Hainan Volcanic Golf Escape – Hainan, China

The Hainan Volcanic Golf Escape golf tour takes a group of 4 golfers to Mission Hills Haikou – the world’s largest public golf club according to Guinness World Records, spanning 22 km² with 10 18-hole golf courses built entirely on ancient volcanic rock. The 5-day, 4-night itinerary includes 3 rounds of golf on three completely different courses: Stone Quarry, Lava Fields and Blackstone, combined with stays at a 5-star resort and Guinness World Records-certified hot mineral spring bathing after each round.

The program’s greatest distinction is that the entire journey is contained within a single resort: golf, relaxation, dining and shopping are all just a few minutes away by the resort shuttle, with no hotel changes and no time lost traveling between courses. The group stays 4 nights at the 5-star Mission Hills Resort Haikou (535 rooms and suites, 168 hot and cold mineral pools) and enjoys natural mineral water gushing from a depth of 800 meters immediately after each round. This is an ideal choice for friends who want to experience international golf within a compact schedule, or golf clubs organizing a short exchange trip. See more options on overseas golf tours at WinGolf.

Three golf courses, three design philosophies

All three courses are masterpieces by Schmidt-Curley Design (Brian Curley & Lee Schmidt), built on black volcanic rock – a project that once moved 11 million cubic meters of earth and rock and installed 450 km of irrigation pipes to create green fairways amid volcanic terrain:

• Stone Quarry Course (Course No. 7, Par 70, 6,029 yards) – the opening round is a tribute to Pete Dye: the course winds through an ancient volcanic quarry, with wooden railway sleepers reinforcing sand traps, coal cars and rusting mining equipment. The course has 6 Par 3 holes, fairways averaging just 38 yards wide and 215 small, deep pot bunkers – demanding precise technical shots rather than power. Golf carts are mandatory.
• Lava Fields Course (Course No. 5, Par 72, 7,475 yards) – ranked 93rd among the world’s Top 100 golf courses (GOLF Magazine 2011). Fairways are extremely wide (averaging 50 yards), greens measure 6,103 square feet, and there are only 43 bunkers, but each is a huge waste bunker blending seamlessly into the terrain. Hole 6 (Par 4) is a tempting downhill hole, Hole 9 (Par 4, 513 yards) tests stamina, and Hole 12 (Par 5) is a double dogleg demanding sharp risk management.
• Blackstone Course (Course No. 1, Par 73, 7,808 yards) – the “crown jewel” of the resort, opened in 2010 and host to the 2010 Star Trophy, 2011 World Cup of Golf, 2012 WGC-HSBC Champions, World Ladies Championship and the 2013 Tiger Woods–Rory McIlroy match. The course has no rough – closely mown fairways border sharp black lava fields, treated as water hazards with a one-stroke penalty – along with 147 wild-edged bunkers and greens averaging 5,694 square feet. Hole 6 (Par 5, 599 yards), the “Devil’s Hole,” is a double dogleg; Hole 18 (Par 5, 539 yards) requires a 190-yard carry over wetlands and rock fields. Buggy and a 1:1 or 1:2 caddie are mandatory.

Experiences beyond golf

After the second day’s round, golfers can soak in the resort’s volcanic hot spring complex – recognized by Guinness World Records in 2012 as the world’s largest volcanic hot spring complex, with 168 hot and cold pools and 99 water features inspired by the five continents. The mineral-rich water helps relieve muscle tension and restore energy after continuous swings. Hotel guests enjoy complimentary access to the hot springs (day visitors pay 198 CNY for one continent or 398 CNY for all five continents).

The afternoon of the third day is free for relaxing at Mission Hills Spa (90 treatment rooms), shopping at Mission Hills Centreville or strolling around Lan Kwai Fong. Before departure, the group can visit Qilou Old Street – one of China’s largest original Nanyang architectural complexes, established between the 1820s and 1840s – to enjoy Lao Ba Tea and specialties such as Wenchang chicken and Hele crab, or shop at Haikou’s duty-free area (annual allowance of up to 100,000 CNY per person). If you would like an itinerary tailored to your group’s schedule and budget, explore WinGolf’s customized golf tour service.