Cangzhou Mingren Golf Club

Zhongjie Industrial Park, Huanghua, Cangzhou, Hebei, China

If you’re looking to play golf in Hebei, you quickly realize the landscape is split: you’re either climbing mountain tracks or battling the breeze on flat coastal layouts. Cangzhou Mingren Golf Club sits squarely in the second camp. It’s located just outside Cangzhou near the Bohai Sea, and surprisingly, the 27 holes are routed right through a massive industrial park. It sounds like an odd spot for a Hebei golf course, but it actually makes for a incredibly straightforward, accessible round.

The club breaks its 27 holes into three distinct nines (A, B, and C). When I want a real test, I look at the A/B routing. They have a traditional parkland feel, but water comes into play often enough to ruin your scorecard if your iron play is sloppy. You also have to deal with the wind off the Bohai Sea, which routinely adds a club or two to your approaches. On days when the driver is going sideways, Course C is the better bet. The fairways are massive compared to the other two nines, making for a much lower-stress loop.

You aren’t going to find the dramatic, sweeping elevation changes of the hilltop Hebei golf courses here. What you get instead is convenience. It’s a remarkably easy drive down from Beijing or Tianjin. The clubhouse doesn’t pretend to be a five-star luxury resort—it just covers the essentials with a decent practice area, reliable carts, and cold drinks and good food after you putt out on 18. It’s a solid, dependable place to tee it up.