CRI听力: Golf Gains Popularity in China

Now an official sport for the 2016 & 2020 Summer Olympics as of the IOC's Oct. 9th meeting, golf has returned to the Olympic family for the first time since its last showing in 1904.

Many professional athletes hailed the IOC's decision, including Chinese player Zhang Lianwei.

"We've been waiting for this moment for years. We hope more enterprises will sponsor this sport and there will be more professional golf games in China. This can also encourage many amateur players."(www.hXen.com)

The news has already started to boost golf-related industries. Liu Hongjin is the general manager? of a golf club in Beijing. He says the number of visitors these days is growing quickly.

"In the past, there were about 10 to 20 inquiry calls every day. But recently, there is a noticeable rise in the inquiry calls. We get 40 to 50 calls on average every day."

Currently, there are more than 40 standard golf courses and fewer than 100 clubs in Beijing. But golf's return to the Olympics will definitely lend some dynamism to this industry. Liu Hongjin says his club is ready to promote the game.

"During the three to four months of winter, members of our club only need to spend about 1,000 yuan to play golf. They can enjoy the game with very little money."

For some customers, the pricing is acceptable.

"I think the price is similar to going to the gym. I want to try."

Some vocational schools have included golf as part of the curriculum. Xu Hengliang, president of Hui Jia Vocational School, says the golf major has market potential.

"We already trained two batches of golf majors. Their employment situation is pretty good. Most of them do technical or managerial work in golf clubs after graduation."

Yan Qiang, deputy director of Sports Forum Weekly, says becoming an official Olympic game can popularize golf in China and greatly boost the golf industry.

"I can say with confidence that in about five years, we will see the effects brought by the growth of the golf economy, and the market will be diversified, like there will be more professional players and the sport may enter the lives of younger generations. So I think in five to 10 years, golf can be affordable to salaried people in China."

For China Drive, I am Li Dong.