The mini 18-hole course is located in the heartland of Yulin Desert Golf Course. It’s fun and excitement filled if you are a scratch golfer, you can enjoy a game-like and interesting challenge here with your proficient skills; on the other hand, for beginners, it is the best place to start their golf career. This mini course, an innovation by designer Lu Jun, is a distinctive “putting course”, meaning the player ought to finish all the 18 holes here only by using a putter. Not uncommon though, the number of this kind of course around the world is still limited. The most famous one has to be the one at St. Andrews, the Home of Golf. Everybody who has been to St. Andrews putting course should have strong impression of that vast greens. With its low mowing height, putter is enough for the game. Among the area are 18 green flags, whose position could be changed daily and casual. The entry fee is as low as one pound, the one of the reasons of its popularity, especially for the old and young players, plus the ones who do not have enough time to play a regular 18 holes. Lu found a new home for this distinctive innovation.
TRADITIONAL, BUT DIFFERENT
“A sparrow maybe small, but it has all the essentials.” This famous Chinese proverb is apt to describe the special mini putting course. Buying the traditional concept of the routing and hole position, Lu made the putting course more challenging and interesting. Envision yourself in the miniature version of a typical par-72 18-hole course, you could not wait to try on your putter.
It would be another story if you want to conquer it. The course comprises numbers of short, medium and long holes with par 2, par 3 and par 4. Obstructions like bunkers, water hazard, rough, second cut and bush are also here for you to deal with. Play with your own strategy, balance the risk and reward, treating it like a regular course might you find it is unwise move.
TIME TO PLAY, THE OLD AND YOUNG
Your whole family members are welcome here. Not only can they enjoy the fabulous clear sky and fresh air in the northwest China, the putting course provides a new treat as well. A pair of golf shoes and a putter are all we need to start to find out what golf is really about: walking on the delicate grass, focusing on your putter and holing the ball, eventually reaping the joy from the golf. Whether you are an elderly in your 70s even 80s, or a preschool kid, you do not have to know those enduring drills like power swings, just relax and have some fun while stepping through the door of golf, you might just fall in love with it.
FUN HOUSE FOR EVERYBODY
Golf is just a fun game, not a serious competition. Making the game fair and interesting, Lu set up the rules to seduce you to the challenges you never faced before: like how to deal with bunker or rough with only a putter, or how to stymie your opponent with your ball or balls, or how to place the ball precisely just like a snooker player, especially the green speed is as fast as or close to the one on normal 18 holes course. The fun goes on and on. “It is fine with 6, 9, 12 or 18 holes, as many as you like.” Said Lu, “the fundamental idea of this thing is to promote and popularize the sport of golf, with limited land and investment.” Besides all the fun and excitement, the putting course also provides a new view of construction of a golf course, the one meets the merit of eco-friendly concept: taking full advantage of local conditions, such as climate, soil and others, spending less and earning more. This spin-off work resonates what his main masterpiece stands for, which is making more and more people come to enjoy the sport of golf. If you come here, you will love it.
Course Name: Putting Course;
Designer: Lu Jun;
GFA: 6,000 square meters;
Holes: 18
Local Rules: PUTTER ONLY. The players should finish all the shots with one putter here. NO MARKING. Either marking, cleaning the ball, or aiming the line are all prohibited, regardless of the ball position. A two-shot penalty should be imposed if your moving ball hits any other ball or balls regardless whose ball or balls it is/they are. MULTIBALLS. Every player can play 2 or 3 balls during a game, in order to make the game more interesting. FORMS of the COMPETITION. Stroke play and match play are all fit to play, with the scoring card recorded by yourself or your caddie.