South Korea - One Of Asia's Hottest and Most Dynamic Golf Markets

As late as the 1970’s golf was considered “an elitist sport” and was actually discouraged by the government, but over the past 30 years it turned into a national obsession in South Korea. It is now considered to be one of the hottest golf markets on the globe with a bevy of new course developments slated and the first ever Asian Champions Tour event to be held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in the fall of 2010. Gary Player Design currently has four projects underway and expects South Korea and Asia to continue to show strong growth potential over the next 10-15 years.

The fervor for golf really took hold in 1998 when Se Re Park stunned the LPGA Tour, and her home country, by winning 4 events and 2 Majors. Her stellar play encouraged a throng of young women to take up the sport. In 2009, 19 of the top 50 women golfers were South Korean and South Koreans won 11 of the 28 official LPGA events. South Korea is the most dominate single country represented on the LPGA Tour.

 

Read More

Saadiyat Beach Golf Club Opens To Rave Reviews

On 28 January 2010 the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club kicked off its grand opening with the inaugural Saadiyat Beach Classic charity golf tournament hosted by Gary Player. Mr. Player officially opened the tournament with a perfect drive off of the first tee and then presented his autographed driver to the Tourism Development Investment Company’s COO, Ahmad Hussain (the TDIC is the master developer of Saadiyat Island). The Emirates Airlines team led by world number 11 golfer Rory McCilroy, and playing partners Pavan Nihalan, Kory Thompson, and Ashok Galgotia (all from Emirates Airlines) took home the first ever SBC Classic trophy winning with a combined team score of 27 under par.

The event was a great success raising funds for children in need in The Middle East and around the globe and aiding the relief efforts in Haiti. The Saturday evening festivities featured a silent auction, where McCilroy fresh off of his tournament win, was the winning bidder for a luxury vacation to the Maldives, Phuket and the Golden Triangle in Thailand later this year.

Read More

The 2016 Olympic Games - Helping to Jumpstart the South American Golf Market

The 2016 Olympic Game may seem like they are quite some time away, but the reality is Rio de Janeiro is faced with a huge task in preparing the city and Brazil for the influx of athletes, visitors and media. Mr. Player is slated to visit Rio de Janeiro later this month to help promote golf as an Olympic sport. “I think that it is fantastic that golf is once again and Olympic sport and I am thrilled to have been asked by the PGA Tour to help promote the 2016 games.”

On the golf front, Rio has a number of excellent courses, but it has yet to be determined which course or courses are best suited to a tournament that will be akin to one of golf’s four major championships. The Brazilian and the local Rio de Janeiro governments are in the process of surveying sites and may have to consider the possibility of constructing a new course if a suitable location can not be found.

Read More