Caddy-Shade

Of all the weekend past-times the team enjoys in China, there are few more treasured by Chris and his pals than golf. We've played endless rounds of golf in China and have created some of our fondest memories out on the links. This shot is from Amai Golf Course in Fuzhou (Fujian Province) - one of our regular courses and certainly one of Fuzhou's finest. Junhong is the golfer and behind him is ... his caddy!

What, you may ask, is she wearing?? Clearly, we're playing in a lush tropical environment with the sun shining brightly through the palms. Junhong is dressed in his most comfortable weekend golfing togs. Why is his caddy dressed for an impending hurricane?

In China, the golf caddies are all women. Not a male caddy in sight. I really don't have a good explanation for this, except to say that the job is not highly desired, nor highly paid, and therefore most likely drops to young girls. And these girls work their butts off in all kinds of weather, many times in the suffocating summer heat.

Although, like us, some golfers get a cart for the day (which allows the girls to hitch a ride on the back), most times the caddies can be seen pulling their client's clubs along the cart paths on rickety three-wheeled rollers, traversing the entire 18 holes on foot, often in the blazing mid-day sun.

To save their skin, the caddies wear wide brimmed hats covered with large shawls, long-sleeved jackets, gloves, loose-fitting slacks, socks and regulation sport shoes. Every inch of their body is concealed from the blistering sun in a effort to protect not only their skin, but their vanity.

In China, especially for women, there's an instinctive impulse to hide from the sun. Whether it's a desire to have perfectly white untanned skin (a sign of wealth and position) or an inherent aversion to the relentless China heat, this quest to avoid even the slightest sun exposure is instilled in them at a very young age.

So, although our guys will tell you they often play golf like Rodney Dangerfield in "Caddy Shack", the girls on the course in Fuzhou will tell you they're just looking for a little ... Caddy-Shade!