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SCMP Reporter

ASK a farmer around Zhaoqing what he thinks of Gary Player and he'll swing his hoe through the grass in a rough imitation of a golf swing.

  The golfing great is a household name in the city, even though only a handful of people there have ever seen a golf ball, let alone played the game.

  Yet golf is what Zhaoqing is hoping will put it on the economic map.

  The development of a 54-hole complex and luxury housing by Hongkong's CBI Investment is the most talked-about event in the city, a two-hour drive west of Guangzhou.

  Player's firm is designing the first and second 18-hole courses at the Zhaoqing Resort and Golf Club. On his first visit to the site earlier this month, the veteran champion was overwhelmed by his reception.

  Welcoming banners were strung across the main street, and he was led in a nine-car cavalcade through the city. At the course site, among paddy fields 20 minutes from the city, he was met by marching bands, lion dancers and fire crackers.

  His fame in the city has come from a twice-weekly series about golf on local television. Astonishingly, in a place where virtually nobody has ever laid hand on a club, these included televised golf tips from Player himself.

  ''A lot of people in Zhaoqing know what a dog-leg is,'' said Hongkong businessman Mr Anders Chan, managing director of CBI Investment and Zhaoqing Golf and Development Co.

  To stimulate interest in the game, the firm sponsored a television quiz, How Much Do You Know About Golf? with a 10,000 yuan (about HK$13,500) prize; in the rural areas around Zhaoqing that's a sum sufficient to reinforce the impression that greens and greenbacks are inextricably linked.

  But when confronted with the real thing, in the shape of Player giving a demonstration, the spectators showed they still have something to learn about the game by standing directly in front of him as he prepared to play a shot.

  Hongkong's CBI Investment is investing US$100 million (HK$773 million) in the project to build three courses and 1,900 houses on the 506-hectare site. It has negotiated what seem to be favourable terms with the city government whereby the city provides all the land in return for only 12 per cent of the equity. The remaining 88 per cent is with CBI.

  The US$30 million first phase is due for completion by the middle of 1994.

  The city planned to bring investors to Zhaoqing through their interest in golf in the belief that many would then invest in the area, explained local Communist Party vice-secretary Mr Wu Jiafang.

  ''This will bring economic development for Zhaoqing,'' he said. ''If we have 3,000 members and if only 10 per cent invest in Zhaoqing then you have 300 factories.''   However, some businessmen have said that Zhaoqing is too far from Hongkong to be an economically viable development - a high-speed ferry takes four hours to reach the city.

  Mr Wu pointed out that infrastructure projects were underway to make Zhaoqing more accessible. A much-needed new highway to Guangzhou is under construction, and work is due to start soon on the city's airport, which will be located close to the golf complex.

  Developer Mr Chan, who has previously been involved with several golf projects in China, said he expected a high proportion of members to be local golfers.

  ''Local businessmen are very excited about this project. These people look for status. They know golf is a status symbol.''   He added that there were advantages in focusing on a place like Zhaoqing: ''If I go to Guangzhou and I invest in a golf course, the attention given to me by the local authorities would be nothing compared to the treatment I get in Zhaoqing.''   A major membership promotion is about to get underway, with debentures starting at $194,500 for an individual and $233,400 for corporations.

  To give the project a ring of authority, CBI has assembled a board of governors that includes Sun Hung Kai Co chairman Mr Tony Fung Wing-cheung, Inchcape chairman Mr Paul Cheng Ming-fun, CITIC Pacific boss Mr Larry Yung Chi-kin, film-maker Mr Raymond Chow, head of Golden Harvest, New World scion Mr Cheng Yu-tung and legislator Mr Ronald Arculli.

  The purpose of Player's visit to Zhaoqing was to tour the site of the courses and oversee the design work. Player is still a regular competitor on the US Veteran's Tour, and his pace has lost none of its briskness.

  He strode through the paddy fields of Zhaoqing as if walking up the 18th fairway on course for one of his US Masters victories at Augusta, leaving his design team and official entourage trailing in his wake.

  Player's design team is also working on Shenzhen's Sand River Golf Club, backed by businessman Mr Serge Pun.

  Despite a paucity of golfers on the mainland, the sport is big business, with regular announcements of new courses - most tied to property developments.

  Among the more recent are Mission Hills, at Gunlan, north of Shenzhen, which is being built by mainland and Thai interests; Guangzhou's Lu Hu Golf and Country Club, backed by Mr Stanley Ho's Shun Tak group and CCA International; Guangzhou International Golf Club, which is being developed by a subsidiary of Singapore's Shanghai Holdings; Lotus Hill Golf Resort, backed by Donson International Development, Thailand's Green Valley Group and Panyu Tourist Office; and the Honey Lake Country Club, supported by Thailand's Chia Tai group.



The east is green