Spring City Golf & Lake Resort (Mountain)

Overview: The Mountain Course at Spring City Golf & Lake Resort is a Jack Nicklaus design in the highlands outside Kunming. Its setting above Lake Yangzonghai gives the course a distinctly elevated character, with mountain contours, broad views and a succession of holes that use the existing slopes as part of the challenge. The layout’s interest comes from the relationship between landing areas, sidehill lies and green approaches: a good drive can open a preferred angle, while a careless line can leave an awkward second shot even when the ball is technically safe. The course is a substantial contrast to the resort’s Lake Course, offering a different expression of the same dramatic landscape.

History: Spring City was established in 1998 with two 18-hole courses created by two major design figures. Nicklaus designed the Mountain Course, while Robert Trent Jones Jr designed the Lake Course. The Mountain Course was developed as part of the resort’s original 36-hole vision rather than as a later addition, and its routing was intended to work with the highland site instead of disguising the natural relief. That shared origin explains why the two courses are usually discussed together, even though their architectural languages and preferred playing lines are different.

Did You Know? Spring City is unusual in having a Nicklaus Mountain Course and a Robert Trent Jones Jr Lake Course within the same resort. The pairing lets the same visit compare two distinct approaches to dramatic terrain: one course is read primarily through mountain contours, the other through a more direct conversation with Yangzong Lake.