China shutters golf courses, probes officials who play - USA TODAY
BEIJING â€" Ping-pong diplomacy thawed relations between the United States and China in the 1970s, but don't expect golf to smooth still tricky ties between the world's top two economies. Though President Obama enjoys golfing with fellow leaders, his Chinese counterpart will probably steer clear of U.S. fairways during his state visit this September.
The ruling Communist Party that President Xi Jinping commands has long been nervous of golf's image in China as an elitist, corrupt pastime. Authorities have taken a tougher stance against a sport that continues to expand in China, attracting U.S. stars to play in multimillion-dollar tournaments and earn millions designing courses. The government has closed almost 70 courses, frozen development nationwide for the past year and started corruption probes into officials who play golf.
The National Development and Reform Commission announced Monday that 66 illegally built courses have been shut, including three in the capital, Beijing; six in Guangdong province near Hong Kong; and three on Hainan Island, touted as "China's Hawaii." The total number of Chinese courses is 600 to 700.
The commission gave no reasons for the crackdown, which began in July. A widely flouted ban on new courses in 2004 was aimed at protecting arable land, saving water and reducing pollution from fertilizer and pesticides.
The commerce ministry said Tuesday that senior official Wang Shenyang is under investigation after breaking Communist Party rules against extravagance by attending a golf event organized by a company.
In south China, Guangzhou city's anti-graft agency targets officials who play golf, city spokesman Mei Heqing said last week. An investigation team has been formed, and the public can report violations online, he said. In February, cities in Hainan started a survey of officials who played golf or had golf memberships to check for corruption or extravagance.
Despite the moves, Tiger Woods will soon follow Jack Nicklaus and other U.S. golf legends by redesigning a Chinese course for a fee of $16.5 million, Golf.com reported last week. World No. 3 Bubba Watson will visit China after this month's U.S. Masters for a $2.5 million tournament in Shenzhen, whose Mission Hills complex ranks as the world's biggest golf resort.
"China is full of many contradictions," said Dan Washburn, an analyst and author of The Forbidden Game: Golf and the Chinese Dream. "You never know what to expect in China, especially when related to golf. It's a difficult place to try to figure out."
The Communist Party banned golf and ripped up courses in the 1950s, but players teed off again in the 1980s as China opened its economy and society to capitalist ways. Viewed as "an elitist pursuit enjoyed by a very, very small percentage of the population," the sport faces renewed pressure under Xi's vigorous anti-corruption campaign, Washburn said.
"No government officials should afford to play the game with their salaries," he said. "It's a very hot button topic, as it's pretty much a symbol of all the things that Xi Jinping is supposedly rallying against. Golf is an easy target."
While golf stagnated in several markets worldwide during the past decade, it boomed in China. "Developers got around restrictions on golf courses by calling them 'landscape parks' or 'sports parks,' " said Justin Downes, president of Axis Leisure Management, a Beijing-based consultancy on golf and ski development.
"In the past nine to 12 months, everybody has pretty much stopped," he said. "The government is taking this seriously, and developers won't risk what could be a $30 to $40 million investment, then be told to rip it up." The industry awaits new regulations and environmental requirements, expected in June, said Downes, a Canadian who has worked in Chinese golf since 2007.
The crackdown "is a shame on many levels. Golf is a very popular sport. It's rapidly growing, not just among the elite but growing among children, women, families, and it's not just private clubs, there are public courses out there," he said.
Golf remains highly expensive in China. Weekend green fees at Beijing's suburban clubs reach $250 per round. The China Golf Association, which could not be reached for comment, organizes a growing number of tournaments, including for children. China boasts the world's No. 5 in women's golf, Feng Shanshan, and its sports ministry dreams of gold now that golf has regained Olympic status. Still, there are no Chinese men in the top 200 worldwide.
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