China has teed up an improvement in grassroots golf by launching its first national league - the 2007 Buick China Golf Club League (CGCL).

From April 20 to July 10, provincial level competitions will take place, with winners advancing into five zones - North, Mid-west, East, Mid-south and South.

After approximately four months of competition, winners from different zones will battle it out in national finals in December.

The total prize money for the national finals is 1.06 million yuan ($130,000), while the champion club will be awarded 200,000 yuan and a Buick GL8.

"The league is a strong engine for the rapid development of the sport. It is also a strong push for the sport's marketing development," said Zhang Xiaoning, director of the Multi-ball Administrative Center.

"The establishment of the CGCL is a new chapter in the sport's history in China. It will help change people's views on golf, which has been widely seen as a sport for wealthy people in China."

China has more than 200 golf clubs, and about 1 million golfers out of a total population of 1.3 billion. This compares to 30 million players from the United States' 250 million population, 16 million out of 120 million people in Japan and 5 million from 48 million in South Korea.

Golf is expensive in China, and the rules and etiquette of the game are largely unknown. A weekday round of golf at a moderately priced club can cost about US$125. The price can be three or four times that much on the weekend.

Zhang said that new league would improve the sport's organization.

"We will learn from organizing the league competition about how to control the scale, how to improve the structure and how to smooth out the process.

"The standard of the game has risen spectacularly in the last few years and I believe Chinese golf is ready to move to the next stage."

As a non-Olympic sport, the development of the game in China is relatively under-funded. The China Golf Association (CGA) has put much stock in finding a player who will have a similar impact on the sport as Houston Rockets center Yao Ming has had on basketball.

"We have been thinking about it every day," said Zhang, also chief secretary of the CGA.

"Maybe we'll have a female Yao Ming first. I think one important factor is to select our players rigorously, have systematic, scientific training and then we'll have top notch players."

It is also believed the CGCL will expand co-operation between clubs from different provinces and cities.

"It will become the best platform for clubs to compete and share ideas. Meanwhile, local associations will be pushed to play a more important role. Their increasing participation will popularize the sport, enhance the brand of the local clubs and encourage more local companies to develop the sport's marketing."

(China Daily March 1, 2007)