Chicago-based golf architect Rick Jacobson has started work on another new course in China. Mogan Mountain is located in one of the country’s premier resort areas about 160 kilometres inland from Shanghai. The course is the focal point of a mixed-use development including hotel, residential, and retail elements.

“China continues to be a strong area of growth for new course development,” said Jacobson. “For decades, the Mogan Mountain region has been a premier resort and vacation area.”

“Consistent with our firm’s longstanding philosophy, Mogan Mountain has been designed to appeal to and challenge golfers of all levels,” Jacobson said. “The combination of aesthetic beauty and competitive challenge makes Mogan Mountain a destination for both the everyday player and the highly skilled professional in the international golf market.”

The front nine winds through valleys and features elevation changes of 25 metres from tee to fairway. Several holes are framed by trees and groves of bamboo forests. The back nine, which plays through the wide valley, is framed on three sides by mountains and features several large natural sand bunkers. Three manmade lakes have been integrated into the design.

The 609 yard par five home hole plays along the base of the mountain with a stream running along the left of the fairway. The green is located amid a waterfall complex built into an abandoned quarry; a vertical rock formation forms the backdrop of the green.

Jacobson says Mogan Mountain is being built to be environmentally sustainable and sensitive to valuable water resources. Stormwater runoff will be collected by the course’s system of streams and lakes and will be directed by gravity flow to a central collection lake. The irrigation pump station then will recycle the water back onto the golf course. “We feel that environmental sustainability is an important element in the construction of any new golf course,” Jacobson said. “We have the technology to make sure the golf course improves rather than detracts from the environment and we’re committed to using it.”