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“You can’t have that many Mission Hills and have it make sense”

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Dan Washburn

The July 2010 issue of Golf Course Architecture

Golf Course Architecture magazine recently published a 2,600-word quote-packed story by Adam Lawrence that gives a nice overview of the whys and hows of China’s current boom in golf course development. Of course, no one seems to agree on what it all means or where it is all headed. Here’s how the story starts:

At any gathering of golf architects, one can generally divide the attendees into two categories: those who have a flourishing China-based business, and those who would like one. “Every third booth at the recent China golf show in Beijing seemed to be a golf course architect,” says American designer Dana Fry, who, like many of his colleagues, is currently spending a high proportion of his time in the country.

There are other markets – India, Brazil, Korea – where golf is being planned and built in quantities, but nowhere that can match China’s twin attributes of large-scale new wealth and a political environment that allows developers to get access to large chunks of land at a relatively low cost. The authoritarian nature of Chinese government means that projects, when they are greenlighted, can get going with remarkable speed, compared to the planning crawl so common elsewhere in the world – and this in a country with a well-publicised official moratorium on new golf course construction officially in place. …

Although there is no doubt the Chinese are taking to golf in increasing numbers – industry insiders report packed driving ranges all over the vast country – actual course development, at the moment, is only tangentially related to demand for golf. Rather, golf courses are a tool for land speculation, and a way for developers to hitch a ride on China’s booming housing market. As yet, there are very few courses in the country that are not tied either to housing or hotel projects.

… Continue Reading

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“We had to explain to him what all those little balls in the backyard were”

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Dan Washburn

Mission Hills China's Ken Chu

In the September 13 issue of Forbes Asia Ron Gluckman files a profile of the Chus — dubbed the “first family” of golf in China by the magazine for their massive resorts in Shenzhen and Hainan. Gluckman even managed to score an interview with patriarch David Chu, which I am told is no easy task. While the eldest Chu may be a bit of a recluse, his company appears to live for the spotlight. Thus much of what’s in the story you may have already heard before.

Gluckman does try to address one question I am often asked about the gigantic $4.4 billion Mission Hills project on Hainan Island: Where does all the money come from? Alas, such details are not easy to nail down:

The company is tight-lipped about how it’s funding this massive project, declining to name any of the other investors or say whether any funds are borrowed. A statement from the company says only that $880 million has been spent so far and that “investors include entrepreneurs and professionals from different industries from China and Hong Kong.” It also won’t disclose its annual revenue and profit.

… Continue Reading

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Cindy Reid: China “not the panacea that people think”

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Dan Washburn

Cindy Reid

The current issue of Global Golf Post1 features a refreshingly candid interview with China-based golf instructor Cindy Reid, which may help temper some of the more pie-in-the-sky beliefs about the growth of golf here. A couple choice quotes:

GGP: What is the biggest misconception about golf in China?

CR: People assume that China is exploding with growth in golf. There’s growth, and if you go to certain areas, like Hainan Island in the south, you see a lot of construction, but it’s not the panacea that people think. There are fewer courses under construction in China now than there were in America 20 years ago. Golf is 30 years old in China, so every new course that comes on line represents a big percentage increase, because the base was so low. There is growth, sure, but in terms of facilities, China still represents a small fraction of the golf industry.

GGP: Then why does the rest of the world look at China as a Boomtown for golf?

CR: Well, when the game is shrinking everywhere else, any growth is viewed as a boom. But I also think people are awed by the size and scope of the facilities in China. It took Pinehurst a century to have, what, 10 golf courses? Mission Hills built 12 courses in 20 years, and will double that number with the Hainan Island project in the next 10 years. And the courses they’re building couldn’t be built in the West. If an architect wants to lop the top off a mountain to build a course, there’s no EPA or Corp of Engineers or Sierra Club telling him he can’t. That’s not always a good thing, but it gives golf developers a lot more freedom, which is funny to say about a country like China.

You can read the entire interview here (free subscription required). More information about Reid’s academy, part of the Mission Hills golf complex in Shenzhen, can be found here.

1 Am I missing something or is it next to impossible to copy and paste text from Global Golf Post stories? I eventually figured something out, but it was a very clunky workaround. If someone knows the secret, please let me know.

