Chinese golfers on forced summer break

While Zhou Xunshu and the rest of the Mainland China’s pro golfers take a three-month competitive break (mandated by the Chinese government during the buildup to the Beijing Olympic Games), we thought we’d use the opportunity to give you a brief update on Zhou Xunshu’s 2008 season.

After starting the year with top-10 finishes in Guangzhou and Xiamen, Zhou struggled a bit in the Omega China Tour tournaments that followed. He placed 22nd in Kunming, 51st in Shanghai and 24th in Nanjing. He also finished 36th in the “International Wind Cup” China Pro-Am, a Beijing tournament not affiliated with the China Tour. The Chengdu leg of the China Tour, scheduled for early June, was postponed due to the devastating earthquake that hit Sichuan Province.

Zhou’s finish in Shanghai was one of his worst finishes since he joined the China Tour, and after the tournament, renowned Shanghai-based golf instructor Michael Dickie (pictured) of the David Leadbetter Golf Academy offered to help with Zhou’s short game and putting. The overwhelming majority of Chinese pros can’t afford a coach — they are the nation’s coaches — so having someone like Dickie on his side is a great luxury for Zhou. The two may meet up again in August prior to the relaunch of the 2008 China Tour schedule.

Zhou will spend most of the summer in Chongqing teaching at the Hao Yun Driving Range and enjoying the company of his wife and newborn son.

中国高尔夫球手的法定夏休

当周训书和其他的中国大陆职业高尔夫选手在享受他们的长达三个月的休息期时（北京奥运会期间中国政府的要求），我们觉得我们可以利用这个机会对周训书的2008赛季做个简短的更新。

在赛季的开始，周训书在广州和厦门站都以前十名完赛，在之后的中巡赛比赛中周训书却遭遇了一些曲折。在昆明站他排名第22位，上海站的51名和南京站的第24名。他还在“世界风杯”中国高尔夫职业-业余配对锦标赛中取得了第36名，这场在北京举行的比赛并不属于中巡赛。原定于六月上旬举办的中巡赛成都站，因为发生在四川省的毁灭性的地震被延期。

周训书在上海站的成绩是他参加中巡赛以来最差的成绩之一，在比赛结束后，来自大卫利百特高尔夫学院的知名的驻上海的高尔夫教练Michael Dickie（见图），表示愿意帮助周训书改进他的短杆以及推杆。绝大多数的中国职业选手是请不起教练的，而且他们自己本身就是教练，所以能有像Dickie这样的教练来帮助周，对周来说是个绝好的机会。他们俩可能会在8月，在2008中巡赛赛季重新开始前，再次见面。

周训书将会在重庆度过夏天的大部分时间，在好韵高尔夫练习场教球，享受有妻子和新生的儿子陪伴的日子。