Chinese property developer Agile Group has opened the second course at its Clearwater Bay club in Lingshui on Hainan Island.
Clearwater’s B course has been designed by American firm Schmidt-Curley, who also created the club’s first course, which opened in 2009. The 7,035 yard B course is Schmidt-Curley’s thirteen design to open on Hainan, and features a number of different bunker styles, including grass-faced traps, sandy waste areas and a number of penal pots. Water comes into play on nine holes.
“The B Course has a unique look that relatively few projects in China have embraced,” said Lee Schmidt. “Despite the prevalence of hazards, it's a design players of all abilities will enjoy. We were sure to provide plenty of width to playing corridors, and bunkers are typically flat-bottomed giving them more bark than bite.”
Schmidt says the course’s two short par fours are highlights. Players who challenge a bunker and lake down the right side of the 380-yard third hole will be rewarded with a short pitch to the green. Those who select a safer line off the tee will be left with an exacting approach, especially when the pin is back right.
The fifteenth is a 337 yard par four with a generous landing area. The putting surface, however, is perched three metres above the fairway and protected by deep bunkers and grass hollows.