Why Hong Kong Golf Club Is Different To Most Golf Courses On Tour

Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling is one of the oldest tournament venues in the game and a course that’s very different from the modern golf course layouts players see most weeks.

At around 6,700 yards and playing to a par 70, it’s short by modern professional standards, but that’s exactly what makes it challenging.

🏌️ Accuracy over power

The fairways are tight and tree lined, meaning players can’t simply overpower the course with 350 yard drives. Precision from the tee is critical and hitting it long is not the advantage that it often is on other golf courses.

📏 Club selection becomes a puzzle

Because the course is shorter, many players will leave driver in the bag on more holes than they would usually. Expect a lot of fairway woods, long irons and strategic layups to find the right angles into greens, which is often far more important than proximity to the hole here.

🧠 A caddie’s course

This is the kind of venue where course management really matters. Picking the right lines, choosing when to attack and understanding which holes offer scoring chances can make the difference over four rounds.

For example, the 9th and 18th have historically played as two of the toughest holes on the course, while the short par 5 13th offers one of the best birdie opportunities.

In short, Fanling isn’t about who hits it the furthest. It’s about who thinks their way around the course best and, as a caddie, that is where we come in to our own.

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