Jade Palace (West & East)

Built for Hanwha Group, one of Korea’s biggest engineering and construction companies, the course at Jade Palace Golf Club was designed by Harley Kruse from the Greg Norman Design team, opening in the summer of 2004. Hanwha operates a number of clubs and resorts, with Jade Palace positioned as its flagship facility.

Situated close to Chun Chon City, the Zoysia fairways of the golf course are set out on a rather hilly landscape because the flatter land in the valleys is reserved for agricultural purposes. Construction took a number of years due to the scale of the earthworks required on such difficult terrain, resulting in the movement of over four and a half million cubic meters of rock and soil during the build.

A round here begins with a short par four, tightly bunkered on the right side with a bale out option to the left for those who want to start with a safe two-shot option. The mid-length 8th is another fine par four on the front nine, routed through a local pine and oak forest.

On the inward half, the par fives at 10 and 13 are very strong, whilst the short par three 14th, which plays to an infinity green, is a rather beguiling short hole. The star of the show arrives at the last, where the green sits between a pond at the front and a dramatic rock face at the back, on top of which sits the imposing Jade Palace clubhouse.