Some courses earn their reputation from rankings. Others earn it from the players who show up. Blackstone at Mission Hills Haikou has both: a former world top-100 layout ranked #1 in China by Golf Digest, and the stage where Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy went head-to-head in 2013. What makes it unlike anywhere else is the ground itself — fairways cut through ancient black lava fields on a tropical island, a couple of hours up the coast from the PerfectSwell® wave pool at Riyue Bay. This guide covers the design, the history, the resort around it, and how a round here fits into a surf & golf trip.
The course Tiger and Rory chose
In 2013, when Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy met for a head-to-head showdown, the venue was Blackstone. That single afternoon put Mission Hills Haikou on every golf fan's map — and the course has held its place in the conversation ever since. Greg Norman, Nick Faldo and Gary Player have all played on Hainan's tropical fairways too; if you watch professional golf, you've almost certainly watched a tournament on this island without knowing where you were looking.
For visiting golfers, that history is part of the draw. This isn't a resort curiosity — it's a championship course with real pedigree, and you can book a tee time on it as easily as you book a surf session.
Built on lava: the Schmidt-Curley design
Blackstone was designed by Schmidt-Curley and opened in 2009. The site is what sets it apart: the course is carved out of black volcanic lava rock, with walls of dark stone crossing fairways, wide sandy waste areas dotted with scrub, and lush tropical vegetation pressing in at the edges. White-sand bunkers against black rock, green fairways against both — the contrast is unlike anything else in golf.
The layout is dramatic without being a gimmick. It's a true championship test — the kind of course that earned a world top-100 ranking from Golf Magazine and Best New Course in Asia from Asian Golf Monthly when it arrived, and that still tops the Golf Digest rankings in China today.
Ten courses, one resort: the world's largest golf complex
Mission Hills Haikou is the world's largest golf complex — ten championship courses built across the same lava landscape, all within a single resort, with Blackstone as its featured course. Guests on our trips typically stay at the Ritz-Carlton on the property, which turns a round of golf into a proper resort stopover: play Blackstone in the morning, and the pools, restaurants and volcanic hot springs are steps away in the afternoon.
That scale is also what makes the logistics easy. Tee times, English-speaking caddies and transport are all arranged as part of a Surf China Co. trip — you show up with your clubs (or rent them) and play.
Where it is and how to get there
Blackstone sits at Mission Hills Haikou in northern Hainan, close to Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) — the island's main international gateway, with direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne and easy connections through Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul. Most passports — U.S., Australian, NZ, UK, Canadian and many more — enter Hainan visa-free for up to 30 days. From the wave pool at Riyue Bay it's about two hours by road; our getting here guide covers every routing.
Because it's beside the airport, Blackstone slots perfectly into the end of a trip: surf Riyue Bay all week, transfer north, play Blackstone, and fly out of Haikou the next day. That's exactly how our 6-day surf & golf itinerary runs it.
The surf & golf trip it completes
Hainan gives you China's two best courses in one trip: Blackstone's black lava in the north, and The Dunes at Shenzhou Peninsula — the country's best coastal links — 30 minutes from the pool in Wanning. Between rounds, the world's only wave pool on a tropical island runs around twenty wave settings, from beginner rollers to barrels; see how a surf session works. Add a resort by the pool, fresh seafood and Xinglong coffee in Wanning, and you have a golf trip and a surf trip that don't compromise each other.
Blackstone at a glance
Ready to walk the lava fields yourself? Browse the trip packages, send a golf inquiry, or read more on the journal — and for dates and tee times, reach us at hello@surfchina.co or WhatsApp +8613893402173.
