On any breezy Sunday morning, Xu Jiongyin will drive for about an hour and arrive at a golf course not far from downtown to practice her swing.

Xu has been playing golf for one year. She can complete 18 holes in about 100 strokes. Xu's husband was her first teacher. He plays every week and Xu accompanies him sometimes.

Xu said golf is a sport that suits women players, as it is not very violent and the players' movements endow spectators with a sense of elegance and beauty.

"A perfect swing requires the player's body to move in a smooth curve, which will fully show the enchantment of her figure," Xu said.

However, apart from the sense of beauty, golf means a lot more to Stella Zhou, a businesswoman who has been practising the sport for over two years and goes to Binhai Golf Club, whose course takes up large dimensions neighboring the East China Sea.

"At the sight of the vast stretch of green grass, all my worries are cast away," Zhou said.

Jim Stanley, general manager of Binhai Golf Club, said the course is designed by Australian golf professionals to copy the exact situation of the Scottish terrain, where golf originated in the 15th century.

Zhou believes golf is a sport that brings the golfer closer to Mother Nature, thus tempering the golfer's inspiration and intuition.

"Fresh air with more oxygen than in the city and sufficient sunlight make my brain work faster - no wonder golf courses are often regarded as the best place to conduct business," said Zhou, poised for a swing.

As a businesswoman, Zhou thinks that after completing deals, the majority of business partners become her friends. Therefore, the course becomes a birthplace for friendship.

Maggie Luo, membership sales manager of the Binhai Golf Club, said that Zhou definitely is not the only female who uses the course.

"Some of our members are women from Hong Kong, Japan and the Republic of Korea, and the number of Shanghai female executives here is increasing substantially," Luo said.

During weekdays, some Hong Kong women members will team up to hold a competition, Luo added.

Xu Jiongyin revealed that in the near future, Binhai will not only greet Hong Kong women's teams but local ones as well, as the first female golf club in the city is now being built.

The female club is under the management of Shanghai Golfers Club organized by four expats - Rob Formon, Peter Grant, Barry Hughes and Mike Foster.

The club enables members to play on different courses every Sunday and allows members obtain a valid USGA (United Sates Golf Association) recognized golf handicap.

(Shanghai Star 07/17/2001)