Contents Preface... 2 Contents... 3 Legal Declaration... 11 Document Sources... 12 Definitions and Interpretations... 13 Overview... 17 Facilities... 19 Chapter I Status of Development and Operation of Chinese Golf Facilities... 20 Development Overview... 23 Quantity and distribution... 23 Newly opened golf courses... 24 Status of Operation and Management... 25 Rounds played... 25 Status of operation and management... 27 Golf club members and membership... 32 Conclusion... 36 Golfers... 38 Chapter II The Golfers in China... 39 Golfer Types and Quantities... 41 Quantities... 41 Development trends... 43 Basic Characteristics... 44 Habits and Consumption... 46 Golfing behavior... 46 Club Membership... 50 Golf equipment... 52 Golf Tourism... 56 Conclusion... 64 Competitions... 65 Chapter III Chinese Professional Golf Events and Professional Players... 66 Professional Competitions... 67 Number of Events... 69
Event Schedule... 70 Event sites... 71 Players... 72 Prize money... 74 Payout distribution... 76 Female Chinese Professional Players... 80 Characteristics... 80 Income and expenses... 83 Commercial sponsorship... 87 Tour and career planning... 90 Marriage and health... 92 Conclusions... 94 Environmental Protection... 96 Chapter IV Environmental Factors in Chinese Golf Course Operations... 97 The Environmental Management of the Golf Course... 99 Environmental management systems... 99 Changes in turf maintenance... 103 Golf Course Fertilizer Use... 106 The Frequency of Fertilizer Application... 107 Amount of Fertilizer... 108 Comparison with the United States Fertilizer Application in Golf Courses...110 The Use of Pesticides on Golf Courses... 111 Pesticide and Variety of Brand Sources... 111 Usage and Application Frequency of Pesticides for Golf Courses...113 Use of Water for Golf Courses...116 Conclusions...118 Appendix:Excerpts from 2012 Maintenance Budget Survey...119 Special Topic... 124 Chapter V Membership in Chinese Golf Clubs... 125 Overview... 126 Types of Memberships... 127 Membership Information... 128 Descriptions of Clubs... 129 List of membership benefits and rules... 130 Explanation of membership change... 134 Course rules and etiquette... 137
Operation articles... 138 Conclusions... 139 Figures Figure 1-1 Development Trends of Golf Facilities in China in 2012... 21 Figure 1-2 Distribution Status of 18-hole Golf Courses in China in 2012... 24 Figure 1-3 Golf Facilities in China in 2012... 24 Figure 1-4 Supply of Golf Facilities in China in 2012... 25 Figure 1-5 Total Rounds Played in the Main Domestic Regions in 2012 (unit: 10,000 rounds)... 26 Figure 1-6 The Average Rounds Played Per 18 Holes in the Main Domestic Regions in 2012 (excluding newly opened courses; unit: 10,000 rounds)... 26 Figure 1-7 Average Rounds Played Per 18-Hole Golf Courses in Each Province of China for 2009 to 2012 (unit: 10,000 rounds)... 27 Figure 1-8 Percentage of Sample Courses in Each Province of the Field Investigation... 28 Figure 1-9 Financial Status of Facilities as Evaluated by General or Assistant Managers... 28 Figure 1-10 Interviewed General Manager (and Assistant Manager) Viewpoints on the Policy Adjustment... 29 Figure 1-11 Status of the Operation Expenditure of the Interviewed Facilities Compared with 2011... 29 Figure 1-12 Operation Expenditure of the Interviewed Facilities Compared with 2011... 30 Figure 1-13 The Main Items that Increased the Operation Expenditure of the Interviewed Facilities in 2012... 30 Figure 1-14 Comparison of the Annual Operating Income of the Interviewed Facilities... 31 Figure 1-15 Distribution of the Increase and Decrease Rates of Operating Income of the Interviewed Facilities in 2012... 31 Figure 1-16 Comparison of the Annual Client Volume of the Interviewed Facilities... 32 Figure 1-17 Distribution of Increasing and Decreasing Rates of the Annual Client Volume of the Interviewed Facilities in 2012... 