Whistling Rock (Temple & Cocoon)

A decade after Ted Robinson’s Pinx golf complex first opened its doors on the island of Jeju in 1999, the architect's son, Ted Robinson Jr., visited South Korea (this time the mainland) to design an ambitious 27-hole facility for the Donglim Resort and Development company at Whistling Rock.

In a feat of major engineering expertise, Robinson and his team blasted an astonishing three quarters of a million cubic metres of rock on the way to routing three nines (Temple, Cloud and the slighter shorter Cocoon) around a very hilly 425-acre property overlooking the Chuncheon Lake basin.

Described as “a genuine golf adventure,” the three courses have been sculpted around thirteen sparkling lakes, two and a half kilometers of babbling brooks and seven spectacular waterfalls.

Mature trees that were preserved and removed during construction were put back in place and many of the more prominent rock formations on site have been brought into play, adding to the visual spectacle of the course.

The 406-yard 9th hole on the Temple nine concludes that particular circuit in fine style. Golfers are advised to carefully plot their route to the green as a stream runs along the right side of the fairway before cutting across the fairway to empty into a lake to the left of the hole.

There are two short par fours on the Cocoon nine (1st and 4th) and both are driveable but each is completely different. The 1st is the shortest par four at Whistling Rock (341 yards from the tips), but a stream runs down the left side and that's the driving route required to find the green on this arrow straight hole. The 4th is an acute 359-yard doglegged right hole and it's certainly reachable for big hitters by cutting across the dogleg, but the carry is fraught with watery danger.

In 2015, Vice President of Renaissance Golf Design, Eric Iverson, was commissioned by Whistling Rock Country Club to renovate the layout, primarily to improve the strategic value and variety of the original Ted Robinson design. His work with Brian Schneider in 2017 included redesigning the last two holes on the Temple nine into a short par four 8th and all-or-nothing par three 9th.