence that the Chinese have for the game as well as Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen. Located approximately one hour north of Hong Kong, Mission Hills is home to the planet’s largest collection of world-class courses (12 to be exact), as recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records in 2004.

The term “collection,” however, dramatically undersells what the golfer sees upon first arriving at Mission Hills. Encompassing more than 4,500 acres (18 square kilometers) – roughly the equivalent of five of New York’s Central Parks – and developed on southern China’s most breathtaking terrain, Mission Hills is a surreal vision, a golfer’s paradise that must be seen (and played) to be believed.

The Olazabal Course, a par-72, 7,320-yard layout designed by two-time Masters Champion Jose Maria Olazabal in collaboration with Scottsdale, Arizona-based architects Schmidt-Curley Design, Inc., is ready to test the world’s best when it debuts on the professional golf scene as host of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, November 22-25.

John Jay Hopkins, a noted Canadian industrialist, founded the tournament in 1953 as a way to promote goodwill among nations through golf. Initially named the Canada Cup, it became the World Cup in 1967 and has been won by some of the greatest players in the history of the game, among them Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, and Tiger Woods. This will be the tournament’s second trip to China, having been previously hosted by Mission Hills’ Jack Nicklaus-designed World Cup Course in 1995.

The 2007 edition of the two-man team event will launch a new and exciting era as it will mark the first year of a 12-year agreement to play the tournament at Mission Hills.

“Being the largest golf facility in the world, we are proud that the Omega Mission Hills World Cup will be held here for the next 12 years,” says Dr. David Chu, Chairman, Mission Hills Group. “I believe golf can create a bridge for international goodwill between China and the rest of the world.”

Chu, a corrugated paper magnate and the founder of the club, believes that the tournament’s long-term commitment to Mission Hills is a major feather in the cap of Chinese golf.

“Mission Hills’ ability to attract the world’s greatest players to China on an annual basis will solidify its place as the epicenter of Asian golf and as one of the premier international golf destinations,” he says.

Adds Olazabal: “More and more courses are being built and more people are playing the game. With a population of 1.3 billion, the game is taking off in a big way. It will take time, but I believe that someday a major championship winner will emerge from China.”

Opened in 2003 and sprinkled with nearly 160 bunkers, Mission Hills’ Olazabal course is distinguished by significant elevation changes, yielding numerous majestic vistas of the surrounding countryside. The layout features Paspalum fairways and Tiff Eagle greens.

Its signature hole is the 580-yard, par-5 15th, a right-to-left dogleg framed by 26 bunkers while curling around a large lake. A drive in the fairway makes reaching the green in two a possibility, but beware the water that sits perilously close to the green. It is a quintessential risk / reward par-5.

The 18th is also particularly strong, a 460-yard, par-4 that, like 15, has its left flank menaced by water from tee to green. The approach to the green affords little room for error, as the faint-of-heart who bale out to the right will be left with a delicate bunker shot to a green that runs away from the player toward the water. Par is an excellent score, as it may very well be the most difficult closing hole at the club.

“I am very proud of the course that I designed here at Mission Hills, and am confident that it will present a stern, yet enjoyable, test for the field,” says Olazabal. “It is quite an honor that it was chosen from among the 12 world-class courses at Mission Hills to host the World Cup.”

While 15 and 18 are fraught with danger, Olazabal, who will play in his first World Cup since 2000 and team with countryman Miguel Angel Jimenez to represent Spain, thinks that the course will yield quite a few birdies.

“The fairways are generous and the par-5s are all reachable in two,” he says. “There will be a number of pins that can be attacked.”