BUSINESS AND GOLF have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship over the years and, in a country like China, where building relationships or “guanxi” is a vital part of the business culture, it is no surprise that entrepreneurs are also crying “fore!”
The Communist Party has yet to embrace wholeheartedly the ultra-capitalist sport known here as “Green Opium”, but the rising ranks of new wealthy in China love the game. And golf’s inclusion as an Olympic sport from 2016 will do a lot to boost its profile in Olympics-mad China.
Salthill native Mick Quaid (pictured) is currently building a major golf and entertainment facility not far from downtown Beijing, hoping to leverage China’s growing interest in golf into a potential market for Irish luxury products.
“China is not fully embracing golf yet, but it will happen. Education about golf is still zero but Chinese people love it when they try it,” said Quaid, a golf pro who has worked all over the world plying his trade.
“We aim to use the centre as a platform for trading for Irish products. I am trying to link with Irish companies to bring in Irish whiskey, Irish seafood, Irish cheese, high-end gifts. It’s a totally different concept – we sell Old Irish hickory-staff golf clubs, for example. I would like to be able to attract people with the golf image; it’s a luxury,” he said.
Quaid has had a broad experience of the Chinese market since he came here first in 2002. The experience has been frustrating at times. He set up his first golf academy back in 2006 at National Training Centre in Beijing. However, as a government facility, he was not allowed to commercialise the academy and he moved back into coaching. He has also worked on setting up the Idaho-based Jack Nicklaus Academies of Golf business in China.
There are around 600 golf courses in China, which is not much when you consider there are 450 in Ireland, which has a population smaller than Chaoyang district in Beijing. But it’s a step up from the 1980s when there were only 20.
“It’s going to take time before the infrastructure is in place. There is no governing body. But things will change in the run-up to 2016, when golf becomes an Olympic event,” he said.
“We’re going to do things like bring Ernie Els over here, but with his wine, not his golf clubs. We’re bringing in a putter from Switzerland that’s $5,000, but we won’t sell one putter, we’ll sell his clothes, and so on. The Chinese go for this because it’s unique,” said Quaid.
Quaid’s architect father, Michael, will come from Ireland to draft an expo stand for use in the courtyard, where they will display Irish products, Irish holidays, Irish properties to the clientele at the centre.
“Ireland is in the news here since the Xi Jinping visit. Xi has been huge,” he said. “We’ll use golf as the entertainment, but we have conference area, high-end restaurant, accommodation, offices. And we want to have an Irish pub here too,” said Quaid. On the sporting side, there is a large driving range and they will have a six-hole golf course at the facility.
China is already home to the world’s largest golf course, Mission Hills in Shenzhen, which has 216 holes over 12 courses. The club started off in 1994 with a course designed by Jack Nicklaus.
The central government has put a ban on the construction of new golf courses because of land grabbing, where land was snatched by dodgy property developers, often with the connivance of corrupt local officials. This has led to social unrest as disenfranchised farmers took to the streets and demonstrate.
The primary motivation behind developing golf in China is the property market, because of the luxury villas built to accompany the courses.
China’s arable land is scarce, and the government is worried about a growing wealth gap between the rich of the cities and the poor in the countryside.
And there are patriotic reasons why China is taking to golf. The Chinese argue that the game actually originated in China in 945 and that Mongolian travellers took chuiwan – chui means to hit, and wan is a ball – to Europe.
The rules of the sport were laid down in a 1282 book called Wan Jing or Manual of Ball Games.
To teach the Chinese how to play the game, regardless of who invented it, Quaid charges 1,000 yuan (€121) per hour for coaching, but it has to be about more than the golf aspect. “We are here for the long term, but you won’t make money out of coaching, you make money out of trade. We want to help Irish companies to introduce Irish products into China,” said Quaid.
