A Great Day for Golf
There is nothing like a great day for golf. Even when the scores aren’t! Well, last Sunday was such a day! Great company, beautiful course, and ideal weather. What a day!
I met a kind Englishman at a local bar last week, and found out he played golf. Conversation turned from one thing to another, and next thing I knew Lucas invited me for a round on Sunday at the nearby Hillview Golf Club. And we weren’t just going to play the A & B course that I had played before. No, he was a member inviting me to play the exclusive Masters Course.
I called on a Texan friend, Mitchell, and Lucas brought along his wife Claudia for a 1:30 tee time. It was a great foursome. Lucas hit the ball long, and Claudia was a joy. She may have not hit like Michelle Wie, but she looked like her, and laughed and smiled the whole round – with a few pars to boot. My golf game was forgettable, but who cares. This course was great, and we had a good time.
The Masters Course is special. Impeccable condition. It’s molded into a beautiful layout. Okay, so it probably isn’t very natural, and the skyscrapers in the background don’t make it the most beautiful in the world. But it is sculpted to a beautiful layout. You know you are in for something very special at the second hole. It is a short par 3 over a fabulous little lake with the green sitting over two waterfalls. What a beautiful hole!
Then you get to the third and its decision time. It has a split fairway. Go short route, and you must carry a long shot over the sand to the fairway, or play safe to the right with a shot over water to the green. It keeps getting better on every hole. But there is sand everywhere! I’m glad I Love Beach Music. Thirteen bunkers on one hole. And oh are there waterfalls! The ninth has a beautiful tall waterfall right off the green. Then the 18th seems to float over an enormous wide waterfall.
We went on for a wonderful dinner at the Brazilian Restaurant at the nearby Royal Lagoon. They seemed to know Lucas and Claudia well, and it probably helped with some extras. But I’ll have more on that meal later. In the meantime, pictures to the round can be viewed at link at right or from:
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=abrysoninchina&p=1A55&AID=2931587
Hillview was slated for the European Masters tour stop, but Shanghai stole it away. A new hotel is rising between the 17th and 18th fairways. Coupled with the A & B course being lighted, it makes quite a resort. It will certainly be a great tournament venue at sometime in the near future.
posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 6:58 PM
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