Yalong Bay

Located a mere 45-minute drive from Sanya Phoenix airport in the south of Hainan island, the 18-hole layout at Yalong Bay Golf Club is a Robert Trent Jones Jr. design that debuted at the start of the new millennium, the first of two courses planned for this coastal property.

With nine holes floodlit for night golf, the course extends to almost 7,200 yards from the back tees, playing to a par of 72. Despite claims that it’s a links-style course, waterfalls, coconut palms and other tropical features on the layout might indicate such a description is somewhat wide of the mark.

There’s no shortage of bunkers either (ninety-eight in total) and these sand traps, along with a wide, winding water course that snakes through the property, provide golfers with additional hazards to be avoided.

The architect describes the course on the RTJII website as follows:

“The gentle, rolling terrain has been transformed by use of native sands mimicking ancient natural dunes. A golf course carefully designed to include native grasses and coastal vegetation appears to grow out of spaces that nature formed. We created the lakes and marsh areas to catch and retain rainfall runoff so as to make a sizable contribution to building and maintaining the underground aquifer."