A Golf Systems Software Executive in Asia

from Vietnam Golf Magazine

August 2014

www.vietnamgolfmagazine.net

Onboard a Qatar Airways flight between Singapore and Bali, I'm reflecting on the preceding six weeks of travel through eight Asian countries.  As the Boeing 777 prepares to land, I welcome the coming days to catch up with friends, paperwork and articles at several of the Kuta beach cafes nearby.

Vietnam Golf Magazine
August 2013

Though this recent odyssey had been a mix of business and leisure, the chief  purpose of this journey has been to conduct a market review for a young and dynamic Golf Club software firm, Quasar Golf. The Golf Club technology division of Quasar Group International has invested in developing new systems to expand their coverage in the East Asian markets.  A second purpose of this journey was to review high-end lifestyle venues ranging from top golf courses to spa getaways and rocking nightclub venues.

Traveling together with my wife, we made Macau our first stop.  We spent four nights at the Rocks Hotel, a 4-star venue on Fisherman's Wharf. The property was conveniently located, only 1KM from the Sands Casino and a short taxi ride from the Airport and Macau Ferry Terminal.  The room provided a pleasant view of the harbor and the bridges connecting Macau with Taipa Island.

The Macau visit was intended mostly as leisure stop, as we were invited for a complimentary signature treatment, a 90-minute Gem Stone Massage at Macau’s award winning Altira Spa. The experience started the moment we entered the facility.  Sitting at Spa reception on the 15th floor, Erny and I were quite impressed with the unmatched view of Macau peninsula and South China Sea.

As we’re escorted into the spacious spa suite, we found it a welcome sanctuary from the busy casino venues scattered throughout the peninsula and Taipa island.  Aside from offering the

Altira Spa, Macau

extraordinary panoramic view, the well-appointed suite provided us with a jacuzzi, steam room, shower and significant space to comfortably relax both before and after the treatment.

Our second leisure venue in Macau included a visit to Club CUBIC, the region’s top nightclub.  Located in the Hard Rock Cafe Hotel, Club CUBIC offered an evening of quality dance tunes that kept us occupied well into the night.  A feature of Club CUBIC can be found in the May issue of Vietnam Golf Magazine.

From Macau, we caught a ferry into Hong Kong Central to process our China visas, typically a 3-4 day process.   The TurboJet is a 60 minute journey to Hong Kong, this time with rather choppy waves coming from the windy, rainy weather.   In Hong Kong, we spent our days in Victoria Park and in several shopping malls on Hong  Kong Island. Two of our nights were spent visiting with friends at several of the nightclubs in Wanchai.

Our China visas were ready on the fourth day, so we caught a ferry into Shenzhen to stay in the Shekou area.   Here we were able to spend time at some of the local nightclubs and experience the many local foods in the smaller restaurants.   

Shenzhen Longgang Golf Course

The chief purpose of stopping in Shenzhen was to meet with a newly formed golf group. Affiliated with one of Shenzhen’s successful businesses, this new golf group has been looking to leverage international golf systems to expand their membership.  On their invitation, we paid a visit to Shenzhen Longgang Public Golf Course to get a feel for the level of golf education provided at their golf academy.   Though it was a rather rainy day, I was pleased to see the high attendance at their educational seminar.

Shanghai was our second stop in China, where we stopped to meet with leaders in the hospitality and leisure software sector. The meetings were focused on addressing the management needs of golf, spa & club prospects. They were interested in expanding their management systems ... to offer software products that appear local, but with international capabilities.  Though with many years experience in the market, they were having difficulty in finding suitable solutions for their golf & spa clients.

While in Shanghai we stayed near Nanjing Road, offering us the chance to spend time shopping along the pedestrian mall near the center of town.  The location was also convenient for an evening visit to The Bund, Shanghai’s famous waterfront area where dozens of historical buildings line both sides of the Huangpu River.

A round of golf at Tiantai Golf Resort
Qingdao, China

We next flew to Qingdao to spend several days as a guest of the Tiantai Golf & Hot Spring Resort. Though it was an early morning flight followed by an hour car-ride to the resort, we were pleasantly pleased to arrive at the resort where we were put-up in one of their Superior Suites. The spacious two-room suite was well serviced by the resort’s staff and provided a very high level of comfort.

