GOLF MAY BE a very old game in the Middle Kingdom if you believe recent claims that China's nobility played it 500 years before the Scots. However, even if the claims are true, China's recent golfing history is much shorter than that.
The mainland's first golf course was not built until 1984 but the game quickly gained popularity, with 250 courses springing up around the country soon after. Today, there could be as many as 10,000 players, according to one Shanghai course owner, and the number is likely to double in the next few years.
With its expansion plans in full swing, golf resort Mission Hills is looking to recruit 800 new staff from the mainland and overseas in the next 12 months.
The resort will open a new clubhouse in Dongguan within the year, and also plans to market 111 dual-wall houses in Emerald Valley beside its Ozaki course next month.
In addition, the resort will host an increasing number of international tours and events in the next three to four years.
The 645,000 sq ft Dongguan clubhouse is Mission Hill's second clubhouse after its 300,000 sqft Shenzhen facility, and group executive vice-president Toby Lam Chin-to said its development was a sign of just how fast the Dongguan market was developing.
