Yoke Har Lee: Swinging his way into China

Golf Gym's David Jenkinson caught the golf bug in his 20s. Photo / Dean Purcell

Golf enthusiast David Jenkinson isn't sure whether it was his genius or his naivety that persuaded a giant Chinese organisation to use his golf training system.

The training concept developed by his company, Golf Gym, is now being put to use in one of China's largest golf resorts, operated by the Nanshan Group in Shandong province.

Golf Gym is your typical small Kiwi company, started by an entrepreneur with a dream of building a global business. Nanshan, on the other hand, is a conglomerate which owns huge golf resorts, as well as assets including energy, aluminium, textiles and real estate.

"China is the last frontier - you can take it at that level. That was our impetus to do that [pursue the deal]," Jenkinson says. A 55-per cent owned subsidiary, NZ/China Golf Academy, has clinched a three-year deal to manage the Nanshan International Golf School, part of the Nanshan International Golf Course.

New Zealand golf pro Reon Sayer was headhunted to lead the Academy in China.

Golf Gym offers players a high-tech golf workout. The system combines technology and training, to help reduce a golfer's handicap. Players can also train in pods using real clubs and balls, assisted by computer-generated graphics of 40 courses around the world.

The system, says Jenkinson, combines some of the best technology in the world. It marries Kiwi innovation with components from Britain, the US and South Africa, including a 3D Doppler radar system (used by the military for targeting missiles) and high-speed video and sequencing technologies to analyse a golf stroke. After each practice, the computer dissects the individual's performance and shows where it can be improved.

Jenkinson is excited about Nanshan, just as he is daunted by the sheer size of China and the challenges and opportunities it presents.

In New Zealand, Golf Gym can be found in Albany, on Auckland's North Shore.

Golf is the highest participation sport in New Zealand, with 482,000 people over the age of 18 (about one in eight) playing the game. "It is the No1 sport for men and No2 for women," says Jenkinson. "On average, about seven million rounds of golf are played in New Zealand every year and, with 419 golf courses, we have the second highest number per capita in the world, after Scotland."

In China, the game is still in its infancy, with around 1.4 million golfers.

The Chinese business, and how Golf Gym got there, is a combination of luck, being in the right place at the right time, and having the courage to pursue a deal with a giant. "I would like to say there was an epiphany - but there wasn't," says Jenkinson. "It all sounds a bit smarter now, how we got there."

Jenkinson had the fortune to meet a Chinese woman living in New Zealand who was looking for golf training for her nephew. Luckily for Jenkinson, she had the contacts to tee up the Nanshan connection. The rest was pure negotiation.

The odds were stacked against Golf Gym as it didn't have a presence in China. "It is difficult to sell a concept or idea without having a physical presence there. Having a Chinese [in the negotiations] played an influential role in how we moved things forward," Jenkinson says.

There are challenges in closing the cultural chasm between Kiwis and the Chinese. "You have got to get to their method of thinking. You have to learn how to negotiate their way - they take a long time to get to their point. Building their trust - that is the hardest," he says, adding that the Chinese are used to outsiders not really delivering on their promises.

The Chinese, however, deal with risks very differently to Kiwis, who are typically risk-averse, he says. Once they want something, they want it in a hurry.

Discussions are under way to launch the business in Beijing, using a master franchise system. The New Zealand business is also based on a franchise system and in a few months he hopes to introduce a franchise locally. Jenkinson is keen to tidy up the framework governing the business - ensuring the system is tested, formalised and the details all checked. "Your success is in the longevity and the robustness of your business model."

He estimates that if all goes according to plan, within five years the company could turn in $20 million before tax, making it "worthwhile when we get it right".

Jenkinson, 39, has spent time feeding his entrepreneurial appetite since graduating from Waikato University. He has run an investment company buying into underperforming businesses including food services, used car sales, and printing.

Jenkinson picked up golf in his 20s and got bitten by the bug, launching him into his current venture. Ultimate success, he says, would be walking into a city he has not been to, and seeing a Golf Gym there.

TEEING OFF

* China's first modern golf course was built in 1984, and by 2008 there were about 300 of them, despite an official ban on new development.

* It's a rich man's sport - average joining fees are around US$50,000 ($71,544), and weekend green fees cost about US$180.

Source: KPMG