Golf in Shanghai – putting ahead of the rest

While China’s economy has made ever increasing progress, likewise the game of golf is fast catching up as one of the most sought after pastimes of the nation. This is evident to the ardent golfers who make their way to China.

The enthusiasm for the sport is clearly witnessed by the amount of financial support that the game has, when one discovers that Shanghai alone has more than 30 odd golf courses. In a bid to reinforce this commitment to the sport many of Asia’s big golf tournaments are being held in China. For instance the Champions Tournament sponsored by HSBC and the Asian Open by BMW are perhaps some of the biggest golfing events that attract popular players like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

The BMW Asian Open takes place at the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club. The tournament is sanctioned partly by the European Tour which adds to the grandeur of the event. In addition to this the Volvo Open is usually earmarked for the Silport Club. Of these, the HSBC Champions Tournament is perhaps the one to watch out for as it usually sees the world’s 50 best players congregating in Shanghai.

If the idea of watching the world’s best compete against each other doesn’t attract the crowds, then the fact that this tournament offers the biggest prize in terms of cash should do the trick. It is alleged that Tiger Woods alone takes home a tidy sum from organizers amounting to US$ 2.5 million just for appearing on the turf.

However, the promotion of Chinese players has not been forgotten, and about 8 positions are reserved for Chinese players who are usually hand picked by the China Golf Association. This hand picking is considered as extremely rare in the game and is the perfect opportunity for home grown talent to compete against the world’s best golfers.

These tournaments are being increasingly geared at not only tourists, but also local executives and foreigners in Shanghai. However, the best advantage could be had by the young aspiring golfers who get a once in a lifetime chance to meet their idols, free of charge. Aside from all the feverishness over golf the city is also particular about attracting tourists through its hotels such as the Millennium Hongqiao Hotel Shanghai . This Shanghai hotel is beautifully laid out with its own spacious garden, swimming pool and restaurant to name a few of its amenities.