Asian opportunities

My, how times have changed in China when it comes to golf.

"Until 1980, golf was banned there. It was thought to be too aristocratic," says Greg Muirhead, senior vice president and senior designer at Rees Jones Inc.

It appears that type of thinking no longer is the norm.

During today's GCSAA Road Map to Asia presentation at the Las Vegas Hotel as part of the GCSAA Education Conference, it became even more apparent that golf in China, and Asia in general, is a part of their fabric. More than 600 courses are open in China, and another 100 are under construction. By 2020, the China Golf Association predicts that the number of courses in the country will increase to 2,700, catering to 20 million players.

"There's a lot of opportunities over there," says Tony Taylor, CGCS, who went to Asia in 1992 and decided to stay. "You've just got to know who you are working with."

GCSAA, who has members in 79 countries, is working hand in hand with China. For the second time in less than a year, the association will attend one of China's golf shows, the next one in March.

"We are going to take our brand and take it straight to the region, and the core of that is education," says GCSAA's Eric Boedeker.

 GCM magazine plans to publish its first full issue of GCM China in May.

Taylor, meanwhile, says superintendents who want to ply their trade in Asia need to create a model of operation for the people there to see. He also encourages them to learn their language. He also has some advice.

"Before you do any business (in Asia), make friends with the people first," Taylor says. "You are on their turf."

The key to growing the game in China? Murihead says, "Capture the middle class and turn them into golfers."