Members enjoying an excellent cuppa or sipping gin and tonics on the porch of the exclusive Hong Kong Golf Club can be forgiven for not being able to remember the day in 1889 when 13 men moved to acquire land for a course in Kowloon.
Although that first attempt failed because the military authorities refused to co-operate, the government offeredsome land at Happy Valley, marking the official start of the game in the territory.
The site though was far from ideal as it flooded easily during the summer rains and, while golfers happily swung a club with gusto on the rudimentary layout, they were later limited to playing between certain hours.
A move to lay out another course for ladies ran into difficulties and demands from the soccer and cricketing fraternity, although amicable, promoted a desire to move.
The women golfers persisted and a six-hole course laid out in 1898 at Deep Water Bay was another step towards establishing the game.
But it was not until 1908 that a bid was made to build a course at Fanling after a trip up the Shum Chun River for a picnic by a party who were stunned by the beauty of the area.