Shenzhen's green oasis
Course in the middle of the city is like a lung for the 10 million people
Shenzhen was last month voted one of China's nine model cities. The booming special economic zone has one of the highest population densities of major cities in China - more than 10 million people in 2,000 square kilometres. But helping the population breathe is Shenzhen Golf Club, a green oasis in the middle of the city.
Neil Haworth, the man responsible for the course's redesign, calls it a 'lung' of Shenzhen. 'The way the city has grown over the years, the golf course has become a lung for the city. It plays a tremendously important role, not just for golfers but for Shenzhen as a city.'
Haworth, a Canadian, first laid eyes on the club in 1993. 'The train stopped in Shenzhen so I decided to get out. I had read about the Shenzhen Golf Club and I went and looked at it,' he said. 'I could see it was a great site; the trees were fantastic, but the design could be improved. I remember thinking 'wow, I could do something really cool out here' and then five years later we get this phone call. We meet the client, get the contract and it was like a dream come true.'
The phone call was from the owners of Shenzhen Golf Club, who asked if his design team of Nelson & Haworth would be interested in remodelling the 27-hole layout. As one of the first courses opened in modern China in 1986, the original layout was designed by Japanese great Isao Aoki. With no real mature market for golf in the country at the time, nor any real set standard for course design, the original layout was rather bland.
Haworth called it a perfect time for his design team to come in as the trees on the urban course in the heart of Shenzhen had a mature look but could still be transplanted. 'The trees really were the biggest factor in the redesign,' he said.
Today, it is still long with its championship 'A' and 'B' layouts measuring more than 7,000 yards from the tips, but it is far from bland after an extensive three-year redesign where each nine was shut down for a year between 1997 and 1999. Holes were reversed and new lakes were created. A series of new tees was added and the greens were made more interesting.
'There is some elevation change in the course and it was always our strategy to keep it long and traditional,' said Haworth. 'For me, the par fours are now very strong, particularly holes one, two, five and six. Somebody who plays under par on the par fours will have a good shot at a really good score.
'The toughest stretch is on the A Course from holes five to seven and on the B Course from 11 to 13. So it is the middle stretch on both nines. If you get through there under par there are opportunities coming in on the last three holes on both nines. As a designer, it is a fantastic feeling to know that the country's national championship is going to be played on a course that we have had a hand in,' said Haworth. 'It is not so much me but the course, the club, the owners at the time. They gave us their full support and it shows in the final product.'
