介绍:
Recently, I watched a video speech of a Chinese investor who talked about his ambition to revive the embattled golf game in the country. He was passionate and elucidating, but I hoped his strategy would be the exception rather than the rule.
After depicting a dismal picture of Chinese golf wobbled by courses closing, fewer players and plummeting sales of memberships, the former economics professor declared the demise of the traditional single club model relying on selling expensive memberships. And with soaring operational costs and fewer courses available, "making golf an ordinary people's game is also at an impasse," he warned his audience at a gala dinner.
Instead, he has opted for partnering with high-end golf courses around the world , with attractive membership fees of $20,000, as the only viable solution. The club he founded pledges better value for money with golf holidays of a "real rich man" , like Alpine skiing in the morning and teeing off at noon.
I've had a lot of respect for the 68-year-old successful and charitable businessman who has been crusading for golf as a legitimate sport and pastime in China after he cashed out his home-improvement empire for a tidy sum years ago.
But I doubt his new model, which rests squarely in the privileged silos despite a more competitive price threshold, will lead Chinese golf out of the woods.
Golf may be bad business for investors and operators now after an anti-corruption campaign is inducing an exodus of officials and some businesspeople who use the game for bonding and deal-making.
However, for other fans, it's probably the best time ever as many golf clubs have lowered fees and scrapped members-only requirements to attract more players.
Golf equipment and apparel become cheaper and a variety of golf apps have helped make a round of the game more accessible. The technology has also enabled exclusive golf courses to offer pay-to-play deals, at lower rates, as a way to fill up unused tee times.
On weekends, many young children are seen practicing at golf driving ranges all over in Beijing. I also take my young son to hit buckets of balls before we head to a mini nine-hole course near our home. Parents believe golf can both train a child's body and teach him or her social etiquettes.
In late October, the sport that was left in limbo after the crackdown on extravagance and illegal courses gained its official recognition as one of the "unique sports", along with gaming, fencing and equestrianism, whose "healthy" development will be encouraged under a new government policy to promote the health and recreation industry.
All these signs may have heralded a change of fortune for golf business if clubs and investors can figure out strategies that are sustainable and respond to changes.
However, a plan targeting people with time and money isn't quite a good fit for the grassroots recreation program. It may never be.
