I e-mailed Xian Da Qian a few questions after our round together and here are my translated questions and his translated responses (thanks to Judy for helping me with these):
David: Why did you start playing golf?
Xian: Legend has it that there's opium inside the ball. I wanted to try it to see.
D: How often do you practice?
X: Once a week at the driving range
D: How often do you play golf?
X: 35 times a year
D: Do you think golf helps you with your daily life?
X: No. It can increase the quality of life.
D: How do you feel about golf as it relates to the development of China?
X: When the economy's good, you need to enjoy life. Playing golf is enjoying life, but it's just so expensive!
D: Who do you play golf with?
X: Friends, clients.
Also, I forgot in my wrap-up of Shanghai to mention a quick story from the airport. I was waiting to board my flight, wearing a Stanford golf t-shirt, and a Chinese man sitting across from me says, "Hey, do you play golf?" I said I did and then he said, "Tiger Woods, he really sucks now, right?" I answered, "well, he barely made the cut again this week, so you can definitely say that. He's not playing well." Finally, the Chinese man said, "You know what I think? I think he needs to start fooling around again to get back where he was."
For my final day in Hong Kong I got a tee time at Clearwater Bay Golf Club, an almost exclusively private club right on the South China Sea. The course is about 45 minutes away from central Hong Kong, but as the pictures show, has amazing views of the downtown area as well as some outlying islands and the sea. The wind was howling, which cooled me down a bit, but also made the course pretty difficult. Today, I would say the South China Sea and the course won. The sea will remember my visit to the course, as I left quite a few golf balls in the bottom of it.
Onto some notable holes:
In front of the first hole, a long 230-yard par 3 with the sea in the background
The first green
The tee shot on number two, a par five with a sever dogleg and a blind lay-up up the hill
The second green
The tee shot on number three, known as one of the most picturesque holes in Asia. A great, 402-yard par 4.
Another view of number three
Number 7, a 348-yard par 4
The green complex on number 7
Number 8, a short, 342-yard par 4, but a tough driving hole off the tee. If you're too aggressive in cutting off the dogleg, you're in the hazard and the ball is long gone.
A view of Hong Kong from the course
The approach to number 12, a 460-yard par 4
Another daunting tee shot, this one on number 13, a 446-yard par 4
The green complex on number 13, Hong Kong can be seen beyond the green
Number 14, a 164-yard par 3 with no bailout. The trees really creep in on this hole, and the win whips off the sea, as this is the highest point of the golf course. I started my shot on the right edge of the green and missed the green left.
Tee shot on number 15, a 529-yard par 5.
Approach shot to number 15
The blind approach to number 17, a 409-yard par 4
Another tough tee shot, this time on the final hole, a 543-yard par 5.
The approach on 18
This course was probably the most picturesque course I've ever played. I've never played Pebble Beach, but I think the scenery on this course could probably go right there with Pebble. There are lots of forced carries off the tee, and if you don't trust your line or your swing you'll pay - as I did on a few occasions. I was especially impressed with how grown in the course was. While this was to my disadvantage - there was no chance of finding any ball hit into the trees or bushes - it was really nice to see a course that didn't look young. Overall, an amazing experience on a breathtaking course.
One anecdote about golf in China compared with Hong Kong: In China, money speaks louder than anything else. If you can afford a greens fee, you can smoke on the course, wear your shirt untucked and no basic level of skill is required. For Clearwater Bay, I had to give my handicap number over the phone so they could look up my handicap before giving me a tee time, and the second I walked in the clubhouse I was told to tuck in my shirt. There were at least ten rangers roving the course, making sure everyone was keeping pace and treating the course well (they were called "course wardens" not "rangers" which I found a bit more intimidating). There's enough money to populate these courses so they've gone beyond that in deciding who plays and how people should act on the course.
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