East-west links
I've managed to make it into a deep pot bunker to the right of the fairway in front of the first green without causing anyone serious injury. My introduction to the Tiger Beach Golf Links in Shandong province is not going well.
Owner Beta Soong and in-house instructor Liu Anda, along with a bevy of caddies, watch as I hack away at my ball with a sand wedge. At my first attempt I manage to bury the head of the club deep into the sand. I hear Soong mutter, 'Oh dear,' under his breath. After my second unsuccessful attempt and to perhaps prevent me from turning the bunker into a beach scene from the Normandy landings, Liu jumps in beside me. Silently the PGA professional draws a line in the sand and turns the club so the head is a full 45 degrees from the angle at which I had it. On the first strike the ball pops out of the bunker onto the green. This pathetic display says much about my skills as a golfer. Yet even for a seasoned player, this 7,222-yard course - one of only a handful of links in China - presents a challenge far tougher than that put forward by Asia's manicured parkland courses.
A links course is usually located on a treeless strip of earth along a stretch of coastline bordering arable land; Tiger Beach is no exception. It is characterised by few, if any, man-made obstacles on its sandy, windswept terrain. The challenge comes from fairways and greens that are far more undulating than usual, more blind spots around dunes and mounds, and many more shots from uphill and downhill lies. Players must play for accuracy rather than force, aiming down narrow fairways lined with springy, wind-flattened coarse grass. Because of the wind whipping in off the sea, a canny links golfer learns to pitch a low trajectory. I must be the canniest of golfers, with most of my shots barely skimming the surface of the fairway.
Soong, who made his money in electronics, found his inspiration for Tiger Beach in Scotland during a business trip in the 1970s. Today, the Taipei-native owns Tiger Beach and the 36-hole championship Shanghai Silport Golf Club, the venue for this year's Volvo China Open.