David Kurniawan, CEO of China Hospitality Synergy manages the property and was a very generous host during our stay in Qingdao.  One of the highlights was a round of golf, one of a few times I’ve been on a course this year.   I was very impressed with the condition of the course, and the helpful assistance of my caddy.   

We also treated to the use of the private VIP Hot Spring room for a couple hours following

Caddies on a rainy day at Tiantai Golf Resort
Qingdao, China

the round of golf.  With the high level of service provided, we welcome an opportunity to return to Tiantai for both the golf and the hot springs.

We were able to spend a day touring Qingdao, which included several of the city’s sights followed by a tour the world renown Tsingtao Brewery.  For those who enjoy their beer, a visit to Tsingtao and “Beer Street” is a must.Beijing was our next stop, where I spent two days meeting with China’s leading outbound golf travel group.   Recognizing the strongest global growth in golf, travel and business expansion is in China, our discussion focused on how to best satisfy the country’s need for international luxury golf travel.

Though I've been into Beijing a dozen times, this is the first time we took some time to make a trip to the Great Wall.   We had seen countless photos of the Great Wall, but to actually visit

Great Wall at Mutianyu, China

is truly awe inspiring.  It took us a couple hours to get there, but it is a journey that is well worth the time.    We decided to visit the Great Wall at Mutianyu as it provided amazing scenery and is a bit less traveled than the more common Badaling site.  While in Beijing, we made a quick visit to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  Nice visits from the historical aspect .. personally I was much more impressed with the Great Wall.

From Beijing we flew to Colombo to meet with the software development team for Quasar Group.   The week in Sri Lanka was to review their newly developed solutions for Golf, Spa & Club clients in East Asia.  Their particular focus has been on China, and SE Asia, developing a multilingual system for use on tablet computers, smart phones, etc..

During our time there, we made several visits to Royal Colombo Golf Club, described as the oldest golf club in Asia.  A round of golf was offered, but since it was monsoon season, weather wasn’t cooperating.  Several squalls passed through during our time at the Golf Club with heavy rains and strong winds.  Other locations for product review meetings through the week included the Colombo Club and Colombo Rowing Club.

We spent two nights at Kama Colombo, the top nightclub in Sri Lanka.  Guest DJ on those

Guest DJ Erny & Resident DJs
Kama Colombo, Sri Lanka

nights was my wife, female DJ Erny from Bali.   She mixed mixed sets with Kama's two resident disk jockeys … DJ KC and DJ Sushan.  It was a full house on both nights.

We departed Colombo at 01h40 for a couple days in Bangkok.   Though we had an early morning arrival, the hotel near Siam Paragon allowed us an early check in at 9am.    The two days in Bangkok were intended for rest & relaxation, but quite a bit of our time was actually spent in shopping centers. We find it difficult to pass through Bangkok without stopping at several of the new malls lining Sukhumvit Road.

Our last country on this stop was Vietnam, one of my favorite places to visit.  Hanoi was the first stop, allowing us a day in which to meet the team at Vietnam Golf Magazine. It’s always a pleasure to build and maintain my relationship with the magazine, particularly while enjoying a strong Vietnamese coffee.

DanaBeach & Sailing Club
DaNang, Vietnam

Danang was the second stop in Vietnam where I had the privilege of visiting Montgomerie Links Golf Club.   I found it to be a very pleasing clubhouse surrounded by a world-class golf course. I definitely could see why it is consistently ranked as one of Asia’s top courses.

Our dining choices during the four days in Vietnam were mostly at small local restaurants. We did spend an evening chilling at the new DanaBeach Bar & Restaurant on the Danang’s sandy My Khe Beach.

Ho Chi Minh City was our final stop on this six week tour.   We spent the time in District One catching up with longtime friends hopping from a Hanoi-style noodle restaurant to a local beer garden to enjoy a Bia Sai Gon.

The six week tour provided an opportunity to review the state of golf club and leisure software solutions in the east Asian market.  It also provided insight into how regional cultures influence facilities management and should be a significant consideration in the design of effective management solutions.

I welcome my next travels into Vietnam, China and throughout the region this September.