Cheongpyeong Midas

Set in the hills to the east of Seoul, the 18-hole layout at Cheongpyeong Midas Golf Club comprises the Valley and Midas nines. Opened in 2013, it’s operated by the Daekyo Group, South Korea’s biggest educational and cultural service enterprise.

Formerly known as Midas Valley Golf Club, the construction of the course at Cheongpyeong Midas required some significant earth moving to allow the routing of its holes to traverse the challenging terrain.

The setting here is nice enough and the layout does have its memorable moments, including the gargantuan 5-metre high bunker (mooted to be the deepest sand trap in Korea) at the short par four 8th on the Midas loop, which was modelled on Hell Bunker at the 14th hole at St Andrews Old course.

However, the green complexes across both loops are rather mundane which is a shame as the layout could be more captivating had adventurous putting surfaces been constructed.

There’s more than a thread of Greek Mythology in the naming of the holes which includes “Cupid” at the aforementioned 8th hole and "Posiedon" at the par three 3rd on the Midas loop which naturally features water.