For golfers, indoor clubs can also be cheaper. The CEG indoor center offers a life-membership option of 30,000 yuan. But prices are as low as 150 yuan per hour to non-members and 100 yuan per hour to those with life time membership.

At the Golfhub club in the Aegean mall in Beijing's Chaoyang district, a wide range of luxury rooms are on offer, equipped with European-style furniture. Prices start at 300 yuan per hour. Naturally, that is considerably cheaper than playing on an outside golf course. The average price per person for an 18-hole round is about $100.

"In South Korea, virtual golf is so popular because the land available for the sport is scarce and the amount of people interested in playing it is really high," Zhang Guozhong, the Beijing-based manager of South Korean simulator golf company Bravo Golf, said.

"In China, people are becoming increasingly concerned about the limited land and water resources available. So indoor golf is a good alternative for environmentally concerned people."

Zhang's firm has been selling indoor golf systems in China for six years and was the first South Korean company to move into the market here. Bravo Golf sells between five and eight systems per month. "We are seeing demand increase from schools and universities that use it as a training tool. And this is going to keep our sales up," Zhang said.

Indoor centers

GolfHub

Prices range: From 300 yuan ($48.4) per hour for the smallest room to 980 yuan for the largest one. No limit on the players per room.

Address: Aegean Mall, 12 Qisheng Zhongjie, Chaoyang district, Beijing.

Opening times: 10 am-10 pm daily.

Alpha Wing

Alpha Wing contains four virtual golf simulators rented out by the hour.

Price range: 80 yuan for a single player from Monday to Friday; 100 yuan from Saturday to Sunday.

150 yuan for a group of four from Monday to Friday; 180 yuan from Saturday to Sunday.

Address: Lucky Street, 1 Chaoyang Gongyuan Lu, Chaoyang district, Beijing.

Opening times: 4 pm-2 am daily.