32 Figure 1-18 Distribution of the Number of Members of the Interviewed Facilities in 2012... 33 Figure 1-19 Percentage of the Absent and Dormant Members of the Interviewed Facilities in 2012... 33 Figure 1-20 Comparison of Prices for an Individual Golf Club Membership with Different Scales (unit: 10,000 yuan)... 34 Figure 1-21 Price Range of Individual Memberships of the Facilities... 34 Figure 1-22 Price Comparison of Individual Memberships of Private and Semi-Private 18-hole Golf Facilities.. 35 Figure 1-23 Price Comparison of Individual Memberships of Private and Semi-Private 27-hole Golf Facilities.. 35 Figure 1-24 Comparison of Public and Semi-Private 18-hole Golf Facility Rates on Weekdays and Holidays (unit: yuan)... 36 Figure 2-1 Regional Distribution of the Samples of Golf Population Research... 41 Figure 2-2 Golf s Pyramid of Influence by NGF... 42 Figure 2-3 Year Golfers Started Playing Golf on the Driving Range... 43 Figure 2-4 Year Golfers Started Playing Golf on the Course... 43
Figure 2-5 Basic Characteristics of Golfers... 44 Figure 2-6 Age Levels of Female Golfers... 45 Figure 2-7 Professional Backgrounds of Golfers... 45 Figure 2-8 Annual Income of Golfers... 46 Figure 2-9 Rounds Played by Moderate Golfers and Avid Golfers (in percentages)... 47 Figure 2-10 Frequency of Play... 47 Figure 2-11 Distribution of Years of Experience... 48 Figure 2-12 Average Scores... 48 Figure 2-13 Distribution of How Much Golfers Spend Annually... 48 Figure 2-14 Annual Golf Played in 2011 and 2012... 50 Figure 2-15 Individual Golfer Membership... 50 Figure 2-16 Owners of Business Memberships, Family Memberships, and Short-term Memberships... 51 Figure 2-17 The Time Interval Between Buying an Individual Membership and Starting to Play... 52 Figure 2-18 Brand Distribution of Drivers Owned by Golfers (multiple choices)... 52 Figure 2-19 Brand Distribution of Irons Owned by Golfers (multiple choices)... 53 Figure 2-20 Brand Distribution of Putters Owned by Golfers (multiple choices)... 53 Figure 2-21 Brand Distribution of Fairway Woods and Hybrids Owned by Golfers (multiple choices)... 54 Figure 2-22 Brand Distribution of Wedges Owned by Golfers (multiple choices)... 54 Figure 2-23 Reasons Why Golfers Have Custom-made Equipment (multiple choices)... 55 Figure 2-24 Distribution of Golfers Golf Equipment Purchases in the Past Year... 55 Figure 2-25 Variation of How Much Golfers Spent on Golf Equipment in the Past Year... 56 Figure 2-26 Frequency of Golf Travel... 56 Figure 2-27 Frequency of International Golf Travel... 57 Figure 2-28 Overnight Domestic Golf Travel... 57 Figure 2-29 Nights Stayed During International Golf Travel... 58 Figure 2-30 Total Rounds Played During Golfers Domestic Travels... 58 Figure 2-31 Total Rounds Played During International Travel... 59 Figure 2-32 Total Spent on Golf Travel... 59 Figure 2-33 Golf Destinations... 60 Figure 2-34 Main Purposes of Recent Golf Travel... 60 Figure 2-35 Percentage of Money Spent on Recent Golf Activity... 61 Figure 2-36 Money Spent on One Trip (average value of each kind of golfer and average value of each region; unit: yuan)... 62 Figure 2-37 The Main Factors Influencing Destination Selection... 63 Figure 2-38 The Main Factors Influencing Golf Travel Agency Selection... 63 Figure 3-1 Number of Professional Events from 2005 2012... 68 Figure 3-2 Total Payout of Professional Events from 2005 2012 (unit: RMB 10,000)... 69
