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Players flock to make most of opportunities
Cynics might dub golf 'an expensive way of playing marbles' but there's no denying the burgeoning popularity of the game, or the increasing number of courses to play around Asia.
Plus there are ample opportunities - and challenges - for novice players and experts to learn and improve their game under the watchful eye of professional instructors, aided by the latest technology.
The prime example of golf's success in Asia lies at Mission Hills (www.missionhillsgroup.com), outside Shenzhen, which transformed itself from a greenfield site to a series of immaculate greens so large it is now registered in the Guinness World Records. The 12 courses were designed by golf's best-known names, among them Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Vijay Singh, Jumbo Ozaki and Annika Sorenstam. Mission Hills also hosts a golf academy overseen by David Leadbetter, one of the most prominent and recognisable figures in golf instruction, who has helped define an industry dedicated to helping golfers play better, shoot lower scores and have more fun. Mission Hills remains a special golf destination, with players flying in from all over the world to stay for a fortnight so they can tackle a different course every day.
One of the veterans of Asian golf, the Saujana Golf and Country Club (www.saujana.com.my), was founded in 1984, next to what was then Malaysia's main international airport just outside Kuala Lumpur. It's reckoned to be one of the best in the country, not simply for its brace of 72-par, 18-courses - nicknamed The Cobra and The Crocodile - but also for the nearby hotel, The Club at The Saujana, which is an exquisite blend of contemporary Asian styling and luxurious comfort.
To the north, Thailand has embraced golf with a will, and nowhere more so than Phuket, whose half dozen courses provide an extra allure to an island renowned for its sun, sand and sea. The Blue Canyon Country Club (www.bluecanyonclub.com) gets top billing, not least for Tiger Woods having remarked that it was one of the best he had ever played at.
The two courses, Canyon and Lakes, provide a variety of challenges to golfers of all levels. The nature of the fairways and greens are much faster on the Canyon, but much wider on the Lakes to test putting skills.
And the roughs are deadly on the Canyon, while the winds and water hazards at the Lakes have a reputation of making away with balls.
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