The cost of weekday play at most Chinese courses is reasonable. It is relatively easy to find a game in the 400 to 500 yuan range (HK$376 to $471), including the green fee, a caddie, transportation and sometimes lunch.

Expect to pay double on weekends.

It is best to do some research before you visit China. Most clubs have a website, while the Golf Course GuideTo China, published locally by Richtone Worldwide (2525 9328), provides a thorough overview of the country's golf scene.

The golfing areas are concentrated primarily in Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan, Kunming, Guangdong and intermittingly near some secondary cities.

Considering the mainland has about 663 secondary cities, with populations exceeding 200,000, it is easy to see why golf developers are flocking to the country. American Ronald Fream is one such person. His company Golfplan has designed several courses on the mainland.

As a proponent of golf for the public, he has been very vocal against 'rubber-stamp' designs, whereby famous golfing names charge upward of US$1 million for a design and make one visit to the course site, usually contractually.

Trained architects who usually design the courses for golf stars, in contrast, receive no more than $350,000 for a design of their own.

Mr Fream says the big money is not justified and the cost gets passed on in higher green fees.

'Experience has shown that high costs to play, sooner or later, stifle growth or limit the increase in new players,' he says.

'Excessive green fees at some of these existing courses discourage repeat play or extended stays.

'Keeping green fees below US$100 a round, or even at $30 to $50, opens golf to more people. Well-conceived projects can reach this goal and be profitable. As the number of golfers [in the mainland] increases, a national golf tourism industry will grow.'

Guangdong has felt the effects of overbuilding but it is still a good destination for quick trips.

Every golfer should experience Mission Hills in Shenzhen at least once. With five courses and five more under construction, the club will be the biggest in the world once it is completed.

The club is strictly private, but various weekday hotel packages give guests access to courses designed by famous golfers. There are also spa, health club and tennis facilities. Call 2973 0303 for more information.

Other Guangdong courses worth seeking out are Chung Shan, Pine Valley, Zhaoqing, Sino Club, Golden Lake and Golden Gulf Golf.

Shanghai boasts about 20 courses. Shanghai Silport (0512 5748 1111) which is hosting the Volvo China Open in November, welcomes the public on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The 430 yuan price includes the green fee, a caddy and transportation. Similar deals are at Tianma (650 yuan on weekdays - 021 5766 1666), Sanyang (430 yuan on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays - 512 5010 0980) and Shanghai SunIsland (450 yuan on Monday - 021 5766 1666).

Also worth visiting is the excellent Peter Thomson-designed Binhai Links (021 5972 8111), managed by former Hong Kong Golf Club general manager Wyndham Heyring.

Fuchun Resort (021 5490 0090) in Hangzhou is an exclusive US$100 million development with its sights on becoming China's top resort. The golf course was shaped by Hong Kong resident Darren Moseley and is set in a spectacular tea plantation.

The public can play the course for 1,250 yuan a round.

Further north, Tiger Beach Golf Links (0535 3311 589) in Yantai, Shandong province, is about 70 minutes outside Qingdao.

Officials from Scotland's famed Carnoustie Links were so impressed by the Shangdong course that the Scottish club signed a sister-link agreement, a first in its more than 300-year history. Green fees are 620 yuan weekdays and 800 yuan on weekends. There is a 28-room hotel on the course.

Beijing now boasts more than 30 courses. Rounds cost about US$80 to $100 on weekdays and up to $150 on weekends.

If money is no object, visit Hainan Island's 10 golf courses.

Yunnan province boasts two notable clubs in Kunming's Spring City Resort and Jade Dragon, reportedly the longest course in the world.