Golf gains popularity in China

Global Business

Su Guozhen has been in the golf business for over 30 years. Born in Taiwan, he’s built golf courses there and all over Southeast Asia, and came to Shanghai ten years ago to work for the Tianma Country Club.

Tianma’s three nine-hole courses are the club’s main attraction. And Su is happy to see the changes his club has brought to the nearby areas.

Tianma Country Club is among one of four golf courses in the Song Jiang District. And thanks to the development and popularity of golf, more properties are being built near the course. Some are developed by golf course designers themselves, some are built by others.

Top Forest Villa in the city’s southeastern She Shan area is a residential complex near the Sheshan International Golf Club. The development’s initial 69 villas, which went on the market in 2004 have sold out. And in 2011, it started selling 55 more villas, and they also sold out. The prices for each villa ranges from some 37 million RMB to 150 million RMB. Zhao Zhonghua is in charge of selling the villas in the Song Jiang District for his real estate agent company. And Zhao says, buyers for the high end nearby complex include local residents and individuals and coporations from all over the world, many of whom were drawn by the four golf courses.

Aside from the different purposes of ordinary and high-end home owners, the government’s tightening policy towards villas also helps keep up prices for the luxury properties.

And with the further development of the Song Jiang area, both property agent Zhao and golf courses developer Su are also positive about golf related properties. But Su also point out that at the moment, the golfers alone can’t sustain the property market long term, so for him, he is thinking about more plans. For example, his club is now holding weddings, and children’s summer camps. Hopefully they will draw in more people for the golf courses, and their nearby property markets. CCTV’s Zhang Tao reports.

Golf gains popularity in China

Su Guozhen has been in the golf business for over 30 years. Born in Taiwan, he's built golf courses there and all over Southeast Asia, and came to Shanghai ten years ago to work for the Tianma Country Club.