Global golf icon Gary Player continues to stake his claim as the ‘World’s Most Travelled Athlete’ ™ after a visit to Vietnam, which he believes will become a major player in the emerging golf market of Asia.
Golf is now more than ever a global sport, and the Asian community has embraced this as many players from the surrounding areas are having excellent professional success. For example, the International Presidents Cup team included five Asian players in last year’s competition.
After successful developments in other evolving markets including Bulgaria, China and Abu Dhabi, Gary Player and his design team have been engaged on multiple projects by Vingroup, a leader in Vietnam’s tourism industry featuring golf courses, international luxury hotels, resorts, beach villas and amusement parks. It is an ideal scenario for the Black Knight to design championship courses in a golf hungry region.
“The development of playable courses throughout Asia would help boosting the popularity and accessibility of the sport to amateurs in this part of the world,” said Gary Player. “This will be a grassroots effort, and Vietnam certainly will play a large role in developing the game in the Far East. We are privileged to work with Vingroup, a company known for producing first-class establishments.”
Creating a local golf scene is vital to jump start the growth of the game in Vietnam, and involving one of the all-time greats in Gary Player will only help garner interest from locals to tourists to professionals. With golf set to be on sports’ biggest stage at this year’s Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the world will soon realize the impact golf can have on a local and national economy.
Scott Ferrell, President of Gary Player Design and who accompanied Mr. Player said, “Our team has visited Vietnam many times to lay a foundation for our business, and Gary Player is personally in tune to the opportunities for the growth of the game there. His personal commitment to Vietnam will no doubt leave a lasting legacy in this important and growing market.”
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