At last year's HSBC National Junior Championship, Shi Yuting won a place in the Shanghai pro-am, at which she matched American star Phil Mickelson and beat Australia's former top-10 player Adam Scott over a par-three hole.
While many of the first and second generation of the Chinese golfers started as caddies on the greens, most of the youngest newcomers are backed by supporting families.
Shi was born in Japan, and moved back to China with her parents when she was 5. Her father brought her to the golf course two years later and started her lessons.
"I had never played golf before I went to Japan in 1992. Very few people were familiar with that sport in China at the time," Shi Yuedong, 47, tells China Daily.
"After I came back to China, I brought Yuting to the golf course when I was playing and she showed great interest."
Within a year, Shi finished in the top three in her age group at a national competition and was showing great strength, consistency and maturity on the course.
In 2007, Shi was sent to the Huangshan Golf Academy and her mother, Liu Yuejin went with her. One year later, Shi's four-year-younger sister, Shi Yuli, followed her footsteps at 5. But they later returned to Shanghai the next year for their academic studies.
Yuting now plays for three hours after school everyday and competes all over the world while her younger sister still plays for fun during weekends - but she's already in the top three at national level.
"If you go to the course nowadays in China, there are a lot of 4- and 5-year-olds playing. Some are even younger. It is so common," says Shi Yuedong.
Thanks to an expanding pool of players, China enjoys rising competitiveness against neighboring golf powerhouses Japan and South Korea.
At last year's Guangzhou Asiad, China won two silver medals, including one by 14-year-old Yan Jing, who became the first Chinese women golfer to win a medal at the Asian Games.
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