Robinson opens new Korean course

27 September 2011

Whistling Rock's sixteenth hole (photo: Joann Dost)

A new 27 hole golf complex opened this week in South Korea.

The Whistling Rock club, located in Chuncheon, fifty minutes east of Seoul, has been designed by Californian architect Ted Robinson Jr.

A private country club, Whistling Rock has three nine hole loops, named Cocoon, Temple and Cloud for the three tea houses that grace the golf course. Each nine plays to par 36, with Cocoon measuring a maximum of 3,571 yards, Temple 3,654 and Cloud 3,646. 

On the Cocoon nine, the 474 yard uphill third hole is followed by a sharp dogleg (359 yards, par four), where the green is reachable from the tee with a carry across bedrock-lined water. On the Temple nine, the 256 yard par three eighth requires maximum distance, while the ninth is a 376 yard par four that rewards a safe, short play off the tee.

The ninth features one of the course’s most striking landmarks – a suspension bridge that connects fairway and green, stretching across a natural bedrock canyon.

Whistling Rock has been developed by Donglim Resort Development, a subsidiary of Korean industrial giant Taekwang Group. Landscape architects Ken Alperstein and David Fisher of California-based Pinnacle Design worked closely with Robinson and other consultants to create a customised plant palette and oversee construction details to meet the project’s specific requirements.

Thousands of native trees, including Japanese Red Pine, Korean Pine, native dogwood, oak and cherry, have been planted. Mostly transplanted from original growth on site, the trees have been grouped and placed in groves.