China Golf
Golf Architect's Hat Trick
Shenzen
Golf Club , set in the heart of bustling Shenzen (which has more than 1
million expatriates) and venue of the recent Volvo China Golf Open in
October is one of the oldest golf clubs in China. It went through a
total makeover from Golf Course designers Nelson and Haworth, reopening
in 2000.
The tournament marked a coup for the designers
because, in what could possibly be a first for any golf course
designer, a professional golf tour will have played three consecutive
events over a three-week period on courses in Asia designed by the same
architect.
The inaugural HSBC Champions tournament on November 10-13, at The
Shanghai Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China; the
Phoenix Dunlop Tournament, November 17-20, in Miyazaki, Japan and the
Volvo China Open, November 24-27 at the Shenzhen Golf Club marked a
remarkable hat trick for the architects, who incidentally, are in
charge of remodeling both 18-hole courses at the prestigious Royal
Selangor Golf Club in Malaysia.
"This is the ultimate achievement for a golf course architect," said
course architect Robin Nelson from his office in Mill Valley,
California. "Three major tournaments in three weeks are unprecedented.
I am proud of my partners Neil Haworth and Brett Mogg; our contractors
and shapers; and I am very pleased for our clients, all of whom are
extremely deserving of this recognition."
Shenzen Golf Club can be reached in one hour from Hong Kong, as it is
just across the Hong Kong/China Border. It is especially easy to get to
these days as Hong Kong International Airport is far closer than when
planes used to land at Kai Tak. Hong Kong Disneyland is 20 minutes away
so the family can play while you take a day off to play golf! How's
that for a Christmas break?
Musings - The Quest
for Distance
Who
doesn't love seeing his drive sail through the sky, going onward and
upward before gracefully beginning its descent to the middle of the
fairway?
Long drives have always caught the imagination of the average golfer
from today's Tiger Woods and John Daly to great champions of the past.
In 1912, Ted Ray won the British Open at Muirfield where his mighty
hitting gained a distinct advantage over a course which had been
extensively lengthened since the victory of James Braid six years
earlier. When asked by a fellow golfer how to achieve greater distance,
he replied simply: 'Hit it a bloody sight harder.'
Therefore all the more surprising that this year's Skins game was won by a man who was outdriven by a woman!
Fred Funk's victory, despite having to wear a skirt for the duration of
one hole, shows that distance is not a pre-condition for victory.
What counts most is a cool head and a hot putter!
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Fred Funk laughs as he pulls on a floral pink skirt, given to him by
Annika Sorenstam, left, after she outdrove him on the third hole on the
first day of the Skins Game at Trilogy Golf Club in La Quinta, Calif.,
Saturday, Nov. 26, 2005. |