Guangonng's newest course (as of January 2008), Fenghuangshan, which is also known by some as Phoenix Hill, is situated on the border of Shenzhen and Dongguan districts, only a 45 min drive from the HK-mainalnd frontier crossing at Huanggang, thanks to a brand new road. Currently open to everyone - memberships are unlikely to be issued anytime soon - the course is unusual in that it was developed in harness with the local government, thereby getting around that pesky moratorium on golf course construction, which was issued by Beijing a couple of years back. Anyway, forget about that - any new course located this close to Hong Kong is welcomed by us with open arms.

As you might expect from such a new course, Fenghuangshan's clubhouse is only a temporary structure; a huge new one, which commands a spectacular positon overlooking the course and the nearby town of Fenggang, is expected to open in 2009. Facilities in the temporary clubhouse are OK, neither 5-star luxury or completely terrible. There's not a great deal at the moment though: locker rooms, a tiny pro shop, a place to buy snacks and a surprisingly nice driving range and practice putting green.
(As of November 2008) A small restaurant and a function room which can accommodate maximum 80 players is in use.

First off, this is one spectacular course. Laid out around a series of disbanded mines, Fengguangshan features excitement at every turn: huge elevation changes, massive ravines and a fair amount of other scary hazards. Unfortunately, it also features some insanely narrow landing areas, making it one of the hardest (and most frustrating) courses in the region. Think of it as a mixture of Wind Valley, Jiulong Hills with a bit of Century Seaview thrown in. We're sure it becomes a lot easier after you've played it a few times, but goodness! First-timers are advised to bring literally dozens of balls, because not only are the fairways miserly, but there are also a number of forced carries over jungle and water. Blimey. Nevertheless, there are some great holes out here - the par threes are a particularly good set - and the views of the surrounding area are certainly jaw-dropping. We were fortunate to play the course on a particularly pleasant sunny afternoon, which obviously made the experience all the better.

November 2008: Very good. The fairways are in good shape and the very severely sloping greens are running very nicely, which was good to see from such a new club. Obviously they waited until the course was really ready for play, so kudos to them.

Generally good. Mine couldn't speak any English but we managed to get along regardless. They weren't too quick to get down and fix pitchmarks though; but perhaps, quite rightly, she expected me to do fix them myself - which, of course, I did. Still, amusing company and could read putts. The most important thing a caddie should advise upon here is club selection. If you're thinking of hitting a driver and she hands you a 5-iron then take note: more than likely the fairway, which is often hidden from the tee, is about 10 yards wide. It's that kind of place.

What to say? There are some great holes here, but there are also some exceptionally difficult ones too. Are they all fair? Probably not, but hey, that's golf. If you're looking for a memorable round then this is the right place. By the same token, if you're looking to lose endless golf balls this is most definitely the right place. A totlally unique experience.

Recently, enhancement is taking place, the management decided to shape the course to less demanding e.g. Hole #2 fairway will be widen a few metres and Hole#3 fairway will be widen twice as it used to be.

The envirnoment is getting mature, and the management put much effort in gardening. A bunch of new resident can be found in some holes.

The course is improving and deserved an upgrade to Eagle 11 / 08