Tee Time: 13:00
Players: June, Woonchul, Steven
This was my first time playing Crystal Valley. Location is in gapyeong so not too far from Seoul (about 65km or 1 hour). The course itself is beautiful. There are lakes, waterfalls, fountains, etc. The clubhouse is also very upscale and nice as well. Locker rooms are also clean and upscale.
The clientele appeared to be on the older side (not sure if it’s always like that or just on Sunday afternoons). I saw many men and women who appeared to be in their 60s and 70s and not many who appeared to be in their 40s or below.
I left home a little early thinking that there might be traffic but it was fine. I was a little early so I looked up online what membership rates are and it looks like weekday membership is around 150m krw (100m krw was the initial price when they opened) and weekend membership is around 400m krw (300m at opening). So price wise it’s not bad.
The course itself was pretty difficult though. Sometimes you might have a slightly forgiving side on the left or right but never both. And many holes just had a hazard on one side and OB on the other. Most fairways were pretty narrow as well.
Pace of play was good and we finished the first half in 2 hours. Second half took slightly longer but wasn’t bad. We had a long break in the middle though (30 min).
The clubhouse restaurant is pretty good and prices are fair. I had the hwedupbap for lunch and we had dinner there as well (a jeju pork kimchi stew).
Weather was great. It was a bit windy but cloudy overall so no need for lots of sunscreen. Not too hot..got a little chilly on the second half. We finished up at around 6:00 and it was starting to get a little dark. While we were having dinner we noticed that the lights went on so they do have some lights at least for the last few holes.
We played Crystal and then Valley. I think they only have 2 courses so 18 holes.
Anyway, I’ll be back because one of our partner companies has membership here so they book this place.
