Golf in China: The view from the top
Monday, 1st September 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Arthur Yeo at Spring City Golf & Lake Resort
Recently US magazine Golf Digest selected what it considered to be China's top ten golf courses, with three of the top six courses being in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan province.
Perhaps surprisingly for those unfamiliar with golf in China, the top two courses are both located at the same resort - Spring City Golf and Lake Resort in the Yangzonghai resort area, approximately 45 kilometers southeast of Kunming.
How did Kunming end up having the two best courses in China? China Sports Today spoke with Spring City General Manager Arthur Yeo - who has been involved in the Spring City project since its inception in the early 1990s - about the challenges and rewards of building a world-class travel destination in Kunming:
China Sports Today: Spring City's Mountain and Lake Courses were recently named the top two courses in China - what other awards has Spring City won in the last few years?
Arthur Yeo: In the last few years we have won many awards - we average about 10 per year – it would be too lengthy to mention all of them.
However, some of the more significant awards are: Best Golf Course in China and Hong Kong by US Golf Digest [1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 - they rank once in every two years], Best 500 Holes in the World in 2000 [18th hole mountain course designed by Jack Nicklaus] awarded by US Golf Magazine, Best Golf Course in Asia awarded by Asia Golf Monthly from 2004 to 2007, 100 Best Courses outside US ranked by US Golf Digest in 2005 & 2007 [ranked once every 2 years] and Best Golf Resort in China by World Travel Award [London] from 2005 to 2007
CST: How does Spring City overcome the challenge of having the best courses in China but being far from the coast?
Yeo: The recipe is a combination of good design, good construction adhering strictly to USGA specifications, good greenskeeping practice, good service management, spring-like weather all year round and being located in a very picturesque location with mountains and a lake.
This unique combination entices people to make Spring City Golf & Lake Resort a specific must-visit destination. Once they have visited the resort, they always come back again with their friends.
CST: What regions do Spring City's guests come from these days? Where do local Chinese fit into the picture?
Yeo: Our overseas guests are typically from Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea but we also have many local Chinese guests. We are also attracting a growing number of expatriates working and living in China – they tend to be from the USA, Australia and Europe.
Also, the number of golfers in Kunming is growing very fast and they form our bread-and-butter players.
CST: Yunnan has some of the best courses in China, do you think it can become synonymous with golf holidays like Florida in the US?
Yeo: Currently, no, as the number of golf courses in Yunnan is limited to seven at present.
However, this could happen in the future. Florida is a very established and developed golf community as compared with the Yunnan golf industry, which only started up 10 years ago.
CST: As golf becomes a more established sport in China and fewer new courses are built, what trends do you foresee for courses and golf as a sport in general around the country in the next few years?
Yeo: The development of golf has a positive impact on the economic and social development of the country - the current trend is that there are more and more golf courses popping up in China even with the central government clamping down on the development of golf courses nationwide. Also, there is a rapid increase in the number of Chinese learning and taking up golf.
Golfing in China will explode, however, the central government in my opinion should not curb the development of golf but rather monitor and control a healthy development of the golf industry in China. More emphasis should be given to:
1. Increasing education in golf maintenance and management to make sure that there are sufficient qualified people running and managing golf courses
2. Ensuring that minimal potential farmland is being used for golf development
3. Ensuring that quality golf courses are being built in a way that maximizes the use of land resources
4. Using 'green belts' within cities to develop public golf courses for public access at a reasonable price
5. Implementing strict environmental guidelines and controls for golf course developers in order to protect the environment.
Related article: China's top 10 golf courses: Kunming is king
Tags: Arthur Yeo, golf, golf course design, Jack Nicklaus, Kunming, Robert Trent Jones Jr, Spring City Golf & Lake Resort
Winging it in Yunnan
Thursday, 24th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The below report on paragliding in Yunnan was written by CST Kunming correspondent Chris Horton. If you have a China sports experience to share, go to our Contributions page to find out more.Kunming—Early last Wednesday morning, we met up with a few friends on Jiaoling Lu for a trip out to Anning. Red-eyed and sleepy, we all needed a coffee or two, but none of Kunming's cafés had opened yet. Packing into the van we were to take on our trip, there was a slightly giddy feeling reminiscent of skipping school.
