"Gone Afar: A Beautiful Day Building Shanqin Bay"

Dave Zinkand pens a guest piece for Tom Dunne's Out And Back blog about constructing Coore and Crenshaw's latest course on Hainan, China.

The tropical frontier island of Hainan has long been overlooked by the Chinese mainland, except as the country’s legendary place of exile. In addition to the island’s remoteness, hot, humid, cyclone-laden summers must have provided great motivation to bring centuries upon centuries’ of disgraced Chinese leaders here.

Even now, in the temperate dry season, the morning air is hazy and every surface on this island province beads with sweat. Those of us building the new golf course at Shanqin Bay on the south shore of the island are relishing these mild, typhoon-free days for the comfort and productivity they afford. Soon, the oppressive heat will return to ignite the humidity off the South China Sea.

Astounding growth on the mainland, a motivated government and capital-style speculation are beginning to turn the tide on Hainan. Despite a government moratorium on building golf courses in China, golf’s nearly implicit relationship with tourism is allowing the game to establish a foothold in real estate development on the tropical island. Last year, golf architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw were invited to design the new Shanqin Bay Golf Club on Hainan. Construction is now in full force. As an associate of Coore & Crenshaw, I am contributing shaping work to the project and find working in one of China’s least developed regions to be as challenging as it is rewarding.