Figure 3-3 Male and Female Professional Events in 2012... 69 Figure 3-4 Number of Domestic and International Professional Events in 2012... 70 Figure 3-5 Monthly Distribution of Events in 2012... 71 Figure 3-6 Regional Distribution of Events in 2012... 71 Figure 3-7 Male and Female Participant Percentages... 72 Figure 3-8 Ranking of 2012 Event Participation by Country... 73 Figure 3-9 Comparison Between the Total of Participants and Those Who Advanced... 73 Figure 3-10 Percentages of Those Who Advanced... 74 Figure 3-11 Champions Nationalities... 74 Figure 3-12 Percentages of Total Payouts for 2012 to Male and Female Players... 75 Figure 3-13 Percentages of Total Event Payouts for International and Domestic Events in 2012... 75 Figure 3-14 Comparison of Domestic and International Event Payouts for Males and Females... 76 Figure 3-15 Percentages of the Total Payouts to All Players... 76 Figure 3-16 Percentage of Payout to Male Professional Players... 77 Figure 3-17 Percentage of Payout to the Female Professional Players... 77 Figure 3-18 Percentage of Total Payout to Foreign Players in 2012... 78 Figure 3-19 Percentage of Total Payout to Foreign Male Players in 2012... 78 Figure 3-20 Percentage of Total Payout to Foreign Female Players in 2012... 79 Figure 3-21 Average Payout to Each Player who Advanced in International Events (unit: RMB 10,000)... 79 Figure 3-22 Average Payout by Country of Origin in Domestic Events (unit: RMB 10,000)... 80 Figure 3-23 The Age Distribution of Female Players... 81 Figure 3-24 The Years Female Players Started to Play Golf... 81 Figure 3-25 The Ages Female Players Started to Play Golf... 82 Figure 3-26 The Years When Chinese Female Professionals Started to Play... 82 Figure 3-27 The Ages When Chinese Female Professionals Started to Play... 83 Figure 3-28 Occupations of Surveyed Professional Female Players... 83 Figure 3-29 Annual Average Income of Surveyed Professional Female Players... 84 Figure 3-30 All Female Players Annual Incomes... 85 Figure 3-31 Annual Golf Expenses on Golf Events for Female Players... 85 Figure 3-32 Expenditures of Professional Female Players in the Past Twelve Months... 86 Figure 3-33 Sources of Funds for Female Professional Players... 86 Figure 3-34 Training Expenses for Female Professional Players in the Past Twelve Months... 87 Figure 3-35 Sources of Funds for Female Professional Players Training... 87 Figure 3-36 Female Professional Players Who Have Professional Sports Agents or Representation... 88 Figure 3-37 Female Professional Players With Sponsorship... 88 Figure 3-38 Sponsors for Professional Female Players by Industry... 89 Figure 3-39 Professional Female Players Sponsors... 89
Figure 3-40 Female Professional Players Expectations from Sponsorships... 90 Figure 3-41 Factors that Determine Event Participation by Female Professional Players... 90 Figure 3-42 Strengths and Weaknesses of the Female Professionals Golf Skills... 91 Figure 3-43 Reasons for Choosing to Become a Professional... 91 Figure 3-44 Factors Limiting Female Players Advancement... 92 Figure 3-45 Planned Retirement Age... 92 Figure 3-46 Opinions on Marriage as an Obstacle for Career Development... 93 Figure 3-47 Opinions on Having Children as an Obstacle for Career Development?... 93 Figure 3-48 Female Professionals Sports Injuries... 94 Figure 4-1 Regional Distribution of Golf Courses... 98 Figure 4-2 Energy-saving and Environmental Protection Measures... 99 Figure 4-3 Golf Courses with Wildlife Habitats... 100 Figure 4-4 Maintenance Costs for China s 18-hole Courses in 2012... 104 Figure 4-5 Comparison of Maintenance Costs on 18-hole Golf Courses in China and the United States in 2012 104 Figure 4-6 Distribution of Maintenance Costs on 18-Hole Golf Courses in Different Regions... 105 Figure 4-7 Maintenance Costs on 18-Hole Golf Courses in Different Regions... 105 Figure 4-8 2009-2012 Maintenance Costs on 18-Hole Golf Courses in the United States... 106 Figure 4-9 2010-2012 Maintenance Costs on 18-Hole Golf Courses in the United States... 106 Figure 4-10 Frequency of Fertilizer Application in Various Areas of the Golf Course in 2010 and 2012 (unit: Times/Year)... 107 Figure 4-11 Average Annual Fertilizer Application in Different Regions and Zones in 2012 (unit: Times/Year). 107 Figure 4-12 Fertilizer Amounts Used in Different Parts of the Golf Course in 2012 (unit: g/square meter/year). 108 Figure 4-13 Annual Amount of Fertilizer Used on Putting Greens in Different Regions (unit: g/square meter/year)... 