There was also a palpable feeling of nervousness, perhaps even dread, of what was to come. Our minds were on something far more intimidating than Kunming morning traffic – we were all preparing to go paragliding for the first time.
Paragliding – known in China as huáxiángsǎn (滑翔伞), or 'gliding parachute' – is a relatively new sport in China. It first began to be promoted in China about 10 years ago but has yet to attract the numbers of die-hard pilots found in the US, Europe or even South Korea and Japan.
"Paragliding is one of those sports like Kung Fu or bicycling that can become a way of life for those that enjoy it," said Mike Fougere, the internationally-certified tandem pilot and instructor who would be taking us up into the sky later that day. Poring over indecipherable (for us) wind charts for the area around Anning's Longsan mountain, Mike seemed pleased with what the glyphs were telling him about what the day had in store for us windwise.
"It's been so windy lately it's almost been discouraging," Mike said, recounting a recent day of tandem flights that he had to cancel due to excessive winds, "But today should be just right."
After making it out of Kunming we stopped in Anning's hot springs area for some bananas and water before heading up toward the mountain that we were all going to launch off of. Nervous smiles belied the churning stomachs beneath the veneer of calm that we were trying to maintain.
disembarked and ate bananas as Mike planted a wind indicator and spread out a 43-square-meter nylon airfoil, which he refers to as a 'wing'. After some deliberation, we determined who would be the first to take to the skies.
GoKunming techie Matthew was the first to strap into the paragliding harness, which allows for semi-easy running during takeoff and quite comfortable seating once airborne. Mike, originally from Canada, has piloted around 500 tandem flights over the last three years at a Quebec City paragliding school (aerostyle.ca) and has been logging more than 200 hours annually in solo flights in Asia and North America.
Over the last two springs, he has been exploring ideal areas around Kunming for paragliding – in addition to Anning's Longsan, he has also tried out Xishan in Kunming and Liangwan Shan in Chengjiang, about 50 minutes' drive from Kunming.
After a quick briefing on the finer points of taking off and triplechecking all of the key points of the harness, Mike waited for an ideal wind and then instructed Matthew to start moving forward, toward the edge of the mountain's flat top. Wind direction wasn't acceptable for the pilot, so Mike decided to abort the attempt, which would happen a couple more times. On the fourth attempt all was good and Matthew and Mike took to the sky.
Meteorological knowledge is crucial to being a good (and safe) pilot and understanding how the sun heats the ground and creates hot air currents in specific areas is how you find thermals - and go up. After much fruitless searching, the winds smiled upon the wing, sending pilot and passenger about a kilometer straight up in a very short amount of time. For us on the ground, nervousness was giving way to eagerness.
After Mike and Matthew landed atop the mountain which they had launched off of half an hour earlier, the rest of us took turns making the launch. Your correspondent and another friend both ended up missing the big thermals, but the tour of the face of the mountain was far from disappointing - we were flying, after all.
The last two in our group ended up catching some major thermals, quickly shooting up to nearly four kilometers above sea level (see video above). Both times the wing was nearly too small to see without binoculars from the top of Longsan Shan, with the pilot and passenger spending around an hour gliding across the sky.
At one point the instrument that measures altitude and rate of climb was emitting a high-pitched noise that meant the two were ascending at a rate of six meters per second. Both of the lucky high-fliers were slightly dazed but happy to have flown upon returning to terra firma.
Should you decide to try paragliding it is recommended to fly with an experienced pilot who is certified by a country with a developed paragliding community. Hiking boots, sunscreen, a windbreaker and plenty of snacks and water are also recommended.
