Guilin......only a short distance away as it only takes about 50 minutes of fly time from Hong Kong or Shenzhen, I have heard so much about the place, it seems very 'familiar' but yet very 'foreign' to a local like me.
Familiar.........because Guilin is known for its stunning landscape, even Bill Clinton had to have a look when he was in China.
Foreign.........becasue despite its close proximity, I never had a chance to go.........until now : )
So when there was this holiday came up I took up the opportunity to have a go at it, first I will play at this Twinpeak which opened at 1996 & move on to Merryland Golf Club.

We arrived at the airport late at night.......but the staff of the club were already waiting for us, as soon as everyone got out , we were ready to board the shuttle bus......very efficient indeed.

The ride from the airport to the club takes about 45 minutes and a nice & hot meal was also ready before we check in our rooms. For the 3 days we were there, I found the staff of the club were very attentive & had excellent service.

As to the facilities, the club is decorated to a very Chinese style, the lobby , coffee shop 、massage area & rooms are ok but somewhat a little dated.

The club has three 9 holes course, they are rock, mountain & water view.

Both mountain & water view course are resort style course, fairways are generally wider and more forgiving with an interesting mix of holes.

The rock view course, however, is a bit strange, with extremely tight fairways built around the foot of a big rock formation, the layout of the holes are very confusing for first time players & although it is a much short course but only the most accurate shots will find the fairways. Consult your caddie for the direction & distance or you will lose lots of balls.

As to the view of the course.......I have played a lot around this region but this one drop dead beautiful & surely it is one of the best.
Play movie........

Fairways were ok but a little patchy.

Both the mountain & water view course has two greens, one is for winter & one for summer.......a good idea but unfortunately when I was there both greens were in under maintenance, the bents were still playable but the Bermuda greens had sand on half an inch thick....very disappointed. I was later told by the management that the bents went dormant a month earlier than expected & the bermuda were not ready, I hope it was just my bad luck & hope they will improve.

Played 3 rounds there, all caddies were reasonably ok both in service of knowledge of the course.

The club's service, food quality & environment were all outstanding, just wish the condition of the course was just as good.

One of the advantage of playing this club is the proximity to the city, only 20 minutes & 35-40 RMB, one should try to join a local tour as there are so much to see Elephant Trunk Hill, Li River, Reed Flute Cave and Seven-Star Park are all within short distance.

Play movie......

My rating is Birdie, could be a lot better if they improve the condition of the course。4/06