Are The Chinese Adopting Our Worst Habits?

[Abe Summers]

Having been a reader of Golf Club Atlas for at least three months, I must admit I'm a little hesitant to actually make a post here.  This is my first post on the site; thanks to Ran for putting me on as a member this month.

I am a consultant for PGA Magazine in Asia, and doing work on several projects coordinating PGA of America activities here in the Middle Kingdom in cooperation with the China Golf Association.  Bottom line: I am not a designer, but I get to see a lot of golf courses as part of my work.

My office is at the Spring City Resort, near Kunming, Yunnan province, which is in southwestern China, and is the second fastest growing market in the world behind Hainan Island.  Its high elevation keeps it cool in the summer, but the winters are also very temperate, making it a perfect area to actually play golf.  There are at least a dozen projects under construction and probably two dozen more in planning around the province.  But are they making golf courses that expand the definition of GCA, push the limits of GCA?  So far I am not seeing it at all and it's troublesome (Sorry, par 6s do not count as amazing new design in my book).  Certainly there is no "Chinese style" that makes a trip over here a must - although there are a number of excellent, traditional designs.

It seems to me that much of the excitement about GCA for Americans in the past few years has been about minimalism, environmental cooperation/protection and the philosophy of "pure golf".  None of these features are playing a prominent role in the current Chinese development.  There has been a lot of great progress in recent years from the Chinese on the player side -- many Chinese golfers are now quite golf savvy and even more interested in the PGA Tour, for example, than I am.  But at the design level, I am worried that many things are hurting the game we love:

1. Carts everywhere, and cart paths too.
2. High number of pesticides used to give the course very "American" conditions.
3. Houses border many holes.
4. Artificial lakes are numerous, and very artificial.
5. Most clubs have a corporate membership structure, not the private, member guided type of club that most Americans are familiar with.
6. Caddies are mandatory at most courses - players cannot "go off on their own" and many tend to become very dependent on the caddie.
7. Enormous clubhouses.
8. The obsession with having several courses (five or more) at a single location still baffles me. 
9. Green staff are very numerous, as are marshals.  There's a lot of carts/equipment on the course, sometimes making it quite noisy.  A last result: Players are constantly saying 看球 "kan qiu" (Watch out for the ball! / Fore!) before they even hit! 

There are probably many more examples for GCA lovers...

I have a feeling many of the people who read this site are working on projects in China and trying to change these "bad habits" but are facing a lot of opposition from the owners who are footing the bill, who always want a "championship course" and other blockbuster additions.

Ladies and gentleman, please tell me I am wrong.  GCA in China does have a spectacular future in front of it, doesn't it?

[Mark Chaplin]

Sounds like status is far more impotant to developers than producing a quality well designed course. Needless to say I cannot imagine China will become a golfing destination but they do have enough locals to feed the market.

[Doug Spets]

Hi Abe...and welcome.

Pretty interesting post.  I would guess selling minimalistic, low-key, non-lush golf courses to developers in a country with few people having a long history with the game is pretty tough...as many of the concepts that are now in vogue among GCA fans are concepts brought on and supported by golfers with a long, long association with the game - not newcomers.

Plus, it's their money...which I would guess determines the winner of most developer/architect discussions.

Must be a pretty interesting job you have.

[RJ_Daley]

What are the odd that a "Johnny Appleseed of Golf Course Architecture, like Thomas Bendelow, will emerge in China?  I'd say zero.  The thing that scares me (perhaps I am way too ignorant of the on the ground realities) is the copycat nature of all the exclusive, opulant, dream lifestyle superficiality, that I see the Chinese elite class incorporating in their culture, and not much from the bottom up in terms of things like recreational golf, and other underclass leisure time opportunities.  What in the Chinese economy or current socio-political environment takes into account the recreation for the people and promotes activity like we saw from some of our early golf course designers where they go out in the country at the behest of a company or entity like Spaulding was for Bendelow, and creates a recreational infrastructure of courses for the people. 

I think China will become one giant system of elite clubs copying all the ugly American corporate models of exclusivity, with access to the politically powerful and wealthy class that is in cohoots with their ruling elite.  But, a great environment for caddying for cooly wages... IMHO...

[Richard Choi]

I think you are giving US too much credit for influencing country clubs in China.

Seems to me, all the points you have listed are really the characteristics of golf clubs in Japan and South Korea, and not of a typical club in US.

And the problem with Japan and Korea is that there is so little open land available, only the richest of the rich folks can afford to join a club. And since a lot of their motivation to join a club is facilitate by the strict hierarchical social status, the clubs are filled with left over traditions from other "men's" clubs (like female only caddies, extensive clubhouse with messeurs, etc.)

Most of these problems should dissipate once there are enough middle-class golfers in China. But based on history from Japan and Korea, I don't know if that will ever happen.

[Marty Bonnar]

The stuff we saw in China was in the main fairly reminiscent of the modern American style. Pretty characterless, CCFAD-inspired mediocrity. The clubhouse facilities way out-scored the course quality by a rather large factor.

The new Chinese middle-class seem to want to emulate the lifestyle of America. They're seeing US TV shows, they have access to very high-end luxury goods, they are very quickly developing quite the snob-mentality.

I predict very, very bad things. They will be THE superpower of this planet in twenty years time and will probably own most of our asses (and some of our horses, donkeys and mules too).

Clench your buttocks, boys. Here they come.

FBD.

[David_Tepper]

General Motors is selling a lot of Buicks in China. That just about says it all!

[Abe Summers]

Martin, which courses did you visit in China when you came?  We have two in Kunming that I really think are top quality courses if you are into the modern American style (I'll profile them sometime soon).

Richard, it would be a shame if the game could never shake off that hierarchical edge and become a mass sport.  I have a feeling that Japan has a more elite playing community than Korea - goodness knows I run into plenty of 50 and 60 year old Korean women who come here to play, but few Japanese. 

The Chinese plan to break out of the elite and popularize the game goes something like this: Right now, there's a lot of interest over here in having a women's champion (a Se Ri Pak type) who will help popularize the game.  The feeling is that the barriers to entry are lower on the women's side.  Recently I've also heard environmentalism packaged into this - to preserve green belts around cities and create jobs, cheaper public courses may be created by the government.  But that is still years away and there is technically a ban on new construction from Beijing.  Finally, they are encouraging junior participation (by pushing sponsors of major events to do something in that area), but I am skeptical of that approach.  When the juniors go out on course, I think the caddies groan anticipating 18 holes of work for a tiny tip.

The high luxury rate on golf really makes the sport excessively expensive for the common man.  Even I cringe at many of the prices in the pro shops.

I guess I am just envious every time I read about these new gems in the states and can't wait for them to get built over here...

[Wayne_Kozun]

General Motors is selling a lot of Buicks in China. That just about says it all!

They are not selling nearly enough since GM's stock price is at the same level it was at in the 1950s.

[Wayne_Kozun]

I predict very, very bad things. They will be THE superpower of this planet in twenty years time and will probably own most of our asses (and some of our horses, donkeys and mules too).

The same was said of the Japanese 20 years ago but that didn't work out so well, did it?  Sure the Chinese have a lot more people than the Japanese but I think you are taking too much for granted Martin.  They have a long way to go and the fast growth is easier when starting from a very low level - it will be harder for them to keep up the high growth when they become a little bit richer.