China Golf Magazine - Club Managers Conference 2011

China GOLF Magazine – Darius Oliver column

Back in September I had the great pleasure of speaking at the 12^th National Club Managers Conference in Haikou, where the themes of Health, Harmony and Development in the golf business were explored and discussed at length by more than 400 industry delegates. Given the current situation in China with regards government approvals and the future of golf development, it was a fantastic opportunity to speak to key decision makers in this business while also listening to other impassioned experts in this field.

The entire conference was very enlightening, and the Mission Hills Haikou Resort proved the perfect host venue for such a gathering. Several keynote speakers touched on the problems currently faced by the industry in China, with my presentation exploring issues like water and land usage, accessibility, affordability and the lack of genuine world-class golf here. Much of my speech focused on how similar problems had been overcome in other parts of the world.

Clearly the biggest threat to the golf business in China comes from current government policy and the attitudes of the mainstream media toward our game. Golf is viewed by some as an elitist bourgeois pursuit, that is neither respectful of the land it occupies nor of the natural resources used to maintain it. The game is also seen as being too expensive and not welcoming of new players. Those perceptions may be inaccurate but they do exist, and our task is not to ignore them but to try to change them.

As I mentioned during my talk, it is surprising that few Chinese developments utilise treated or recycled water for the maintenance of their golf course. In places like Australia and America things are very different. In fact all seven courses at Pebble Beach in California, for example, use 100% recycled water to irrigate their golf courses. This includes Cypress Point, which is the No. 1 golf course in the world. Aside from saving billions of litres of potable water, the recycled water program in Pebble Beach has created a tremendous amount of goodwill toward golf from local residents and, importantly, the local media.

If golf in China hopes to start receiving more favourable press it needs to reverse perceptions, by building more environmentally sustainable golf courses and by becoming more open and welcoming of new players. One way of silencing golf’s critics is to turn them into golfers themselves, and to do this we need to open up the game to newcomers, and to create courses that are inexpensive to play and more fun. For the golf industry to continue to expand in China, it follows that we need to increase the number of actual golfers here. To do this we clearly need more middle class Chinese to play our game, which means creating inexpensive public courses and modestly priced private clubs.

As was pointed out during the conference, there isn’t a single strong golf market anywhere in the world that doesn’t have affordable, high-quality golf. As a means of introducing players to the game, and forging lifelong golfers, it is essential. I truly believe that we can achieve greatness in this country, but to do so will require a significant mindset change across the industry. Longer, harder, greener and more private can no longer be the goal. We need accessible golf, fun design and more environmentally sustainable development.

Most of all, we need cooperation between all sectors of the golf industry so that we are all on the same page here, and working towards the same, sustainable goals. In other regions, strong industry alliances are in place to formulate strategic dialogue with government and to help draft industry guidelines and generally champion the cause of golf for the common good. China doesn’t have this yet, but it would be beneficial if the club managers, the golf professionals, the architects, the media and the administrative bodies could work together in this way and present a united case to government for legislative change and understanding.

We all benefit from a strong golf industry, and we all suffer when perceptions of our game are distorted and misrepresented. This great game is too easy to criticise, because of the vast amounts of land it takes up, the water it uses and the damage done to the environment by non-sensitive development. As mentioned, we need to reverse these perceptions and start creating positive news stories about a game that is fun, beautiful, sustainable, environmentally sensitive and inclusive of all elements of the Chinese population.

We all have too much to lose here to sit back and do nothing. The really positive thing about attending the 12^th National Club Managers Conference in Haikou this September, was being able to learn more about the local Chinese culture whilst also meeting and mingling with so many quality people involved in this great industry. There are clearly difficult times ahead for golf in China, but the good news is that many of the people driving golf here are highly skilled, intelligent and, crucially, passionate about this wonderful game. I left the conference feeling that golf here was in good hands.

 Darius Oliver is a golf design expert and course consultant. Find out more at www.planetgolf.com

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