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SCMP Reporter

MISSION Hills Golf Club, in Shenzhen, has become a big attraction for golfers and investors.

TV coverage of the 1995 World Cup of Golf, which it hosted, helped publicise the course. So did colour photos on the covers of international newspapers and sports magazines.

It has become the course 'everyone wants to play' and many want to join.

The club, with its two 18-hole courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, is now recognised as the flag-bearer for golf in China and a model by which future courses will be measured.

Situated in Guanlan, the 36-hole development was conceived by businessman David Chu and boasts facilities similar to prestigious clubs in West Palm Beach, Tokyo and Palm Springs.

The 300,000-square-foot clubhouse is reputed to be the largest in Asia. The golf club and associated facilities total in excess of 100 million sq ft.

Vast bunkers and water hazards feature on the demanding Mountain Course. Five tee boxes on each hole allow golfers of all levels to play the course without being beaten into submission by its length.

Fred Couples and Davis Love, victors of last year's World Cup of Golf, praised the layout, saying it was 'interesting' and 'enjoyable to play'.

Local players, however, find it a difficult test. The length of the course and the size of the hazards are problems which most local golfers have not previously encountered.

Prior to the World Cup, the Mountain Course played host to the Coca-Cola Open on the inaugural Volvo China Tour. The event, played over 36 holes in March last year, attracted a large field of international players. It was won by Scotland's Simon Yates, a victory that earned him US$9,000.

This month, ex-Ryder Cup player and former team captain John Jacobs visited the club to conduct a VIP clinic. Respected as a teacher and course designer, Jacobs' skills are in demand.

Participants at the clinic included entertainment stars, millionaire businessmen and entrepreneurs.

Jacobs said he was pleased to have been able to see Mission Hills and described the development as 'absolutely amazing'. The 71-year-old Jacobs played the first nine holes of the Mountain Course in one under-par 35.

According to PR manager Elisa Pang, the club has already sold more than 1,000 memberships.

Around 10 per cent have been bought by local mainland Chinese and the remaining 90 per cent by Hong Kong and overseas golfers and investors.

 Membership will close when the target of 2,500 is reached.

From an investment standpoint, Mission Hills is one of the more successful local options with the price of memberships having doubled since going on sale in April 1993.

A corporate membership costs US$198,000; an individual membership costs US$125,000.

Golf and investment opportunities are not the only attraction for members. Mission Hills' luxurious country club offers a range of recreational, dining and entertainment facilities next to one of the two practice ranges.

The 228-room, five-star Mission Hills Resort Hotel, which provided the accommodation for the World Cup players, adjoins the clubhouse.

Mission Hills received a boost midway through construction in 1994 when it became the first mainland golf club to be awarded membership to the International Tournament Players' Club (ITPC) network.

 ITPC status has been granted to only 20 clubs in Asia.

 It goes to championship-level clubs that provide stadium-style layouts suitable for spectators.

When the decision to award Mission Hills ITPC status was announced, former US PGA tour commissioner Deane Beaman said it was 'a momentous occasion'.

ITPC status ensures that the US PGA Tour will provide Mission Hills with consulting and other services. It also ensures that the two courses will be maintained in excellent condition.

When asked why someone should choose to invest in Mission Hills rather than any of the 20 other courses open for play or under construction in the Pearl River Delta, Charles Cheung, the club's president, said: 'We're simply the biggest and best club in China.' 



Mission Hills a model for China