Designed by Mark Hollinger from the JMP Golf Design Group, Jian Lake Blue Bay is situated adjacent to Lingshui Bay on Hainan Island, about an hour northeast of Sanya. Despite its youth the course has already established an international reputation, thanks to the hosting of high profile LPGA events shortly after its 2012 opening.

Despite a sandy site and proximity to the beach at Lingshui, this was a tough site for Hollinger because the golfing corridors are quite cramped and there was so much real estate thrown into the overall masterplan that it became difficult to build great golf. Hollinger’s design certainly grabs the attention, his holes created to make big aesthetic statements even when lacking some of the deft strategy on display at superior courses elsewhere. The most prominent features are the shaping of surrounding dunes and the bold, though at times overdone, bunkering, an unusual mix of grass and sleeper faced hazards that appear randomly throughout the layout.

While Blue Bay takes a nice photograph, for accomplished or engaged golfers it can be quite frustrating. There was obviously a decent budget here, and plenty of time and effort spent shaping faux-dunes across both nines. Unfortunately most of the shaping is peripheral to the actual golf hole, with flat fairways often cut through heavy manufactured ridges. The shapes that were incorporated into the actual hole tend to work less effectively than they might have.

Aside from straight holes on flat fairways and through mounds, there are also a number of strange doglegs that are particularly cruel on weaker hitters. Those early in the round are dotted with trees, bunkers and mounds precisely where poor players are likely to hit. The long par four 6^th crosses a lake and is an all-carry approach for everyone while the tee shot on the previous hole has to avoid tall Palms that are only tough to carry if you struggle for height and strength off the tee.

This is a classic example of a course that is hard for average golfers, but relatively straightforward for the elite player. It’s not an easy course to score on, but the holes don’t really challenge mentally and there are few, if any, truly strategic areas. The later holes down near the beach are good, but the planting of palm trees near the sand certainly hasn’t enhanced the visual enjoyment of the area.

Jian Lake Blue Bay golf course is another in China that isn’t necessarily poor, but does miss the mark in many ways. The club prides itself on a beautifully conceived clubhouse and superior turf conditioning, which were certainly the most memorable aspects of the property that we saw.