Yeah I golf. I know I turned into a fuukin yuppie. All hippies get there at some point. Any of you golfed in China before? Real curious about it. Should I bring clubs or just buy them there? They probably got some good knockoffs. I wonder how many times it'll take for them to break.

Frank Zappa was a keen golfer, AJJ. And his music was out there. Who else could write a song called 'Frogs with Dirty Little Lips'??

No never played golf here, sorry i haven't.

Yeah he also never did drugs. I love Zappa. I got some great live stuff of his.

I wonder if anyone on this site has golfed in China?

I've been a few times here. There are 3 or 4 courses nearby. Actually not so nearby, the one i go to is out past Pudong airport.

Not cheap though. On the weekend, you definitely have to book a time, and it will cost you around 1000rmb for fees and caddy.

There are a few expat golf pros around at the courses, and a new quarterly free magazine as well.

As for clubs, i haven't bought mine over yet. Just using a set of rip offs from Xiang Yang. Cost about 1000rmb and they do the job, except the driver not too great.

When are you here? I will set up a day at the course.

1000rmb sounds relatively cheap compared to the courses in Hongqiao. I'm told membership there costs over USD25,000 a year.

Yes I play golf. The one I go is in Qibao, I go there once per 2 weeks to hit some ballz on zeh driving range and once per 6 weeks (on average) to do a par 3 or par 5, depending on how much time I have and the weather.

Still an amateur though.

Oh sweet! So what are the courses like? Quite expensive for a public course. Are they that nice? Difficult? What does the driving range charge?

So are most of the golfers there Korean? Are people usually good or just learning? I'm real curious about this.

People are mostly learning, most of them still using iron 9-6. Many locals, although I met some HKnese yesterday.

The courses are sheit compared to the European ones (and I also heard that American ones, in Atlanta for instance are very nice). But then again, not every person can play on the course in Holland, you need a golf competence degree.

Memberships are worth it if you are planning to go often, really often. Many include insurance, so if one of your clubs break, you get money back from the club. I once broke a 3 wood and I received 500 kuai for it. Driving range depends, they either charge per hour or per box (of balls). Not expensive in my opinion. We paid 1200 kuai for 3 last time we did a par 3. Spent 1,5 hours on the course, nice weather, 3 cute and very helpful caddies, just having fun.

You in SH ajj? Let me know so we can go and hit some balls. I am still waiting for bougie to get ready (back injury?).

Mrs SC like her golf. She goes to the driving range regularly and buys 1400RMB's worth of balls on a card. This gives here a very good discount, i.e. two boxes for the price of one and if she goes early free boxes too.

The 9 hole course (City Golf) near Hong Qiao, just off the Hu-Ning expressway is mostly par 3 but good for learning on. Gets busy at the weekend and is about RMB400 a round.

I am not a great golfer, but I love playing it. I have been going every weekend lately. In California, the driving ranges are about 50 RMB for a nice bucket. Public courses here are nice and are about 330 RMB. Pebble Beach which is where many pros play, including Clint Eastwood, will cost you about 2000 RMB for a day. But I have golfed in some gorgeous resorts in the Caribbean and Palm Springs.

I don't really like Par 3 courses because I feel you just get less golf. Driving is something I need practice on and I hate doing a whole day without using a driver. That Par 3 course in Hong Qiao when I was in Shanghai was nothing but dirt. I was wondering if they were going to ever get that dump truck going that was just getting rusty.

I'll be in Beijing next week and Shanghai sometime soon. We should get a 4-some going. Anytime I have a day off I would rather golf than anything else. It's just such a hard game and takes so much time to get good.

I heard there are 2 nice courses in Beijing and a nice one in Gui Lin.


I am surprised to hear local Chinese golf.

ajj you sound like fidel now. so you golfed with Clint Eastwood huh? What did he say to you?

"Do you feel lucky now punk?!"

The courses are actually very good. Not public, but i know members who can get us in. I also know some of the pros.

They are well watered, and the cadies to a good job. The distances are well marked also.

When are you in Shanghai.

Oh really? The golf courses in Shanghai are for members only?

They have robot caddies in one course near Hongqiao. But the only problem was they were silver so on a sunny day they would cause reflections and blind the golfers as they were teeing off. I met the owner of this golf course and suggested that they paint them a different colour. He agreed to this. I saw him a few weeks ago and I asked how it was going with the robot caddies and he said they painted the robot caddies yellow. I thought good idea, yellow is close to gold which is a lucky colour here, but he said it was terrible. Why? I asked. Well, he said, as soon as we painted them yellow they started sleeping on the job, stealing gold balls and lying about their overtime.

