Located on an island in the middle of mouth of the mighty Yangtze River, and only an hour or so from downtown Shanghai, the contrast between this golf course and the city could place them a million miles apart. This is an oasis and escape from the sprawling metropolis, connected by a sole bridge that stretches many kilometres across the river, delivering you to a relatively flat and peaceful environment that it turns out offers a perfect place to build a world class golf course.

Yangtze Dunes was born in two parts, an initial Nicklaus design enhanced laterally in 2016 by a coalition of architectural talent including Mike Clayton. The shoots of something special were there before, but it is the renovation by all accounts that has taken this layout and elevated it into the stratosphere.

Before I had really played many World Top 100 golf courses, I wondered whether it would always be obvious that a course deserved to be considered in those highest echelons of our sport. As I have travelled more, it has become clear that there is a certain aura to an elite golf course that is all consuming and speeds up the heart rate on first sight. This golf course has got that aura in abundance.

We played Yangtze Dunes in late winter with the Bermuda still dormant, which created a spectacle that I have seen only a handful of times on my travels as this striking characteristic is not a thing where I come from in the UK. The sheer brightness of the ground in the low sun was almost blinding, but the yellow tinge to the contours (when seen through squinting eyes) gave more than a likeness to the summery hue of the finest links of my homeland. And wow, what a mesmerising display of contouring there is to be found here, which is all the more impressive as it has all been sculpted rather than driven by the winds and the tides.

The opening hole weaves and rolls away before you, a perfect amount of interest and intrigue on display and a looking glass into what is to follow, with the very little flat ground on display, particularly in the vicinity of the green. You could be forgiven for thinking that this is going to be an ode to and imitation of links golf in character and aesthetics, but if you have been lulled into that stereotype, the 3rd hole is sure to snap you out of your lazy assumption. A bold and intimidating par 5 that offers a little bit of everything; a testing drive, a strategic and potentially heroic second shot affected by water on the left and an in your face and extensive cross hazard, with the hole delivering you to a wild and raised green site.

That hole is anything but a outlier, and its bold and multifaceted design is repeated at the short par-4 4th, where the tee shot is played from the highest point on the course. Essentially a reverse Cape hole but with much to ponder in terms of strategy, the abundance of water down the right gives a feeling of a coastal course in the USA such as Maidstone. The temptation is to blast one out to the left side and away from the watery danger, but that tactic adds yards and difficulty to your approach and brings plentiful sand into play down the left side.

The course continues to dazzle unabated with memorable variety and high octane yet enjoyable golf. The run for the turn from 6-9 is brilliant stuff, with the par-5 9th probably the best of the lot. A wide and inviting drive is followed by an exacting second shot where a cross hazard again threatens and one must err left to leave the best view of the green which is tucked behind a dune on the right side.

The 12th (yet another excellent par-5) just about stole the award for my favoured hole on the course. This is a world class golf hole that has the X-factor and a little bit of everything; the bridge across the Yangtze dissects the horizon, a beautiful and distracting backdrop to the immediate task at hand which is avoiding the angled bunker line that threatens on the right. The crumpled fairway veers to the right and tempts you to take on the putting surface, but the approach to the green site tumbles and dives, partially obscuring it (and the diminutive and deep pot bunker that defends it).

The homeward stretch is a suitably testing affair, with the final three holes measuring over 1500 yards from the back tee and for us, playing into the teeth of the wind. For all the lengthy difficulty of the final three, it was actually the par-3 14th that I felt had the most potential to fatally wound a promising scorecard in the final act. The approach is heroic in nature; a gaping and frighteningly deep bunker needing to be covered to reach the raised green site, but any insurance taken in terms of an extra club or two will also be punished, as the ground falls away beyond the green.

Yangtze Dunes did feature in a previous iteration of the World Top 100, so it isn’t too controversial to state that this golf course is truly spectacular and must be on the very cusp of inclusion in the current world list. In all of my travels, I would say that this is the most striking and impressive course to be omitted from the current list. Maybe I was slightly blinded by the brilliance of the dormant spectacle and low winter sun, but my memories of this golf course some 8-weeks after my visit are crystal clear and continue to evoke an enthusiasm and desire to some day return. Whether Yangtze Dunes returns to the World 100 is yet to be seen, but I for one would welcome its return wholeheartedly.

My favourite of the stellar lineup we enjoyed on our Northern Ireland trip.

It’s got a special feel to it and lives up to its open venue heritage. We had favourable weather conditions but it’s still a challenging test of golf, especially the greens that ran fast.

A bucket list course that I would return to given the chance.

One of my favourite golfing experiences - this course is just class.

The first few holes run along the water and sit lower in the side of the hill the modern clubhouse is it’s on. It’s so peaceful!

The condition is perfect. They were in the process of building a 2nd course while we were there. This place is going to quickly rise amongst the best in Scotland over the next several years.