Making Practice Effective and Fun at World’s Largest Golf Club
(SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.) – Schmidt-Curley Design – the full-service golf-course architecture, master-planning and construction-management firm – announces it has built the world’s largest putting course at China’s Mission Hills Golf Club.
Draped across more than 17 acres, the putting course is punctuated by wild, rugged bunkering and dramatic humps and hollows. Framed by bursts of flowers, dense groundcovers and native grasses, it evokes the feel of a miniature, quarter-scale golf course.
Unlike most putting courses that are effectively oversized putting greens or bear a close resemblance to miniature golf, the Mission Hills course traverses the rolling countryside, snaking around bunkers, mounds and thickets of landscaping. The putting surface is a contiguous, six-acre ribbon of platinum paspalum turf, ideal for practice with the flat stick, wedge or both. The course does not have a prescribed routing, so players are free to jump on and off wherever and whenever they’d like, just as one would with a standard practice green.
“There is nothing on the planet that comes close to the course’s size, appearance or playing alternatives,” says Brian Curley. “The possibilities are limitless. It can play as a putting course requiring negotiation of hazards and putts of 100 feet or more. Or, players can sharpen their chipping and pitching, incorporating lofted ball flights over the myriad bunkers and swales turning the facility into more of a short-game course. Regular use of the course will cultivate shot-making creativity that’s sure to shave-off handicap strokes.”
Sitting adjacent to the Schmidt-Curley-designed 18-hole, par-3 Zhang Lian Wei Course, one of 12 golf courses at the mammoth resort 30 minutes north of Hong Kong, the putting course is perfect for skilled golfers, juniors and individuals who are just starting to play the sport. It melds seamlessly with Mission Hills’ mantra of “growing the game,” creating a place where one can be introduced to golf in a fun, low-pressure environment. Moreover, it serves as an ideal outlet for experienced players seeking rapid short-game improvement.
“Schmidt-Curley did a fantastic job with the putting course,” says Tenniel Chu, Executive Director, Mission Hills Golf Club. “It is another in a long line of valued projects the firm’s undertaken at our club. The Mission Hills we know today wouldn’t have been possible without Schmidt-Curley’s expert architectural contributions to all 12 of our golf courses.”
“Creativity is our hallmark, and we’re always excited when clients ask us to tackle outside-the-box projects,” says Curley. “It allows us to showcase the ingenuity and imagination that have made our firm successful for so many years.”
For more information about Schmidt-Curley’s completed and current projects, visit www.schmidt-curley.com or call 480.483.1994.
About Mission Hills Golf Club
Stretching across the lush, rolling hills of Shenzhen and Dongguan in southern China, Mission Hills is China’s highest rated golf club, and the largest golf club in the world according to the Guinness World Records. The property is home to 12 resort and championship courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Annika Sorenstam, Ernie Els, Jose Maria Olazabal, Vijay Singh, David Leadbetter, David Duval, Jumbo Ozaki and Zhang Lian Wei in collaboration with Schmidt-Curley Design.
Mission Hills is a full-service, luxury resort, featuring four clubhouses, three spas, a five-star hotel, three golf academies (including schools from world renowned instructors David Leadbetter and Cindy Reid), 51 tennis courts with a professional tennis academy, and numerous fine dining establishments serving cuisine from around the world. It has hosted more than 50 international tournaments, including the 1995 World Cup of Golf and the Tiger Woods China Challenge in 2001. In 2007, Mission Hills began its role as host of 12 editions of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup.
For more information about Mission Hills Golf Club, visit www.missionhillsgroup.com, email info@missionhillsgroup.com, or call (852) 2122 1616 (Hong Kong) — (86 755) 2802 0888 (Shenzhen) — (86 769) 8728 8888 (Dongguan).
About Schmidt-Curley Design
Founded by partners Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley with offices in Scottsdale, Arizona and Haikou, Hainan Island, China, Schmidt-Curley is a full-service, international golf course architecture and master-planning firm with more than 100 layouts in 24 countries, including the U.S., Thailand, China, Vietnam, Mexico, Egypt, Sweden, and Korea. The tandem is responsible for crafting 10 of the 12 courses at storied Mission Hills Golf Club inShenzhen, China – the largest golf complex in the world.
Schmidt-Curley teamed with long-time partner Nick Faldo, as well as Ernie Els, Jose Maria Olazabal, David Duval, Annika Sorenstam, Vijay Singh, David Leadbetter and Jumbo Ozaki to create a golf experience unlike any other globally. High profile, award-winning projects from Schmidt-Curley include Bali Hai and Siena Golf Clubs (Las Vegas), Amata Spring Golf Club (Chonburi, Thailand, three-time host of the PGA European Tour’s Royal Trophy), Terra Lago Golf Club (Indio, California, site of the Skins Game from 1999 – 2002), Twin Creeks Golf Club (Cedar Park, Texas), and Crosby National Golf Club (Rancho Santa Fe, California).
Schmidt-Curley has also worked extensively with golf’s biggest names – including Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Fred Couples and Faldo on numerous high-profile projects – and boasts four ASGCA members (Lee Schmidt, Brian Curley, Grant Haserot and Andy Raugust).
Producing demanding yet beautiful and enjoyable courses, Schmidt-Curley strives to create golf experiences that stir the senses and elevate golfers’ appreciations for the land and the game. By balancing classic golf course architecture with ever-changing contemporary technology, Schmidt-Curley places an emphasis on site-adaptive courses, memorable and enjoyable for all levels of play and always designed for cost-efficient maintenance and operations.
Contact:
Shane Sharp
Buffalo Communications
704.519.8381 (cell)
ssharp@billycaspergolf.com
www.buffalocommunications.com
Stephen Reynolds
Buffalo Communications
703.891.3509
sreynolds@billycaspergolf.com
