To be played on the Old Course, it will be the first time a world-class women's professional golf tournament is to be played at Hong Kong Golf Club, which celebrated its 125th anniversary last year. So after more than a century, a top women's event is being staged at the premier golfing venue in this city.

In contrast, the men's Hong Kong Open has been staged unbroken at Fanling since 1959. It might have taken a long time to happen, but finally the boundaries are breaking down. Hurrah. Have our golfing fathers finally seen the light, or is there more to it? God forbid we followed in the footsteps of those long-entrenched misogynists in Augusta, and I prefer to believe it is the former reason.

It might be just a coincidence, but the timing of the contract ceremony came just a day before Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's policy address on January 14, and I prefer to think our golfing elite are still worried about the future of their club.

In his address, Leung pledged once again to ease the housing crisis, raising the spectre of flats being built on the fairways of Fanling. This was the suggestion made by Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po who in June, 2013, first floated the idea of transforming the 170-hectare Hong Kong Golf Club into housing for the middle classes.

Although nothing came of that, this year the government is expected to propose creating the controversial new towns in the northern New Territories and this will put Hong Kong Golf Club back on the radar.

In the past couple of years, the club has tried to shed its elitist image, and showed it is a vital part of local society by supporting the city's premier golfing event, the Hong Kong Open.

One of the oldest professional golf opens in Asia, the tournament has struggled to find title sponsors for the past two years and would have struggled to go ahead if not for the financial support from the club which has now added another feather to its cap by backing the women's event.

According to Ian Gardner, HKGC general manager: "The Hong Kong Golf Club initiated and is the venue sponsor ... for the first world-class ladies professional open tournament staged in Hong Kong. We have laid down deep roots in Hong Kong and we actively promote the development of local golf at the grass-roots level.

He goes on to say: "We attach special importance to nurturing young golfers, not only by providing a practice venue for the national squad players and other juniors every week, but by also holding junior and amateur tournaments and events with the Hong Kong Golf Association. This year's Hong Kong Ladies Open will see the involvement of a number of highly talented young amateur players. Taking part in the tournament will give them a ladder on which to step up into world-class golf, serve as testament to their talent and their hard work, and see them compete confidently against some of the best players in Asia."

The opportunities given to our younger female golfers must be lauded. Like tennis did a fortnight ago with the Hong Kong ATP Challenger tournament, there is nothing like competition to stoke the fires, and better still if that competition is at home.

The reasons for opening the doors of the venerable club to the public might be unclear. Some might say it's a genuine attempt to help raise the standards of the game while others say it is simply due to the threat of a land grab by the government. But whatever view you fancy, there is no denying that a lot of good has come about from this threat.

The club's lease is up in 2020, but the government can take back the land early by giving 12 month's notice. With housing prices in Hong Kong going up and with a shortage of land, let's hope the government and the property developers don't close down the club. It might have been elitist in the past but they are making a brave attempt to change.