For 17 years, Reid was living the all-American dream as director of instruction at Tournament Players Club (TPC) at Sawgrass in Florida. That was until Mission Hills executive director Tenniel Chu convinced her to leave the security of the golfing mainstream for the sport's fast growing market in China.

More than a decade ago, Chu met Reid when he worked at TPC Sawgrass to learn every aspect of commercial golf: from course operations to the pro shop to food and beverage services. He invited Reid for annual trips to Mission Hills to conduct member clinics.

'Every time I came to visit, he would always try to get me to commit to moving here full-time and, finally, I said yes,' she recalled. 'It wasn't a hard decision. My golf business was doing fine, but there was no challenge and nowhere to grow. China held so much promise.'

In 2007, Mission Hills opened the Cindy Reid Golf Academy to run in conjunction with its 12 signature courses. And from July 1, the academy will start a junior elite programme aimed at grooming youngsters (seven to 18) for tournament play and, ultimately, professional tours.

'I want to teach the junior golfer with the desire to compete how to take advantage of the opportunity that the game of golf can create,' Reid said. Whether she's dealing with adults or youngsters, Reid admits she has had to make some adjustments to her long-time approach. The language barrier has seen her rely on translators to get her message across.

'With golf instruction, it is all about communication,' she said. 'When a student and an instructor don't speak the same language, you have to get creative with communicating. Also, unlike golf schools in America, students here are hesitant to learn in a group environment around people they don't know. And some don't concentrate on mastering things that make golf so special, like rules and etiquette.'

Yet despite the cultural differences and the language divide, Reid insists that one aspect of her tuition is exactly the same as when she was working with the well-heeled Americans at Ponte Vedra, near Jacksonville: teaching the golf swing.

'Every student needs to learn to swing the club the same way - because the swing is still the same wherever you are in the world,' she said. 'With different ages, shapes, body types, flexibility and experience, my job is to give each student the tools necessary to make a consistent golf swing.'

As someone who took the game up late - she didn't touch a club until she was 24 - Reid knows what's possible for curious players who may be trying for the first time. In her previous sporting incarnations, she excelled in college basketball for Arizona State University and was also a star of fast-pitch softball.

An unlikely love affair with golf began when she was working as a cart girl at the local club.

'There was no WNBA at the time so I knew from the beginning that I had no athletic future in basketball beyond college,' she said. 'With US$100 in tips from working as a cart girl, I assembled my first set of clubs from the lost-and-found bin at the club. I practised every day on the driving range for 24 months before I finally went out on the course and in my first round I shot 82.'

Reid played professionally for seven years - including a stint on the Japanese LPGA Tour where she developed a liking for Asia - and won three tournaments on the Futures Tour. But teaching soon became her passion. In 25 years as an instructor she's worked with the likes of Vijay Singh, Davis Love and Fred Funk.

And moving to Mission Hills has reconnected her with more of the greats who designed its courses and make regular visits to the Shenzhen resort. 'I have known Jack Nicklaus for years and was able to interview him when he was shooting a documentary about his golf courses in Asia at Mission Hills,' she said.

'To ask the greatest golfer of all-time about how the game has changed over the years was very exciting.'

While Reid misses family and friends in the US, she's excited to be at the frontlines of golf's new frontier while enjoying the hidden pleasures of life in China, including twice-a-week foot reflexology. She also has a keen interest in Chinese astrology (she's a metal ox).

'The growth of the game is just beginning here, while in the US it has been pretty stable and even declined a bit,' she said. 'I am so excited to see what is going to happen in this country for the next 10 to 15 years.'