[Field 3GO] Bear Creek Pocheon, Best Eco-Friendly Golf Course

No.1 Eco-Friendly Golf Course in Korea 'Regular Visitors'
Enjoy the Charm of Nature and the Delight of Golf on a Premium Course
Impressive Harmony of Clubhouse with Unaksan Mountain Scenery
Popular Herb Island and Sanjeong Lake Hot Springs

Golf culture in Korea is gradually changing. It is shifting from a personal hobby to a family leisure activity. Golf is no longer just a pleasure for golfers but a sport to enjoy with family. Due to this change, it is not enough for a golf course to be good alone. The field condition must also offer food and attractions. We introduce the ‘Field 3GO’ golf courses that are suitable for spending happy times with golf. This time, it is Bear Creek Pocheon located in Hwacheon-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do.

Bear Creek Pocheon is a golf course where you can simultaneously enjoy the charm of nature and the delight of golf. Photo by Bear Creek Pocheon

◆EnjoyGO= Bear Creek Pocheon is a renowned ‘eco-friendly golf course.’ Since its opening in 2003, it has been selected seven times as one of the ‘Top 10 Golf Courses in Korea’ and ranked first six times in the ‘Top 20 Eco-Friendly Golf Courses.’ Through exemplary eco-friendly management, it has become a benchmark site both domestically and internationally. It utilizes the natural terrain as it is. Through its distinctive courses, you can enjoy the charm of nature and the delight of golf simultaneously. It is a tournament course. Recently, it has focused on nurturing young golf talents. In July, it hosted the 8th Bear Creek Amateur Golf Championship, deciding the winner through 72-hole stroke play over four days.

Bear Creek Pocheon is an eco-friendly golf course that utilizes the natural terrain as it is. Photo by Bear Creek Pocheon

Bear Creek Pocheon consists of the Bear Course (18 holes) and the Creek Course (18 holes). The Bear Course, a selected hilly type, was designed by Jang Jeong-won. It is a par 72, 7,234 yards. The grass is meadow grass, and the bunkers use Jumunjin sand. It is a challenging course with wide and long fairways and a grand style. It is situated in a natural landscape harmonizing with the majestic Unaksan Mountain. It offers comfort and various difficulty levels for golfers of all skill levels.

Bear Creek Pocheon hosts the Bear Creek Cup Amateur Golf Championship every year. Photo by Bear Creek Pocheon

The Creek Course was first designed by Jang Jeong-won and remodeled in 2009 by Noh Jun-taek. It is a par 72, 7,219 yards. Kentucky bluegrass is planted, keeping it green all year round. The beautiful landscaping resembling nature and the harmony of cool-season grass stand out. It is a premium course that creates a magnificent view. It is a rare mountainous terrain course in Korea designed so that the green is visible from every hole. The course design maximizes strategic elements, allowing golfers to fully enjoy the pleasure and excitement of golf.

The Bear Creek Pocheon clubhouse is a single-story building with an impressive gable roof. Photo by Bear Creek Pocheon

◆EatGO= The Bear Creek Pocheon clubhouse harmonizes with the scenery of Unaksan Mountain. It blends naturally with the surroundings. It was designed to feel as if it had always been there without any sense of incongruity. The single-story building features a wide gable roof. It is settled firmly on the land, making the building feel like a part of nature. In the restaurant, you can enjoy carefully prepared dishes made with fresh ingredients. The open view overlooking the beautiful greens is a bonus. There are a total of 220 seats. There are 8 rooms, each accommodating 8 to 20 people. It can be expanded for group events.

Bear Creek Pocheon Restaurant offers beautiful course views as a bonus. Photo by Bear Creek Pocheon

For breakfast, abalone seaweed soup, clam yellowtail soup, cabbage hangover soup, and Western-style breakfast are served. For lunch and dinner ? la carte, there are abalone oxtail soup, natural pine mushroom seafood japchae rice bowl, southern-style sea eel soup, shrimp rose pasta, and Philly cheese beef sandwich. There are also two-course meals, and you can enjoy Chinese dishes such as Sichuan-style oxtail kanpung, fish-flavored eggplant, and glutinous rice sweet and sour pork. If ordered in advance, you can enjoy four-person dishes such as wild mushroom bulgogi hot pot, abalone crab soup, Eobok platter dumpling hot pot, Jeju black pork kimchi hot pot, monkfish water parsley bulgogi, and octopus beef tripe hot pot. At the start house, you can satisfy your hunger with seaweed oyster fish cake soup, handmade spicy fried chicken, grilled sea eel with salt & chive kimchi, brisket broth tteokbokki, beef shank pho, old-fashioned jajangmyeon and jajangbap, and Spam kimbap.

Herb Island is a relaxing space with a variety of sights and activities. Photo by Herb Island

◆SeeGO= Herb Island offers a Mediterranean lifestyle theme with unique and diverse attractions and activities. You can enjoy herbs all year round and relax your body and mind. You will fall for the charm of herbs in all four seasons. Pink muhly, lavender, fragrant showers, and light fairy tale festivals continue throughout the year. The night view is also fantastic. It also operates the world’s first herb museum. More than 800,000 visitors come every year. It is a representative botanical museum in Korea. You can personally experience and feel the lifestyle culture related to herbs.

Night view of Herb Island. Photo by Herb Island

Pocheon Sanjeong Lake Hot Springs is also worth visiting in winter. Hot spring water containing sodium bicarbonate, reaching 4,750 tons per day, comes from 700 meters underground. It is a very smooth, high-quality mildly alkaline water. The hot spring facilities include a maebanseok (black slate) bath, Songjiam bio sauna emitting bio infrared rays, herb bath, and open-air bath. The swimming pool and hot spring bath are connected thematically so you can enjoy both hot spring bathing and swimming. You can enjoy the hot springs with the swimming pool fee.