Hey,

My GF Flatmate is a Manager of one of the courses outside of SH can't remember which club, so will need to ask, oh and shes French.

However on my last trip there was a course advertising at 1800RMB a year for membership with a 5 day during the week pass, if anyone can share any further info on this.

This is only marginally on topic, but I noticed the golf courses in Yunnan Province on my recent trip there and they look good. Obviously it's too far to go from Shanghai, but I noticed that they are building villas on the courses outside Kunming, in a very scenic area near the mountains. I heard the villas cost about US$10,000. My sense is they will go up rapidly as rich Chinese from the coast buy them up. I told the Pict that I would love to invest as I feel certain that the return would be substantial, and quick. But I can't deal with the risks of such investments in China. In any case, I don't think foreigners are allowed to buy real estate there, at least not with any rights of ownership as we understand them in the west.

I like Kunming and think the city has great potential. Lovely climate, clean air, nice scenery - it's only a matter of time. The place has a good feel to it and I think the Chinese are smart as hell for building golf courses and golf villages nearby.

playing golf is like being part of the masons, a pure rich mans sport in UK, hob-nobbing and regailing tales of which teacher did u where and how, back , in the good old days. kinda like it myself, but cant play 4 dikola

So if course in China aren't public, how can non-members play?

AJJ - most of the courses are semi-private. Meaning that anyone can play during the week but the weekend tee times are reserved for members.

Woah never heard of that. So how much are membership dues?

mat wrote:The courses are actually very good. Not public, but i know members who can get us in. I also know some of the pros.

They are well watered, and the cadies to a good job. The distances are well marked also.

When are you in Shanghai.

Mat, I am a golfer (from OZ) in town often (next time on June 11 weekend and entire month of July). If you are ever having a game during these times I would love to get out and see the local courses. I played the par 3 at Hong Qiao last time -- ok but not a real day out on the course. I am a 10-11 h'cap but I'm not that serious on the course and I really just enjoy a cold beer and the company of whoever I am playing with.

will maybe set something up in July. Come in and introduce yourself to me at Senses when you are in town. You too AJJ

A weekday game usually around 500, weekend, 800+. Getting there and back can be expensive as well.

Mat, organize a game and I will be there! Let me know. I'll be in Beijing this summer, but have no problems cruising down to Shanghai every so often.

A handicap of 10 is quite good. Especially if you are talking about full 18 hole par 72 courses. I am nowheres near that good, but I won't slow down the game.

I am just real curious about the Chinese golf scene. I was surprised to find out many locals golf. So on weekends, you can only golf if you are a member or with a member? How much do they charge a year for membership dues?

acujerjer wrote:Woah never heard of that. So how much are membership dues?

many nice private clubs are essentially like that too in the states.

I guess I never noticed. Like in Palm Springs my friend's parents live on the golf course so we just played. Then public is public. So yeah you're right.

Are there any driving ranges in SH?

A Spanish friend of mine studies Chinese here. He had a 62 once. Used to have a handicap below zero. Showed me last time, used the driver and hit the ball over the nets. Friggin incredible. He is a friend of Ballesteros and his nephew. If you are organizing a tournament, you should invite this guy.

mat wrote:will maybe set something up in July. Come in and introduce yourself to me at Senses when you are in town. You too AJJ

A weekday game usually around 500, weekend, 800+. Getting there and back can be expensive as well.

Mat,
I will see you at Senses weekend of June 10/11 (sorry to say I've never been there yet). I can borrow a local expat's driver for the day as far as transport goes so let's tee something up. (pun intended)

To Rio,
I like to play golf with anyone -- negative h'cap or a total hack included but I just like to have fun and sip a cold beer on social golf days so anyone who takes themselves too seriously and I'm not real interested. Actually this is my attitude about people in general -- not just golf.

oohaah54321, the good thing about this dude is that he does not take himself that serious as you do. We always have fun and he can give you insightful tips, he's like a private teachter. Don't be put off by the fact that he has a negative handicap. I don't like people who judge a book by it's cover, this is my attitude about people in general.

Rio wrote:oohaah54321, the good thing about this dude is that he does not take himself that serious as you do. We always have fun and he can give you insightful tips, he's like a private teachter. Don't be put off by the fact that he has a negative handicap. I don't like people who judge a book by it's cover, this is my attitude about people in general.

Not what I was trying to say at all -- some of the most laid back people I have ever played with are 0 and 1 h'caps. I was trying to point out that for me social days are for fun so if anyone is getting on board they should
look forward to some froffies and a good day out.
"My worst day on the course is still better than my best day in the office" (except that day I knocked off the temp. receptionist in the boardroom)