Mike Fougere is a Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada (HPAC)-certified paragliding instructor based in Kunming. He has been paragliding for more than 10 years and has been involved in various other airsports and windsports since a young age. He is available – winds permitting – to pilot tandem paragliding flights around Kunming at a rate of 300 yuan per person (plus transport expenses). Mike can be contacted at mike4g_air(at)yahoo.ca or (+86) 15825256431.
Tags: Anning, Kunming, paragliding, Yunnan
Lu Wins at Kunming, Young Amateurs Shine
Monday, 14th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
This post was written by Chris Horton, editor of GoKunming.com. China Sports Today welcomes contributions from our readers.
Equally notable was the strong showing by two teenage amateurs. Lu's playing partner, 16-year-old Benny Ye Jianfeng (叶剑峰), finished second after winding up the day four over par, while 18-year-old amateur James Su Dong's (苏东) even-par 72 lifted him to third place. The high finish by two teenagers suggests that the next generation of Chinese golfers is starting to come into its own.
After Lu was presented with a trophy and check for 150,000 yuan on Lakeview's 18th green, the three golfers were drenched by spectators and caddies in honor of the Dai water-splashing festival (泼水节), which was celebrated throughout southern Yunnan yesterday.
"I was able to hold on to my lead because I've been there before, but I was really impressed with what I saw this week," said Lu, who posted a five-under-par total of 283 to finish seven ahead of Ye and 10 clear of Su on a windy day at the Nick Faldo-designed course.
"The Chinese players are much more professional now than when I first played here more than 10 years ago. The younger generation are exceptional."
Lu went professional in 1992, the year after Ye was born, and has since won over US$1 million on the Asian Tour alone. The golf veteran had nothing but praise for the younger Ye.
"Ye Jianfeng hits the ball really well, even though he's so skinny," laughed Lu. "He played very well and is really a good player, one to watch. I had a lot of fun playing with him."
"I'm so excited. I never thought I'd be here. Every time I play in professional events, my aim is to just make the cut, so this is just great. Yesterday's 66 was my best score in a pro event and I'll remember that round forever," he said.
Ye will play in next week's US$2.2 million Volvo China Open after winning last year's Volvo China Junior Championship.
Vancouver-based Su said he was surprised to finish in the top three with a 72, but acknowledged the effect that the unpredictable Kunming winds were having on everyone at Lakeview yesterday.
"It was tough today because the wind was changing every second. However, I really like this course as it encourages you to drive long," added Su, who hit his tee-shot on the 472-yard 13th hole almost 400 yards.
With Ye and Su picking up flowers instead of paycheques, Jim Johnson, Chen Dinggen and Kunming-born Liu Anlin each won RMB54,000 for sharing fourth place on six-over.
The Omega China Tour was inaugurated in 2005 with four events, and since then two tournaments have been added each season. This year's 10-event Omega China Tour offers total prize money of RMB8 million (US$1.15 million). After a 'southern swing' of six events from March to June, the tour takes a break for the Olympics before a 'northern swing' of four events in September and October.
Tags: golf, Kunming, Lu Wen-teh, Omega, Ye Jianfeng
Missed Opportunities Jeopardize World Cup Hopes
Thursday, 27th March 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (1)
After yesterday's 2:0 upset of Iraq by Qatar, Australia has four points and leads Asia's 'group of death', with China in third place behind Qatar with two points. China has four more matches left during the qualifying stage and still has a chance of qualifying.
Aside from maintaining Australia's leading position in its group, yesterday's draw was a moral victory for the Socceroos, who went into the match with five of their starters including Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill sitting out due to injuries. Australia was also concerned about the effects of Kunming's 1,900-meter altitude on both its players and the ball - Australia coach Pim Verbeek was critical of the choice of Kunming to host the match, saying his players had little time to adjust to the altitude and expressing concern about the possibility of 'floating balls'.
Ironically, it was China—which had been training in Kunming for weeks—that had problems with floating balls. In the second half China had several opportunities near the Australian goal that were wasted when passes sailed over the heads of open men.
