Walking In Wuhan

I happened to pick up a Golf Digest Magazine this week and happened across a photo essay that a staff photographer did of the Jade Snow Dragon Course near Lijiang, China. Lijiang is a smallish town in Western China known for its gorgeous scenery and as being a stop for tourists who want to go West, but not all the way to Tibet. It's gorgeous, and probably one of my two favorite trips we took. The course sits at roughly 10,000 feet above sea level and looks absolutely amazing in these photos. Some who play the Tiger Woods lineup of video games might recognize the course from the game. For the longest time, I thought it was a fictional course, but lo and behold, it's real. And about 20 minutes away from where we stayed while on our trip. 800 Yuan gets you on as a non-member, that's a little over $100. Club rental and caddy fees are respectable.



Here's where it gets interesting: the course plays to about 8,450 yards from the pro tees and plays to a par 72. The first hole is a 581 yard par 5. Then again, at 10,000 feet the ball is going to travel a tick farther. Here's the card (click to get a better look).


The closest we got to golf in China was buying knockoff clubs for Courtney. Frankly, golf is pretty expensive there. In Wuhan, there was one driving range that I saw, and it was about 200 Yuan for an hour of hitting golf balls. That doesn't seem like a lot, but when you only make 3200 yuan per month, it can add up fast. If we ever go back, I'd like to play 18, just to say we did, and if we ever venture out West again, which is likely if/when we go back, I'm saving up to play this course -- hopefully when I can still hit the ball a decent ways.