60 People, 60 Stories

Winning only a matter of time

By David Leadbetter (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-30 11:17

If ratified as expected, golf will once again be declared an Olympic sport in 2016. As a result of this decision, the game will truly become a global pastime.

Nowhere in the world has "the golf bug" bitten harder than in China and this Olympic announcement is great news for the future of the sport. The popularity of the game is clearly indicated by the number of professional tournaments in the country (headed up by the prestigious World Cup at Mission Hills), more than 350 world-class courses designed by international architects, public driving ranges, junior development programs and home-grown professionals playing the world circuits.

We also have young amateurs attending academies outside of the country and winning tournaments (we have more than 30 top-level youngsters from China attending my academy in Bradenton, Florida), and tremendous young talent attending universities in the United States such as Hu Mu, a young phenomenon at the University of Florida.

In the few years that I have been visiting China, having co-designed a golf course and established an academy at Mission Hills Golf Club, I have noticed a huge growth in the sport. The "Tiger Woods" influence has been phenomenal with younger players, but also the fact that golf is now the "in" sport, being enjoyed by Chinese business executives who are benefiting from China's huge economic prosperity.

Driving ranges are full, lessons are aplenty - my son Andy resides and teaches in Shenzhen and, judging by his legions of young potential superstars, whose work ethic is unmatched anywhere in the world, the game which was once considered a bourgeois activity is fast becoming a national pastime.

Having coached some of the world's best golfers, it is my opinion that it will not be too many years before we see a Chinese national holding up one of the world's major golf trophies, and perhaps even a gold medal!

David Leadbetter has coached some of the world's top golfers and is known as the "master of the art of teaching the golf swing".