Macau Golf & Country Club
澳門高爾夫郷村倶樂部
Course Data
Location Macau, China
Yardage6673 yards Par 71
Course Rating*73.0 (not official but the club's own rating)
Playing Date29 May 2003
DesignerHiroshi Ikeda & Aoki Corporation
Opened1993
Caddie Yes
Golf CartYes (Compulsory)
Rating
Overall Rating
3.30
Course Layout
3
Difficulty Level
3
Greens Condition
3
Fairways Condition
4
Landscaping & Views
4

Some holes border the seashore or cliffs and several holes have decent ups and downs, so you it is quite challenging. Although the fairways are relatively narrow, it is not difficult to have a good score because the total yardage isn't long. However, it becomes a very tough course on windy days. The sea view from the 15th fairway is splendid. The back 9 holes are more impressive than the front 9.
  
5th  Par 4 479 yards

A dogleg to the left. Both the tee shot and second shot are steeply downhill. To drive from the right to the left is the best strategy here. A mid iron or so should be used on your approach shot. The green is protected by 5 bunkers, so a precise shot is needed to par the hole.

5番 パー4 479ヤード
5th Par 4 479 yards
  
11th  Par 3 238 yards

Bunkers on the front right and at the back left of the green come into play. This is a long par 3 with a hazard 20 yards left of the green, so it will test the accuracy of your wood shot.

11番 パー3 238ヤード
11th Par 3 238 yards
  
12th  Par 5 586 yards

Slightly uphill. A carry of 210 yards is needed to clear a lake. If you slice the ball, it will land in the bushes. If you hook it, it will be in the rough with the long shot remaining to the green. The green is 38 yards deep, sharply sloped and double tiered, so if your ball lands on tier different from the pin's, you can easily end up 3-putting.

12番 パー5 586ヤード
12th Par 5 586 yards
  
17th  Par 3 239 yards

The green is 43 meters (140 ft.) lower than the tee. The hole layout is not good but the view from the tee is superb with a cliff on the right and the South China Ocean on the left. There is a gate leading to the tournament tee but the gate is usually closed.

17番 パー3 239ヤード
17th Par 3 239 yards
  
18th  Par 5 564 yards

The sea runs along the left sides of the hole all the way from the tee to the green. The fairway is tight with water hazards in front of the green and on the right side of the fairway, coming into play on the second & third shots to makes this hole quite difficult. I watched Vijay Singh successfully hit the green in 2 on this par 5. Such impressive shots made us understand why he is really one of the best pros in the world.

18番 パー5 564ヤード
18th Par 5 564 yards
  
19th hole

It takes 20 minutes from Macau ferry terminal by taxi. Visitors need to stay at the Westin Hotel or some other hotels in Macau in order to play at this course . The adjacent Westin is recommendable.

I think that Portuguese meals in Macau are delicious. The cuisine is quite different from Portuguese meals in Portugal. The Chinese prepare Portuguese foods with some Chinese flavors, and it makes them outstanding, blending the rich local Chinese cuisine to make testy "fusion" cuisines. This applies to seafood restaurants in Thailand or Malaysia run by Chinese.

Regarding the tees, you are not allowed to play on the pro tees. So using the next longest tees, it is 6263 yards par 71, which is short for advanced players. I hope that the club will let the single handicap players use the pro tees, 6673 yards par 71, which is also not that long.