The Heart of China

Paul Myers journeys to Kunming, home to arguably the most lauded courses in the Middle Kingdom

Superb conditioning awaits at Sky Oasis

Stoneforest International Country Club is a real jaw-dropper. Set among karst limestone pillars of all shapes and sizes, this is a spectacular course that seems to have been transplanted from Arizona or Nevada. Its twin 18-hole layouts are nothing short of exceptional. The A course, playing 7,241 yards from the black tees, has at least a dozen holes that will have golfers reaching for a camera before hitting a golf ball.

Among them, the 189-yard par-3 seventh that plays downhill to a green backed by a castle-like fortress of stone pillars, is surely one of the most scenic holes on the planet. This hole is perhaps trumped by the 618-yard par-5 10th hole on the B course that climbs uphill (after a downhill tee shot) to huge battlement-like pillars, which assume a red colour in the setting sun.

There is no accommodation at Stoneforest but the course is close enough to Kunming to enable a day trip - or, ideally, can be combined with visits to Spring City and Brilliant Resort & Spa.

Meanwhile, Honghe Spring, located near the city of Mile, 100km south-west of Kunming, rates as one of the toughest courses in China. Steep elevation changes, jungle-like rough and sometimes narrow fairways through up challenges that are rarely experienced at other courses in the immediate region.

Mile, an attractive city on a lake, is renowned for its mineral springs, which are also an attraction at Brilliant Resort & Spa, just a 10-minute drive from Spring City.

The Aqua, an all-encompassing resort that includes two hotels and an equestrian centre

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