According to the Guinness World Records, Mission Hills is the worlds largest golf resort and who can deny them with 12 different courses designed by some of the great legends and architects of the game. These include the likes of Pete Dye, Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Jose Maria Olazabal, Vijay Singh and Annika Sorenstam to name a few and each course has its own unique style and feel.

Having hosted the World Cup of Golf and the Asian Amateur Championship and receiving multiple awards, the 20-square kilometre golf complex is one to rival anywhere on the golfing planet.

Designed by 18-time Major champion Jack Nicklaus in 1994 the course hosted the World Cup of Golf in 1995 and was named in honour of the tournament. The World Cup layout became the first course in China to be accredited by the PGA of America for professional competitions and attracted many of the world’s leading players.

It is a long and challenging course from the back tees with sweeping fairways, large flat bottomed bunkers, plenty of water hazards and grass mounds around the greens making it one of Asia’s top golfing experiences.

Vijay Singh used his experience of famous designs from around the world, including the likes of Pebble Beach, to create a challenging and innovative design. Large undulating greens, huge fairway bunkers and water that comes into play on 14 of the holes make it a challenge for both low and high handicappers.

Highlights of the course include the 150-yard beach bunker on the par-4 third hole and the green perched upon a rock wall on the 10th.

The Ozaki Course at Mission Hills is built upon some of the best land within the resort, fairways flanked either side by natural slopes making a corridor of green that is usually reached by playing from elevated tees. Large greens accompany the wide fairways with strategically placed bunkers gathering any wayward drives.

For something a little different, the Ozaki course can be played under lights offering the unique experience of night golf.

Taking inspiration from the TPC franchise in America, the Faldo Course at Mission Hills is the first “Stadium Course” design in China. Obvious comparisons will be made from the 17th at Sawgrass to the par-3 16th island green at Mission Hills.

Mature trees line the wide fairways while large, irregular shaped, cavernous bunkers await wayward drives, a round here is a good test of your golfing ability.

Ernie Els has managed to capture the essence of his South African homeland in his design with a heavily wooded course containing dramatic elevation changes and swathes of colour.

The highlight of the round here is the huge plunging par-5 fourth hole where golfers tee off from the highest point on the course, with stunning panoramic views, down to a fairway that bends left following the adjacent creek.

This course was Dye's first design in China and he has used his unique design style to create a layout of beautifully shaped fairways, wild undulating greens, expansive waste areas and a mix of small pot bunkers and steep grass traps dramatically fortified with railway sleepers.

The end result is a course that is exciting as well as fun to play, a fitting tribute to one of golfs most influential course architects.

Two time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal made is first foray into golf design at Mission Hills, crafting a layout containing over 150 bunkers with tight narrow fairways. The resulting championship standard course was considered good enough to hold the Omega World Cup from 2007 to 2009 as well as the HSBC World Golf Championship in 2012.

Like the Olazabal course, this design at Mission Hills is the first for the retired LPGA star, creating an aesthetically pleasing layout with spectacular views.

At just over 6,700 yards, the course with its heavily bunkered fairways ending in small challenging greens provides a good test of your golfing ability as well as serving up panoramic mountain views from tees perched high above the immaculate fairways.

The original design by Curley, Schmidt and David Duval was redesigned in 2012 with input from Justin Rose and Ian Poulter. The course has a tree-lined parkland feel to it featuring a number of water hazards and numerous bunkering complexes.

The redesign has created an exciting risk and reward course that encourages aggressive play but accuracy is also key to avoid the stream that meanders through many of the holes. The course climbs up to a secluded natural valley on the front nine then descends on the closing stretch to the spacious clubhouse.

The Leadbetter course at Mission Hills is the instructors first foray into golf course design. The world-renowned instructor devised a layout containing dramatic open vistas, large sand-flashed bunkers, wide undulating fairways and challenging greens.

Golfers playing here will often be required to use every club in the bag at some point but the challenge is accompanied by the fun of generous fairways, drives from elevated tees and reachable par 4s.

The Norman course at Mission Hills is considered the most challenging at the resort but is also the most attractive. Thick native grasses aligning the pristine playing surfaces are pleasing to the eye while the deep, splashed sand-faced bunkers that protect the green are typical Norman design.

Despite the challenge of the Norman Course, this is a pleasant layout to play and the nature of the terrain, combined with the surrounding countryside, make it an especially enjoyable test for accomplished players.

The most recent layout at Mission Hills is the first par-3 course in China, designed by the first Chinese golfer to compete in The Masters. The green complexes are terrific and fun to play featuring a number of replica holes from the golfing world such as the Biarritz, Redan and Punchbowl.

Playing this course is fun and challenging for golfers of all skill levels while providing the visitor with a lesson in the history of golf design.