CHINA GOLF
2011 was the first time that I ever swung a golf club in China. I was living in Foshan, Guangdong province, which is in the south part of China near Hong Kong border. I had just signed my first contract to work with Stephon Marbury and his Starbury brand, and we were living near a driving range I could get to when we had down time. I went as often as I could, especially since i had just started playing on golf courses right before signed to work with Marbury.
There was a golf pro who liked the fact that I could speak Mandarin, and he would come down all the time and give me tips. "Man Man yi dian", he'd say softly, meaning "slow down". He would always have me paying attention to my grip and my tempo. He said I had good natural balance, probably from playing all that defense as a basketball player, or the squat and shoot motion of free throws. I've always thought there were some fundamentals that transfer between the sports, but we all agree there is nothing quite like golf.
in Shenzhen, I played several courses there, with Mission Hills being the premier. At the time I went in 2013, there were 9 courses. I know they have expanded since that time.
There was a golf pro who liked the fact that I could speak Mandarin, and he would come down all the time and give me tips. "Man Man yi dian", he'd say softly, meaning "slow down". He would always have me paying attention to my grip and my tempo. He said I had good natural balance, probably from playing all that defense as a basketball player, or the squat and shoot motion of free throws. I've always thought there were some fundamentals that transfer between the sports, but we all agree there is nothing quite like golf.
in Shenzhen, I played several courses there, with Mission Hills being the premier. At the time I went in 2013, there were 9 courses. I know they have expanded since that time.
Caddies doing work
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Watching Lao Zheng putt for birdie in Beijing
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Walking a round on Tuanjiehu Beijing course
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Smile! We’re golfing in China
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I would go play and hang out at Shenzhen Longgang course. It is a public course, very nice, gives you a caddy for your round, and has nice locker room with sauna and jacuzzi. That was a big deal for me in China. I prefer the places where I can get decompress after the round Gives me an energized, refreshed feeling preparing to go to the next thing.
I like the caddies in China because they keep your score honest. They won't let you cheat yourself or give you complementary strokes off your game.... and they can pretty much find any ball any where you hit it! That is worth the tip itself at the end of the round.
When we moved to Beijiing 2013-2016 with the Starbury project, Beijing had an executive 9 hole course near the Tuanjiehu subway station. It had a small driving range, and then you could go out and play the 9 holes. That was always convenient because it was right in the city, and on the subway you could get there so very fast. Beijing is crowded with over 30 million people at that time, so all of the land close to downtown is buildings, The golf course are mostly on the outskirts of town, sometimes 1 hour and 30 minutes to drive.
I like the caddies in China because they keep your score honest. They won't let you cheat yourself or give you complementary strokes off your game.... and they can pretty much find any ball any where you hit it! That is worth the tip itself at the end of the round.
When we moved to Beijiing 2013-2016 with the Starbury project, Beijing had an executive 9 hole course near the Tuanjiehu subway station. It had a small driving range, and then you could go out and play the 9 holes. That was always convenient because it was right in the city, and on the subway you could get there so very fast. Beijing is crowded with over 30 million people at that time, so all of the land close to downtown is buildings, The golf course are mostly on the outskirts of town, sometimes 1 hour and 30 minutes to drive.
Shenzhen Course
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Morning Round in Shanghai
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My drifting range in Foshan Guangdong
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Billboard advertisement on the course
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I met a good friend, Lao Zheng, at Tuanjiehu golfing one day, an older gentlemen who had big success in advertising in China. Now 64, he was golfing, sipping tea, and smiling all day in between cigarettes. He invited me to come play with him and some friends at Qinghe Golf Club, which was very close to the famous Olympic Birdnest stadium from the 2008 Beijing Olympic games.
Starbury work kept me busy, but I'd try to play with him once per week. If we finished work before dark or had a game night, I had a driver that would take me over to the Honghua golf club so I could hit balls and putt. He would sit there and chill, sometimes come take videos of me. He said it was his first time being at a golf course or even around the game of golf. He would keep my clubs in his car when he knew I would practice again the next day.
Starbury work kept me busy, but I'd try to play with him once per week. If we finished work before dark or had a game night, I had a driver that would take me over to the Honghua golf club so I could hit balls and putt. He would sit there and chill, sometimes come take videos of me. He said it was his first time being at a golf course or even around the game of golf. He would keep my clubs in his car when he knew I would practice again the next day.
Beijing golf friends Lao Zheng and Jenny
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Photo 1. - Entrance to Masters Course Lake Malaren
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Photo 2 - International Flags at the Entrance
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Photo 3 - Ian Poulter warming up at the Shanghai masters
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Photo 4. - Miguel Jiminez getting ready to tee off
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Longxi Hotsprings was another nice course. I went there with one of my american friends who was working in China as a hotel manager. We both hit 2 birdies that day, and were joking that we needed to get sponsors to go on tour. ( you can laugh now....)
I started getting more business in Shanghai with the demand to open up basketball academies in China growing. I got a second set of clubs to "live" in Shanghai, and quickly adopted the Hongqiao golf course as my home course there. It is on the same street as the foreigner shopping district called "Hongmei Lu", and on the street there are lots of places that I like to eat after the round. There are lots of bars, places to play pool, listen to music, etc, so you can relax in the culture.
Hongqiao has double decker driving range. When I first saw Top Golf come to the USA, I thought, "some one came here and saw this." I made some new friends at the range, and always got a tip or two from the pros. I was always encouraged by the willingness of the locals to engage me when they saw me at Hongqiao.
