In 1984, when China ushered in its first modern-day golf course, Zhou Xunshu was 12 years old, living in an impoverished mountain village in the country's midsection. At his school, light came from kerosene lamps, heat from a coal furnace in the middle of the classroom. At home, Zhou worked in the fields, cutting tall grass with a sickle. He didn't know a sport called golf existed.
In 1994, when China first acknowledged "golf pro" as a profession, Zhou enrolled in a military-operated police school, trying to find direction in his life. He had spent the previous four years studying to pass the senior high school entrance exam -- his parents had hoped he would be the first family member to do so -- but schooling was never Zhou's strong suit. Four years in a row he went through the motions, and four years in a row he failed. Now 22, Zhou had still never heard the word "golf."
A year later, Zhou made a move that would alter the course of his life in the most unexpected way. He left police school early and hopped on a train to Guangzhou after hearing there were jobs to be had in the southern boomtown. Zhou landed a gig as a security guard … at something called a "golf course." Things would never be the same.
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Zhou makes remarkable leap into professional golf
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