The decision to reopen the driving range at South China University of Technology this spring has received a warm welcome from students, especially male ones, who consider knowledge of golf an essential part of their future skill at sealing business deals.

 

The opening is the latest chapter in the country's burgeoning love affair with golf, a sport some see as tool for social ambition and which others consider no more than a relaxing pastime.

 

The university first opened the driving range for a brief period in 2003. The range, located in the northern part of the campus, reopened in March, according to the university management.

 

The driving range is currently open to a group of 60 freshmen and sophomores as an elective course, for which students are charged 80 yuan (US$10) a semester. It is the only elective for which students are charged.

 

However, that has not dampened the course's popularity. So many students applied to enroll in the course that the university had to resort to random selection.

 

"Eighty yuan is a small price to pay for the precious opportunity to learn how to play. Being able to play golf will give me sound foundation on which to build my social circle," said a male student surnamed Gao.

 

Some female students, who account for only a small share of the university's golfers, had a different take on the game, saying they decided to study golf because they sweated less on the driving range than they did on the soccer pitch or basketball court.

 

The issue of whether university students should be studying golf, a popular but expensive sport in China, has been the source of some controversy, especially since Zhu Chongshi, president of Xiamen University, announced in October 2006 that his university would build the country's best driving range for students.

 

Shortly after Zhu's announcement, Peking University, another leading school, was forced to stop construction of its own driving range due to public criticism.

 

However, Gao Xiaokang, a professor with Sun Yan-sen University, said it appears that people in South China's Guangdong Province are more inclined to accept the sport and are open to the idea of teaching it to more people.

 

"Golf has developed well in South China because the weather and geography permit the construction of environment-friendly golf courses at relatively lower costs. People here can easily accept the sport and see it as a something can be enjoyed by all people," Gao said.

 

Gu Nanyong, a psychologist and associate professor at Sun Yan-sen University, said there was nothing wrong with idea of students studying golf at university.

 

"Golf is after all just another sport. It can help students improve their physical health," Gu said.

 

He added that students should not be so concerned about the social benefits to be deprived from the game.

 

(China Daily May 18, 2007)