Golf, dubbed an elite sport because of the high level of club fees, has a growing number of younger fans in Shanghai, yesterday's Shanghai Morning Post reported.

Fei Xiao, a ten-year-old elementary school student, has more than two-years experience of playing and joined a famous golf club in the Lujiazui area, with his parents, nearly one year ago.

Fei's father and grandfather are both golf fans so, when he was seven-years old, his father took him to visit the golf course. Every weekend, the family will spend a half-day at the club.

Golf is a relaxed and elegant sport, so it is very safe for children, Fei's father explained, adding that it can help his son to develop refinement and taste and become a young gentleman.

"Golf can also improve a person's judgment and problem-solving capabilities," he added.

Compared with the golf craze among children in nearby Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces, the phenomenon is still in its infancy in Shanghai.

Only some of the famous golf clubs in the city offer training specifically for children, said an industry analyst, adding that such training, priced at around 2,000 yuan (US$247), is usually offered in summer vacations.

Each class usually has no more than eight children. But outside the summer holidays, parents usually hire private coaches at 250-1,000 yuan per hour for their children, with additional costs of 60-120 yuan per hour in green fees, said a spokesman for a club in Shanghai.

As golf is a luxury sport, such junior members are invariably the offspring of expatriates or from wealthy local families, he noted.

(Shanghai Daily October 31, 2005)