Chinese golf ditching stigma of privilege
About 10 minutes' drive from the Bird's Nest National Stadium, within walking distance of a subway station on the north-south line and next to an odorous garbage treatment plant, lies one of the few golf courses in Beijing where caddies are not required.
On weekdays, golfers toting their own bags in carts pay 200 yuan ($31.30) for a round on the nine-hole course dotted with ponds and trees. The game can be completed within two hours and the fee is just slightly higher than more popular sports such as ping-pong or badminton at nearby stadiums, which charge on an hourly basis.
The course attracts dozens of golfers every day, despite the unpleasant scent in the air and the fact that players sometimes have to wait for garbage trucks to lumber past when they cross a road that separates the first six holes from the rest.
