Posts Tagged Kunming
Extended Stay in Kunming, China
We extended our stay in Spring City and Birdie Golf was there on the Mountain Course, Hole #15, Par 5, 561 yards from the blue tees. When I landed on the green in regulation, faced with a 20 foot uphill putt, I could smell a birdie coming.
090627 Spring City Mountain Course, Hole 15 (Par5)
Birdie Golf Arrives in Kunming, China
At first, we thought we left Birdie Golf behind in Hong Kong. After day one, 36 holes later, Birdie Golf was nowhere to be seen. There were at least two lip put birdie putts and one OB birdie. But persistence prevailed and on day two, 50 holes later, Birdie Golf arrived in Kunming on the Lake Course’s 15th hole. From the blue tees, this 356 yard Par 4 has split fairways, and the idea was to hit a conservative 5 wood to the safer fairway on the left. A slice fade landed in the fairway bunker. A clean shot left the ball 2 feet from the hole, but faced with a tricky downhill putt, which luckily found the bottom of the cup.
090627 Spring City Lake Course, Hole #15 (Par 4)
Review – Spring City, Kunming, China (Lake Course)
WOW!!! This is Heaven. The course layout is stunning with beautifully manicured tee boxes. This Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed course forces you to think strategy. A lot of blind shots and doglegs make your club selection vital in order to score well. The rough is also very penal, and will cost you at least a shot more. But even if your score is not up to par, the beauty will more than make up for it. If you could only play one course in China, this is definitely it.
– 20/20
090627 Spring City (Lake) - Designed by RTJII
090627 Spring City (Lake) - Stunning 1st
090627 Spring City (Lake) - Par 3 4th
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Review – Spring City, Kunming, China (Mountain Course)
We’ve always loved mountain courses and we had high expectations for this Jack Nicklaus designed course. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain on our first day. No birdies on the first day, but one finally came on our second round the next day.
The greens were fast (10 on the stimpmeter) but not as fast as we anticipated. Maybe it was all the rain, so imagine on a dry hot day! The course is very scenic and in typical mountain course fashion, lots of elevation. Fairways were quite generous and the course was not that difficult (relative to the Lake Course). However, the rough was something to be reckoned with. AVOID THE ROUGH AT ALL COST.
Golf carts were allowed on the fairways on our second day as the weather dried up. A very nice course, but nothing compared to the Lake Course.
– 18/20
090627 Spring City (Mountain) - 10.4!
090627 Spring City (Mountain) - Hole 3
090627 Spring City (Mountain) - 6th green
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Review – 珍味館 (Zhen Wei Guan), Kunming, China
You won’t believe how we found this restaurant. It was recommended by the masseuse our friend used at Spring City! Famous for their wild mushrooms, this is not to be missed. Just tell the driver the restaurant name 珍味館 (Zhen Wei Guan) and all locals know this place. A word of caution though, either print the photos or be prepared to be lost in translation. We had problems communicating with the waitress in Mandarin. Order the wild mushroom chicken hot pot. It also includes some cousin of the Matsutake mushrooms that are very expensive in Japan. Dinner for four was about RMB200 (about USD30).
– 16/20
珍味館 (Zhen Wei Guan)
Wild mushroom chicken hot pot
Beef - very tender
