bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Spencer Robinson

It was during the early 1990s that a Beijing professor caused consternation in the corridors of power at the Royal and Ancient clubhouse when he boldly asserted that the game of golf had, contrary to conventional wisdom, been invented by China.

 Following years of study, the learned academic concluded that neither the Scots nor the Dutch were responsible for giving golf to the world.

 Golf, alleged the professor, was actually derived from an ancient Chinese activity known as 'Chiu-wan', a pastime which involved striking a small round object with a club-like implement.

 Despite the best efforts of the professor to rewrite the history books, his cheeky claims failed to win serious credence.

 As almost everyone who plays or follows the game will tell you, golf has its roots in Scotland, and more specifically St Andrews.

 While it's widely accepted that golf has been played in Scotland for centuries, nobody would dispute that the game is still very much in its infancy in the People's Republic.

 Just consider that China's first modern-day golf club at Chung Shan only opened for business 16 years ago. Until then, there were no indigenous Chinese golfers and no mainland golfing authorities.

 Now there are more than 80 courses in operation. There's a China Golf Association (CGA) and dozens of provincial bodies that are overseeing the sport's development, and a China Professional Golfers' Association with more than 30 members.

 To be sure, there's still a huge amount of ground to make up on the developed golfing nations, but today China is duly recognised as a bona fide member of the international golfing community.

 At the forefront of the country's long golfing march has been Zhang Lianwei. With his gutsy performances on the fairways of the world, China's first true golfing superstar has done more than anyone else to raise awareness about China's emergence on the international golfing stage.

 In defeating Colin Montgomerie in the 1998 Alfred Dunhill Cup over the hallowed links of the Old Course at St Andrews, Zhang forced the golfing world to sit up and take notice of China's golfing explosion.

 How appropriate, therefore, that the ancestral home of golf at St Andrews is now taking the lead in furthering China's golfing progress with the recent forging of an official China-Scotland Golf Partnership that has far-reaching ramifications for the game in the mainland.

 Involving Scotland's Elmwood College, Shenzhen University and Beijing's China Agricultural University, the aim of the partnership is to educate Chinese students in the arts of greenkeeping and golf course management - areas that have been sadly neglected during China's first golfing boom.

 The brainchild of Shenzhen University's Min Xiaohong and Elmwood's George Manson, the scheme took its first tentative steps last November when a group of 14 Chinese enrolled at the St Andrews college, an acknowledged world centre of excellence in golf training.

 Not only has the programme been endorsed by the CGA, but also by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. Following months of negotiations, the R&A, the world's ruling golfing body, has confirmed its commitment to aiding China's golfing development by donating a grant of US$240,000 to the partnership.

 With financial backing now assured, the comprehensive five-year development plan painstakingly put together by Min and Manson is guaranteed to ensure a steady stream of home-grown talent to provide a solid foundation for improving the infrastructure of golf in China.

 As well as the creation of a scholarship fund for mainland students, frequent seminars are being planned for Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong at which the golfing gospel will be spread.

Off The Tee is retiring to the clubhouse, but Spencer Robinson will continue his golfing contributions to the SCMP.



Ancient arts will put China on course for bright future