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Golden Gulf promises a rough time

The Golden Gulf Golf Club is promising that this week’s 2006 Omega China Tour – Zhuhai Leg will be harder than the 2005 edition. Despite last week’s heavy rains, which turned many of the neighbouring courses into swamps, the Golden Gulf is in excellent condition. The big difference is the rough has been allowed to grow more than last year.

“It has got to be tougher than last year. It’s going to be more challenging,” promised Wang Yi, the Golden Gulf’s General manager.

“The rough is taller than last year, which is going to make things more interesting. You can’t sweep the ball out of the rough, you have to chop down and catch the ball first.”

Wang’s analysis was quickly verified by the early arrivals for the Zhuhai Leg, including 25-year-old pro coach Nie Hong.

“It’s harder. The rough is thicker and longer and they’ve added a new tee box on the 17th hole to make it longer. But the rough is the biggest change,” said the Shanghai-based Nie.

“Last year it didn’t matter if you missed the fairway. This year you’ve got to hit the fairways. Even being in the fairway bunkers will be better than being in the rough.”

“It’s the only thing that has changed, except the course is more beautiful than last year,” agreed Liu Xin, who earned instant promotion to professional status when he finished third at last year’s Beijing Leg.

Liu’s praise was welcomed by Wang, who explained that the Golden Gulf, which is consistently rated as being one of China’s top ten courses, has worked even harder to prepare the course than they did last year when they were voted the best host venue by the players.

“The Omega China Tour is one of the best things happening in Chinese golf. It’s professional – run to a high standard. Last year’s event really raised the image of our course among the media, the golf industry and among the players,” said Wang of the tournament that was won by Liang Wenchong after a tense tussle with Li Chao and Zhang Lianwei.

“At the annual General Managers meeting there were so many other clubs interested in being part of the tour. That’s why we are 100 per cent behind it. Since February we have been putting more and more effort into the course maintenance. We’ve put a lot of new plants on the course too at a cost of RMB300,000. We’ve cored the greens one more time than usual, we’ve used extra organic fertiliser and we’ve sanded the greens twice more than normal after coring to make sure the greens are firm and fast for the tournament. Our greens go up and down like potato crisps so if they’re playing harder and faster it is going to be difficult.”

May 8, 2006