With four goal attempts compared to Australia's one, China was increasing its pressure on the Australian goal, culminating in a penalty kick after goalkeeper Schwarzer was hit with a foul on Qu Bo (曲波) in the penalty area. The thunderous noise generated by the home crowd vanished when Schwarzer stopped Shao's kick with his feet, then pounced upon the ball. Shortly afterward, Australia's David Carney had an opportunity to win the match, but was unable to redirect Mark Bresciano's cross into the Chinese goal.
After the game, Shao apologized for missing the spot kick, which, had it made it past Schwarzer, would have likely given China a victory, putting it atop the group with four points.
Asia's 20 teams are divided into five groups, with the 10 winners and runners-up reaching the final group stage. Four teams will advance from the final group stage to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, with the two next-best teams playing for the chance to play the winner of the Oceania group for another berth.
"I truly feel it was regrettable, I'm sorry to everyone," Shao told Chinese media, "As it was, we totally had an opportunity to win this game, but the spot kick didn't go in… now all I can do is apologize to my teammates and the fans."
"You saw it today, we gave it our all," he continued, "You could say we had a definite advantage – during the game there were several opportunities, it's a pity we were unable to seize them."
This post was contributed by Chris Horton, reporting from Kunming.
Image: clzg.cn
Tags: Australia, football, Kunming, soccer, World Cup
A Must-See, Must-Win Match
Wednesday, 26th March 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
If you are near a television set this afternoon, tune in to CCTV Sports to see China's men's national football (soccer) team face Australia. China needs to win this game if it wants to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. The game takes place at Kunming's Tuodong Stadium, a move that's had some Aussies complaining, since it means playing at 1,900 meters. Coverage begins at 1:45.Tags: Australia, football, Kunming, soccer, Tuodong Stadium
China's High-Altitude Training Centers
Thursday, 20th March 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Media coverage of China's preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games focuses almost entirely on the host city of Beijing. It's understandable: That is where the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube are, where the huge crowds will show up in August, where decisions are being made now about what athletes will eat and how venues will be kept safe.But another city plays a big, if much quieter, role in China's windup for the games: Kunming, capital of Yunnan province in Southwest China, is the most important aspect of Olympic preparation that you've never heard of. Chinese know it as the Spring City, so called for its year-round temperate climate. At an elevation of about 1,900 meters, and with significantly cleaner air than Beijing, Kunming has been China's national high-elevation training base for more than 30 years.
Flowers and Football at Hongta
In fact, Kunming's two major training complexes—Hongta Sports Center and Haigeng Training Base—have been a beehive of sports activity, and should only get busier as the Olympics draw near.
"We will be very busy between now and the Olympics," said Zhang Tianyou, general director at Haigeng National Training Center in Kunming.
We went out to Haigeng recently to have a look around. The trip gave us a glance at an important but little-known place in China's sports world, and resulted in a precious opportunity get on the pitch with the women's football team (more on that later).
Haigeng National Training Center
The diving well at Haigeng National Training Center, Kunming
Haigeng's setting on Dianchi Lake, past Kunming's award-winning Lakeview Golf Club and an abundance of spiffy new condominium developments, is quiet and clear-skied, and relatively isolated. As professional tennis player Yanina Wickmayer said after playing in a match at Haigeng in November, the location can be both good and bad for athletes.
"The facilities are nice, but it's out here in the middle of nowhere," Wickmayer said. "But that could be good if you're trying to really focus on your training for a little while."
Athletes, coaches and team managers stay onsite in the complex's many dormitories and hotel rooms.
Hongta Sports Center
If Haigeng calls to mind the China of 20 years ago, Hongta Sports Center is a gleaming $58 million monument to China's future hopes. Just 10 minutes' drive from Haigeng, Hongta was built in 2000 by the Hongta cigarette company, a major economic driver for Yunnan province. While Haigeng is used almost exclusively by professional athletes, Hongta doubles as a sports club for the general public. The general public can use all of its extensive facilities and every weekend, it hosts amateur football matches.
The world-class Hongta pool
Tags: altitude training, football, Haigeng, Hongta, Kunming, Olympic training, soccer