The Aramco Team Series got underway at the New Korea Country Club this morning, and it's already proving a handful.
After meandering up the tree-lined driveway, you arrive at a somewhat modest clubhouse.
Sleek and sophisticated but not grand, it emulates what the course achieves — attention to detail and respect for its surroundings.
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Bukhansan Mountain, the exclusive members' club is a breath of fresh air. Providing picturesque views, undulating fairways and immaculate, rolling greens.
Looking at the scorecard, I assumed the course was going to be pretty scoreable for the elites. A par 72 with a couple of short par 5s and only two par 4s measuring over 400 yards (avg 384), it seemed as though birdies were a given.
However, after walking the course, I realised I was dearly mistaken. Because what the course lacks in length, it more than makes up for in architecture.
For one, the rough is sticky, making it difficult to get a clean strike with mid to long-irons.
When speaking with Danielle Kang about the course earlier in the week, she commented on the difficulties surrounding the rough.
“The grass is a bit different than what we're used to... So, you're going to get a lot of fire lies, all of a sudden, it's going to catch your club, you might hit some hooks. I think you're just going to have to play and feel through the grass and around the golf course.”
So what if you stay out of the long stuff? (A question I often ask myself)
Well, for those more efficient off the tee than I am, it still doesn’t provide a guarantee of sticking it close.
Approach shots into the green are regularly met with a steep incline or drop, on occasions leaving only the top of the pin visible.
A perfect example is the 8th. A short par 5 measuring just 467 yards. On paper, it’s the kind of hole you’d look forward to. A chance at birdie, and dare I say it, eagle?
No.
After successfully hitting your drive down the narrow fairway, with a bunker on the left side of the landing zone and a run-off to the right, you’re met with an incline that HGVs wouldn’t be allowed to drive up.
A bunker is tactically placed roughly 30 yards short of the green to catch any misfired approaches, while the right of the green is a no-go zone.
So what are you left with? The smart option is to lay up short of the bunker on a small plateau 70-100 yards out. Though, from down there you’ve still got to play a blind shot into a lengthy tiered green, meaning yardages need to be bang on the money.
However, it’ll take more than just the right yardage to capitalise.
The greens largely slope from back to front with few tiers and crowns, making them awkward to read in places.
And they’re quick, lightning quick.
During the Pro-Am on Thursday, I routinely watched naive amateurs roll 10-12 feet by the hole. One poor fella thought his putt was going in — and in fairness to him, it was looking pretty good — before it ran by at speed like a passing train and off the green.
That being said, with the level at which the LPGA and Ladies European Tour golfers play, I don’t think de-greening a putt will be an issue, but a lapse in concentration or a rush of blood will certainly see them putting back from 6 feet or more.
All in all, the New Korea Country Club is a delightful hidden gem. It’s easy to be drawn in by its beauty, postcard backdrop and pristine condition, but it packs a punch.
It’s not the place to chase birdies or push your luck. It’ll require prudence and patience to score well here because, without it, the course will come out on top.
