The popular GolfSixes format made its return to China ahead of the Hainan Classic Presented by MAEXTRO at Mission Hills Haikou.
On Tuesday, around 60 children and their parents took part in a GolfSixes Mini League event – offering a fun, barrier-free golf experience.
The tournament was played in the innovative team-based six-hole mini golf format with two categories: Junior Team and Parent-Child Team.
Introduced in 2023, GolfSixes Mini League is designed to use soft, adaptive equipment, while bringing GolfSixes into schools and other recreational settings without the need for a golf course.
The event was hosted by the China Golf Association and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports of Hainan Province, and organised by the Hainan Golf Association, with the support of The R&A, CPG and Mission Hills Haikou Resort.
The GolfSixes League format has been developed by The R&A, the Confederation of Professional Golf (CPG), the Ryder Cup European Development Trust (RCEDT), DP World Tour and Ladies European Tour and is supported by the China Golf Association.
DP World Tour followers will be familiar with the GolfSixes format, with events forming part of the International Schedule in 2017, 2018 and 2019, with GolfSixes also a key part of the Tour's Golf Futures programme.
Lv Yige and Zhou Zijian took home the Junior Team title, while the Parent-Child Team championship was claimed by He Tianzhu and his father.
Wang Guanding, an 11-year-old player, scored a spectacular hole-in-one.
The mini six-hole course - transformed from a small venue typically used for wedding photography - will remain open to the public during the Hainan Classic presented by MAEXTRO, which features a total prize purse of USD$2.55 million and brings together top golfers from around the world.
Junior golf has been thriving across China in recent years and Hainan has built a comprehensive, multi-level school golf system:
• Higher education institutions such as Hainan Normal University, University of Sanya, Hainan Tropical Ocean University and Hainan College of Economics and Business focus on nurturing professional talents
• K-12 schools including Yingya ST Peter’s School, Future Leadership Academy at Blue Bay, Mission Hills Athlete School, iSchool Hainan Weicheng Future School, Harrow International School Haikou and Beijing Haidian Foreign Language Experimental School Hainan Campus actively promote golf on campus
Wei Qingfeng, Secretary-General of the China Golf Association, said: “Our hope is to promote the sport through GolfSixes' diverse formats, simple venue requirements and safe equipment
“Traditional golf requires an 18-hole course, right? They're usually located far from cities, making participation inconvenient for everyday people and children.
"Life moves at a fast pace now— parents and children alike face heavy academic pressures. So, how can we enable young people to save time while also reducing financial costs, yet still fall in love with and participate in this sport? This has been one of the key priorities for us.
"Through three-hole, six-hole, nine-hole and various other flexible course formats, we hope to make participation convenient for children.
"Moving forward we will continue investing in this sport. We hope more and more families and children will come to love this sport.
"Hainan Province has long been one of China's key golf hubs boasting numerous courses and abundant talent
"With such unique advantages we hope Hainan can make even greater contributions to junior talent development and to the healthy lifestyle of its residents."
Jerome Ng, The R&A’s Director of Golf Development for the Asia-Pacific region, added: "When it comes to youth development, similar to the GolfSixes Mini League, our aim is to create interest for young kids to play as a team. It is all about having fun.
"The key thing is to create that pathway to bring golf to schools and make it interesting for them to continue the sport.
"It's good to see that the CGA as well as Mission Hills is fully on board and hopefully we see it more in the different provinces and other parts of China."
Supported by the China Golf Association’s Campus Golf Development Programme, organisers will work with The R&A and CPG to roll out mini golf programmes across multiple provinces and cities in 2026.
Hainan will continue to refine its golf ecosystem from grassroots initiation to elite development, deepen the integration of sports and tourism, and further expand youth participation in golf.
