Zheng Gang, the president of Reignwood Pine Valley Photo: Courtesy of Reignwood Group

Beijing hosted some of the world's top female golfers last month for the 2014 Reignwood Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Classic at the Pine Valley Golf Club in Changping district.

The tournament hosted 81 players in total, including 62 LPGA players, a further 15 players from the China Ladies Professional Players Ranking List, and four sponsorship exemptions.

International tournaments that have the world's best golfers never fail to capture worldwide attention, however, it was Reignwood Pine Valley's golf course that grabbed the headlines this time for its pristine condition and high quality facilities.

Located in the Northwest of Beijing, close to the Great Wall and the Yanshan Mountain, Reignwood Pine Valley is perceived as the cradle for the sport of golf in China. Originally designed in 1998, Yan Bin, the chairman of Reignwood Group and the founder of Reignwood Pine Valley, turned the 400 hectares of land from a bare and bleak landscape into a picturesque golf course.

In less than a decade, the course became a top-rated golf location in China, winning many awards as one of China's best golf courses and the most popular golf clubs.

In 2013, Reignwood Pine Valley successfully held the first Reignwood LPGA Classic in China. As the leading female golf competition in China, the launching of LPGA has drawn huge publicity from international media and golf fans alike.

Tens of thousands of people attended this year's event, which was broadcast in 160 countries and regions across the world. This year's competition also raised the prize money, with a total of 12.8 million yuan ($2 million) to be given away.

However, it wasn't just the success of this year's Reignwood LPGA Classic that put the course on the radar of the international golf community. Reignwood Pine Valley has been well-known since its infancy. The course initially grabbed headlines due to its designer, American golfer Jack Nicklaus, who is considered by many as the greatest player of all time.

The course's clubhouse, which occupies a major part of the valley, presents the course as an ideal place for holding a competition like the LPGA. The surrounding area also provides a full set of services and facilitates to meet the needs of different events, which include a deluxe 150-room hotel, a convention center, a wooden villa, a health center, a swimming pool, a tennis court, and a polo and equestrian club.

Such a complete golf complex reflects Yan's bigger dream of Reignwood Pine Valley, which is to promote the development of golf in China. Yan has not only provided a venue for a top golf competition, but has also invested hundreds of millions of yuan in establishing a golf institute for young players, as well as offering help and support to the Olympic golf programs in China.

"Golf has become a sport program for the 2016 Olympic Games. Reignwood Pine Valley has taken this opportunity to establish the China Olympic Golf Development Fund with the investment of 100 million yuan as its starting money," said Zheng Gang, the president of Reignwood Pine Valley.

Zheng has always placed a major focus on developing young golfers at Reignwood Pine Valley. The Youth Golf Fund with tens of millions of investment from the course and the golf institute, have become the stepping stones for advancing young golfers in China.

The golf institute not only promotes the sport among youngsters by providing them access to professional coaching, but also further develops players who have already shown potential in golf competitions. The young golfers from the institute have won over 20 championships in domestic and international tournaments.

"By holding a world-class competition, Reignwood Pine Valley provides the platform for domestic young golf players to interact with international golf players to improve their playing techniques," said Zheng.