Top-class center opens

Chinese golfers continue to work extremely hard, but few have been able to reach the elite international ranks of the sport.

One of the major reasons is a lack of high-level and professional training at home as most cannot afford the cost to go abroad.

The CGA-Nanshan International Training Center, which was unveiled here on Tuesday, hopes to fill that void and become a nursery of the country's future golf stars.

A joint effort by the Chinese Golf Association (CGA) and the Nanshan Group, the center, which covers 174,000 sq m, is the biggest and most comprehensive and professional golf training base in China.

It will become a home for China's national team members during their preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games as well as an academy for golf lovers from home and abroad.

"China has an increasing number of golf clubs and some golf schools set up by overseas academies," said CGA chief Zhang Xiaoning. "But we lack a comprehensive center where a golfer can gain every part of training needed in terms of the physical and mental parts of the game as well as technical support and injury rehabilitation. The center is world class and thoroughly professional.

"We visited similar centers used by the US PGA and European PGA tours and gained a lot of help and advice from them. Some of their representatives were present during today's opening ceremony and gave a thumbs-up to our work."

Nanshan Group is a long-term supporter of China's golf and has provided training facilities and services for national teams in the past.

"However, only having golf clubs is not enough to help lift China in the areas of training and coaching," said Nanshan Group chairman Song Jianmin. "With this center completed, we are honored to become an important part of golf's development in China."

chenxiangfeng@chinadaily.com.cn