108 Figure 4-14 Annual Fertilizer Amounts Used on Tee Boxes in Different Regions (unit: g/square meter/year)... 109 Figure 4-15 Annual Fertilizer Amounts Used on Fairways of Different Regions (unit: g/square meter/year)... 109 Figure 4-16 Annual Fertilizer Amounts Used in the Rough in Different Regions (unit: g/square meter/year)...110 Figure 4-17 Annual Fertilizer Amounts in 2010 and 2012 (unit: g/square meter/year)...110 Figure 4-18 Amounts of Fertilizer Used in China and the United States... 111 Figure 4-19 Pesticide Brand Sources...112 Figure 4-20 Pesticide Brand Sources Used in Different Sections of the Golf Course...112 Figure 4-21 Variety of Pesticides Purchased by Courses...113 Figure 4-22 Percentage of the Annual Usage of Different Types of Pesticides for Golf Courses in China...114 Note: The other pesticides section refers to growth regulators, penetrants, etc....114 Figure 4-23 Annual Use of Pesticides in Each Section of the Golf Course (Unit g/m2/year)...114 Figure 4-24 Annual Use of Pesticides for Different Areas of Golf Courses (unit: g or ml/m2/year)...115 Figure 4-25 Types of Pesticides Used for Different Areas of the Golf Course...116
Figure 4-26 Monthly Water Use for Lawn Irrigation in Three Areas (unit: myriad m³/month)...117 Figure 4-27 Average Monthly Rainfall in Three Areas (unit: mm)...117 Figure App-1 Zoning Map of U.S. Golf Courses (using to the zoning map of agriculture in the U.S.)... 120 Figure App-2 Manpower Expense Compared With the Total Expenditure for Different Types of Courses... 121 Figure App-3 Manpower Expense Compared With the Maintenance Budget for Different Areas... 121 Figure App-4 Water Expenses Compared With the Total Maintenance Budget for Different Types of Courses... 122 Figure App-5 Water Expenses Compared With the Total Maintenance Budget in Different Areas... 122 Figure 5-1 Membership Benefits/Regulations Collected from Clubs in Different Areas... 127 Figure 5-2 Membership Classifications... 128 Figure 5-3 Clarity of Duration of Membership... 129 Figure 5-4 Clarity of Recruitment Numbers... 131 Figure 5-5 Attitude of Club General Managers/Deputy General Managers Toward Selling Unregistered Memberships... 131 Figure 5-6 Clarity of Unregistered Membership Clauses in Membership Bylaws... 132 Figure 5-7 Changes in Annual/Monthly Fees in the Bylaws... 134 Figure 5-8 Clarity of Absence Membership Clauses in Membership Bylaws... 135 Figure 5-9 Time Limits on Membership Transfer... 135 Figure 5-10 Membership Transfer Fees... 136 Figure 5-11 Membership Inheritance Clauses in the Bylaws... 136 Figure 5-12 Paying Membership Inheritance Fees... 137 Figure 5-13 Establishment of the Governing Body... 138 Figure 5-14 Member Participation in the Establishment and Amendment of the Membership Regulations... 139 Figure 5-15 Legal Settlements in the Membership Regulations... 139 Tables Table 2-1 Golfers Influence in China... 42 Table 3-1 Number of Males and Females and Total Payout of Events from 2005 2012... 68 Table 3-2 Monthly Distribution of Events for Professional Tours in 2012... 70 Table 4-1 Golf Course s Environmental Protection Awareness... 103 Table 4-2 Number and Percentage of Responses About Fertilizer Use out of 59 Questionnaires... 106 Table 4-3 Annual Use of Different Types of Pesticides...115 Table 4-4 Percentage of the Annual Use of Different Types of Pesticides...115 Table App-1 Types of Golf Courses in Different Areas... 120 Table App-2 The Largest Expense of the Budget of Golf Courses within China... 122 Table App-3 Maintenance Budgets for 18-hole Golf Courses in the U.S.... 123 Table 5-1 Membership Information... 128 Table 5-2 Clarity of Club's Priviledges and Responsibilities of Membership... 128
Table 5-3 Clarity of Membership Categories and Member Numbers... 128 Table 5-4 The Application and Approval Procedure for Membership Qaulification... 128 Table 5-5 Clarity of Membership Benefits... 128