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CNN.com zeros in on Mission Hills Hainan (and quotes me)

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Dan Washburn

CNN.com - "Green fury over China's golfing Hawaii"

Back in July, CNN.com ran a story entitled “Green fury over China’s golfing Hawaii,” which looked looked at golf development on Hainan Island — especially the massive Mission Hills project there — from an environmental perspective. Reporter Sam Sheringham interviewed me for the story, along with representatives from Greenpeace China, the Golf Environment Organization and Mission Hills itself, which has this to say:

“Mission Hills has always strived to balance economic benefits to the community with proper stewardship of the environment,” Dr Ken Chu, Group Executive Vice Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of the Mission Hills Group, told CNN by email.

“By incorporating low-density development with vast open-space greenbelts, our current project in Haikou has transformed a barren, lava-rock landscape into an economically productive community.”

Their claims are backed up by the local government, with spokesman Mr. Zhao telling CNN that the location of the complex followed “careful” investigation.

“Therefore, the project will not pollute the environment,” he said.

Greenpeace says it plans to investigate. Read the whole CNN story here. … Continue Reading

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Where’s the other Pebble Beach golf club? China, of course

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Dan Washburn

Pebble Beach ... China

You’d think it’s just another in a long line of Chinese golf courses choosing to “borrow” the name of a well known course in the United States (see Pine Valley, Mission Hills, et al.), but according to the most recent issue of China International Business, you’d be wrong:

When the owners of California’s Pebble Beach Golf Club got wind that Golden Pebble Beach Golf Club had opened in China to rave reviews, the American club hastily sent off a letter demanding the Dalian upstart cease from using its “Pebble Beach” name. Honored the famed club had recognized its existence, the Liaoning newcomer wrote back that the area had been called “Pebble Beach” for about 5,000 years and suggested they change their name. The matter was quickly dropped.

It’s a nice little anecdote. But, is it completely accurate? Kind of. Sort of. I’m not so sure. It’s true the golf course exists inside a coastal tourism area near the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian known as 金石滩 (jīn shí tān), which directly translates into “golden stone beach.” Now, was choosing “pebble” instead of “stone” for the English translation an accident? Or was it perhaps influenced by the famous name of the 91-year-old Pebble Beach Golf Links, site of this week’s U.S. Open? I’ve never visited, so I can’t be sure. But I do know the Chinese name of the golf club is simply 金石 (jīn shí) or “golden stone” — no “beach.” And I also know the Chinese name for the Pebble Beach in California is 圆石滩 (yuán shí tān), literally “round stone beach.” The common Chinese word for “pebble,” by the way, is 卵石 (luǎn shí). … Continue Reading

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A different look at Hainan (er, “Southern China”)

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Dan Washburn

Sorry for the silence here recently. I just got out from under a variety of deadlines, including my latest story for Golf World. That piece, like several of my recent efforts, features China’s Hainan Island, perhaps the busiest place in the world in terms of golf course construction. Coincidentally, I happened upon an episode of Discovery’s Man vs. Wild the other day that was filmed in Hainan — the wild jungles in the middle of the island — a part of Hainan that most golf tourists never see. (Curiously, the word “Hainan” is never uttered throughout the episode. They don’t even use the word “island.” They simply say “Southern China.” Is such vagueness normal for Man vs. Wild? Or is something else going on here?) … Continue Reading

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Norman and Woods headed to China

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Dan Washburn

Don't worry, they aren't traveling together

That’s Greg Norman and Elin Woods, mind you.

A couple days ago, Australia’s Daily Telegraph reported that the country’s highest-earning sportsman was closing his only office in Australia to “chase the Asian golfing dollar through China.” The paper continued, “[T]he design company has opened a new sales and marketing office in Beijing, China, signalling Asia as its key area of growth.”

This is just the latest sign that China is the golf course construction industry at the moment. As nearly every designer or project manager I talk to says: If you aren’t working in China, you probably aren’t working. Not bad, considering their line of work is technically illegal here. … Continue Reading

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Ian Poulter sings high praise for Shanghai’s greens

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Dan Washburn

Ian Poulter would rather be lying on a green in Shanghai

In the Wall Street Journal, we learn that English pro golfer Ian Poulter is “a massive fan of Asian food.” As if that wasn’t already enough insight for you, he goes on to rank five of his favorite courses in Asia. Two are in China (and they may be the only two China courses he’s played on here).

The 34-year-old said the greens at Shanghai’s Sheshan International Golf Club, site of the WGC-HSBC Champions event every November, are “probably the best surface we putt on all year.” He added, “They’ve spent an awful lot of money in developing that golf course.” … Continue Reading

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