Roving correspondent Ty Webb ventures deep into the rough to seek out the latest happenings in China's booming golf industry. This month we find him at Zhejiang's Nine Dragons Admiral Club

It seems in modern China, nowadays, a 27-hole golf facility is just not enough for some folks.

In a country where grandiose is frequently taken to new heights and often to garish proportions, the new Nine Dragons Admiral Club in Zhejiang province has raised the bar for luxury in a project where the first phase of construction is budgeted at a staggering US$300 million (€211 million) alone.

While most golf facilities are getting savvy to the fact that an on-site health spa can generate as much money as green fees, the Nine Dragons site, which covers 10 square kilometres in Pinghu about 80 kilometres south of Shanghai, is taking the leisure concept to a new extreme. When completed over the next few years, the offerings will eventually include yachting, polo, villa housing, serviced apartments, luxury shops and a 350-room Westin-managed hotel amid a Venetian theme, complete with canals and gondoliers. There is even a boat lock for vessels to get into the marina off Hangzhou Bay, while future plans call for a cruise ship terminal.

The resort is the brainchild of Zhejiang native Li Qunfu and his Taiwanese partner Jonas Chen. Li, the owner of the publicly-listed real estate developer Nine Dragon Co (formerly Shanghai Matsuoka), made his fortune in uniforms and golf apparel tailored specifically for the Japanese physique. Chen is an ex-New York state dentist who, after getting bored with his profession, turned to real estate and construction.

He currently owns three golf courses stateside, including Lake Orlando, a favourite haunt of Walter Hagen, the debonair 11-time major winner, in the 1920s.

Li originally wanted to build five golf courses on the mountainous site but after meeting Chen, who convinced him that golf per se was not a profit centre, 27 holes was decided upon. In visiting the site, it is easy to see that 90 holes might have been a stretch, as the exercise to create the club's three nine-hole layouts involved relocating about 4,600 farmers, blasting out several mountains and reclaiming a large swathe of land from the East China Sea.

The completed golf course portion is a largely excellent first China effort by Ron Garl as the Florida-based designer has made the most out of the natural attributes - in this case, the ocean views, rolling landscapes and dramatic elevation changes - as possible. The presence of two large quarries adds a spectacular backdrop to the hilly layout where the elevation changes can get as high as 170 metres, an absolute treat for golfers used to the flat confines of Shanghai-area courses.

The holes situated at sea level along the marina are equally spectacular with fantastic views of the water.

The beauty of this course is that every hole has its own character and is memorable and playable at the same time.

Closer to home

Realising that its club is a 90-minute drive away from civilisation, the club has also invested US$2.5 million to create the Nine Dragons City Club in Shanghai. Located atop a new skyscraper in the heart of the city, the 2,500-sqm space built over two floors is as luxurious as the club itself. The facilities include three karaoke rooms, cigar and red wine rooms, three VIP rooms complete with teppanyaki tables, a 150-seat show lounge restaurant and even three golf simulators where you can hone your swing.

Chen makes no bones about his desire for his club to be the best, but he admits there have been hiccups along the way; a new course construction ban delayed the project for 18 months while a falling out with Troon Golf resulted in the management company pulling out before Nine Dragons' official opening in June 2007.

But despite the bumps, Chen remains upbeat as future plans call for a major tournament to be staged in Penghu to put the club on the global golfing map, likely in 2009. He can also take comfort in the fact that when the new Cross Bay Bridge opens just 3km from Nine Dragons' site, more than 50 million people will be located within a 1.5-hour radius of the club. If you build it they will come, indeed.

Answers for Cross Talk (P. 82)

Across:

1. Dimsum 5. Bamboo 9. Aka 11. Mahjong
12. Cumshaw 13. Longhua 14. Legit
16. Lisi 18. Lapel 21. Yongle 22. Estate
23. Geese 26. Mitt 29. Sober 32. Average
33. Bicycle 34. Lanzhou 35. Resist 37. Yueqin

Down:

2. I-Ching 3. Spoilt 4. Magenta 5. Backhoe
6. Mammal 7. Others 8. Omalleys 10. Swan
15. Ingot 17. Intro 18. Leg 19. Lee
20. Wearsout 24. Everest 25. Stanley
27. Icicle 28. Taichi 29. Seance 30. Beihai
31. Gobi