Golf: China coming of age in art of hospitality

When three players from China made their debut in the Queen Sirikit women's golf tournament at the North Shore Club in 1989, everyone wondered where they had learned the game.

They had benefited from an extension of "ping-pong" diplomacy when Arnold Palmer designed the first course in China in 1982.

How things have moved on in the past 23 years. Some magnificent courses have been built and the Chinese have proved quick learners. Zhang Lianwei, a self-taught professional, beat Ernie Els a couple of years ago in the Singapore Masters.

This week Els, US Open champion Retief Goosen, Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia and a host of European and Australasian stars are in Beijing to play in the Johnnie Walker Classic.

And the privately owned venue at Pine Valley, 45 minutes from the centre of Beijing, is a striking demonstration of the fact that in modern China everybody may be equal but some are very much more equal than others.

The Pine Valley Golf Resort and Country Club is situated on over 404ha (1000 acres) facing the Great Wall at Ba Da Ling with a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. It claims to be the most exclusive private club in China.

The facilities include the 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Course, a 27-hole Jack Nicklaus II Links Course, two spectacular clubhouses, a five-star boutique hotel, a spa, a life science health centre, an equestrian club, a pet hotel and an environmental garden.

The clubhouses offer a Chinese restaurant, coffee shop, Japanese restaurant, an English-style pub, an outdoor tea lounge, sauna and steam baths, a beauty salon and traditional Chinese and Thai massage services.

If the players can drag themselves away, the Nicklaus tournament course is 6452m long with a 531m monster par-five 16th. The Johnnie Walker tournament, a co-sanctioned Australasian-Asian-European event, is making its debut in China.

Michael Campbell of New Zealand won in Taipei in 1999.

Campbell is entered this week with fellow Kiwis Richard Best, Eddie Lee, Richard Lee, Gareth Paddison and Mahal Pearce.