Who says golf's for the elite? Cheap clubs go a long way, golfer says

Golf is not a sport just for the privileged, the Hong Kong Golf Club president says in a proud recollection of "hole-in-one" achievements he made using a "cheap" club.

Marvin Cheung Kin-tung once counted among the teammates of world No 1 Tiger Woods in a pro-am golf competition in Shanghai a few years ago.

He often practised with cheap clubs, the 66-year-old experienced amateur golfer said, but had scored a hole-in-one five times.

"If one thinks an expensive club will help him play better, he is wrong," he said. "The key is to be attentive. You have no time to enjoy the beautiful scenery."

Cheung started playing in his 20s, when he was nominated as a club member by his boss at a big accounting firm. "My first club cost below a hundred dollars and was bought on discount at a department store."

He achieved his latest hole-in-one in 2010 with a cheap club, he said.

"The club was stored in my friend's garage in Scotland. I was disappointed when my friend told me it had been stolen by a burglar. But a few hours later it was recovered by the police. It was so cheap that even a thief didn't want it," he laughed.