Officials eye new golf national program

With golf set to return to the Olympics at the 2016 Rio Summer Games. Chinese sport officials have begun to examine how best to move forward with a national golf program, similar to the system that has produced so many Olympic champions in other sports.

Rio marks the first time golf will be in the Olympics since 1904. It's set to feature two events, the men's and women's individual competition.

Over the weekend, golf officials from around the country convened in Xiamen in Southeast China to discuss a long-term growth plan for the game, focussed on the Olympics. The formation of national teams is now on the agenda.

On the men's side, China will have an extremely tough time getting one of their players to challenge, or perhaps even qualify.

But on the women's side, China will have a real chance in Feng Shansan, ranked fifth in the world. The Guangzhou standout joined the LPGA Tour in 2008, but this was the year she broke out. Feng, won six times across the globe, including the 2012 LPGA Championship, as she became the first mainland woman to win a major title.

While looking at the state of the game within China, the sport official at the meeting in Xiamen were realistic while also realizing where to look for inspiration.

Li Dazheng, Vice President of China Golf Association, said, "Golf has only been played in China for a short time. We have a very limited fan base and player pool. There is also no national training system. So it'll be very difficult for us to do well in Rio."

Li Hong, Event Director of China LPGA Tour, said, "South Korea's success in golf stems from their strong investment in all levels. They boast 1,700 professional players while we barely have 200."