Course in the middle of the city is like a lung for the 10 million people
Shenzhen was last month voted one of China's nine model cities. The booming special economic zone has one of the highest population densities of major cities in China - more than 10 million people in 2,000 square kilometres. But helping the population breathe is Shenzhen Golf Club, a green oasis in the middle of the city.
Neil Haworth, the man responsible for the course's redesign, calls it a 'lung' of Shenzhen. 'The way the city has grown over the years, the golf course has become a lung for the city. It plays a tremendously important role, not just for golfers but for Shenzhen as a city.'
Haworth, a Canadian, first laid eyes on the club in 1993. 'The train stopped in Shenzhen so I decided to get out. I had read about the Shenzhen Golf Club and I went and looked at it,' he said. 'I could see it was a great site; the trees were fantastic, but the design could be improved. I remember thinking 'wow, I could do something really cool out here' and then five years later we get this phone call. We meet the client, get the contract and it was like a dream come true.'
The phone call was from the owners of Shenzhen Golf Club, who asked if his design team of Nelson & Haworth would be interested in remodelling the 27-hole layout. As one of the first courses opened in modern China in 1986, the original layout was designed by Japanese great Isao Aoki. With no real mature market for golf in the country at the time, nor any real set standard for course design, the original layout was rather bland.
Haworth called it a perfect time for his design team to come in as the trees on the urban course in the heart of Shenzhen had a mature look but could still be transplanted. 'The trees really were the biggest factor in the redesign,' he said.