I brought former NBA player Mike James over to China to workout for a CBA team in 2017, and we spent the last 2 days in Shanghai. We went over to Hongqiao and played the full 18 holes. Mike played the round in a pair of Crocs and with a set of rented clubs, and still had a really good round. Long ball hitter that can keep it straight. Most of the NBA guards that I've played with have exceptional control over their core area and also really good hand-eye coordination. These things help with being consistent, focused, and in control.
Hongqiao is like the Tuanjiehu course in Beijing.. it's in the city, near a subway, and not so far out of the centralized area of town. Sometimes, it's just about the convenience of getting t a course. When time allows, I like going to play at Yintao, and was fortunate to get a round in with the famous Dr. James Lee at SheShan, one of the most luxurious courses in the world.
I met Dr. Lee one day at Yintao when I was introducing one of my Chinese partners to the game of golf. "China Mike" ( as we call him) is a native from Henan province whose entrepreneurial skills and business savvy brought him to the big city of Shanghai. He and I had worked on several entertainment and promotional event deals around China for athletes and celebrities, and I told him he needs to play golf more to enhance business.
Dr. Lee noticed the pattern on the golf pants I had, and came over and complimented me on the putting green, I thanked him, and said I noticed his trousers were pretty slick as well. We found out that we both use tailors in Shanghai to pick patterns for our golf pants. We exchanged information, and Dr. Lee invited me for a round about 4 days later.
I started getting more business in Shanghai with the demand to open up basketball academies in China growing. I got a second set of clubs to "live" in Shanghai, and quickly adopted the Hongqiao golf course as my home course there. It is on the same street as the foreigner shopping district called "Hongmei Lu", and on the street there are lots of places that I like to eat after the round. There are lots of bars, places to play pool, listen to music, etc, so you can relax in the culture.
Hongqiao has double decker driving range. When I first saw Top Golf come to the USA, I thought, "some one came here and saw this." I made some new friends at the range, and always got a tip or two from the pros. I was always encouraged by the willingness of the locals to engage me when they saw me at Hongqiao.
I brought former NBA player Mike James over to China to workout for a CBA team in 2017, and we spent the last 2 days in Shanghai. We went over to Hongqiao and played the full 18 holes. Mike played the round in a pair of Crocs and with a set of rented clubs, and still had a really good round. Long ball hitter that can keep it straight. Most of the NBA guards that I've played with have exceptional control over their core area and also really good hand-eye coordination. These things help with being consistent, focused, and in control.
Hongqiao is like the Tuanjiehu course in Beijing.. it's in the city, near a subway, and not so far out of the centralized area of town. Sometimes, it's just about the convenience of getting t a course. When time allows, I like going to play at Yintao, and was fortunate to get a round in with the famous Dr. James Lee at SheShan, one of the most luxurious courses in the world.
I met Dr. Lee one day at Yintao when I was introducing one of my Chinese partners to the game of golf. "China Mike" ( as we call him) is a native from Henan province whose entrepreneurial skills and business savvy brought him to the big city of Shanghai. He and I had worked on several entertainment and promotional event deals around China for athletes and celebrities, and I told him he needs to play golf more to enhance business.
Dr. Lee noticed the pattern on the golf pants I had, and came over and complimented me on the putting green, I thanked him, and said I noticed his trousers were pretty slick as well. We found out that we both use tailors in Shanghai to pick patterns for our golf pants. We exchanged information, and Dr. Lee invited me for a round about 4 days later.
Photo 5. Louis Got a little close to us on his drive.
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Photo 6. Spotted John Daly in the Loudmouth pants
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Photo 7 John Daly’s girlfriend having a good time matching her beau while Dave and Barry show off Loudmouth golf pants
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Photo 8. - Putting at Lake Malaren Shanghai while Dave Suzuki
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Photo 9 - With LoudMouth Golf CEO David Suzuki at Lake Malaren Shanghai. RIP to my good friend
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The driver took me to a property on the course, which I found out was Dr. Li's house. A massive home on the 7th hole of gated community, I learned that day that Dr. Li is world renowned for his acupuncture practice. The sick and lame come from all to be healed by his needles. We sipped some tea, I met his wife ( who golfs all the time as well), and some of his staff members. Considering most people live in apartments or high rise type building in China, this was certainly on the upper end of lifestyles in China. I was there that day because golf took me to a place where I could connect in these circles.
Yintao course is also beautiful. Lots of water, lily pads, sounds of locusts in all the trees. It is not the most forgiving course, so I was focused more on keeping my ball in play and not swinging away as hard. Less is more with the golf swing. Using more club with a more controlled swing yields better results than trying to smash it too hard with the club that you think you need.
Dr. Li and I have remained close buddies. He was one of the first to get behind TGBTG bringing Cyrotherapy machines into the Chinese market. He was amazed at how well the cryotherapy treatments worked hand in hand with acupuncture. Golf led a profitable partnership in the health and wellness industry in China.
Yintao course is also beautiful. Lots of water, lily pads, sounds of locusts in all the trees. It is not the most forgiving course, so I was focused more on keeping my ball in play and not swinging away as hard. Less is more with the golf swing. Using more club with a more controlled swing yields better results than trying to smash it too hard with the club that you think you need.
Dr. Li and I have remained close buddies. He was one of the first to get behind TGBTG bringing Cyrotherapy machines into the Chinese market. He was amazed at how well the cryotherapy treatments worked hand in hand with acupuncture. Golf led a profitable partnership in the health and wellness industry in China.
BMW Masters Shanghai Ticket
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Shenzhen Course Scorecard.
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