# Communist China really, really, really hates Golf. LOL **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 31, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429 "2015-03-31T17:13:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/1 "2015-03-31T17:13:00Z")
Don’t hold your breath for any PGA tournaments in Red China. 😃 These folks apparently think its the devils handiwork. These are the same dumb muthafuckers that recently spent a freaking fortune hosting the Olympics? And they think a golf course is an extravagance? Elitist? Hell they even shut down factories for the Olympics. They had to cut the smog because it was choking the athletes. I sort of understand their attitude about elitist private courses. Has anyone told them how many public course are in the US? Nearly every city of any size has them. Available to even the most common blue collar worker for a modest greens fee? My family used cheap clubs ordered from Sears & Robuck. Elitist my ass. [http://news.yahoo.com/china-closes-66-illegal-golf-courses-032913376--golf.html](http://news.yahoo.com/china-closes-66-illegal-golf-courses-032913376--golf.html) > [@](#): > > China’s Communist rulers have turned against the exclusive sport of golf with the government saying nearly 70 “illegal” courses have been closed, seemingly enforcing a decade-old ban for the first time. As I suggested. Make these courses public and available to everyone. Why close them? > [@](#): > > A commentary on the commission’s website declared that “all over the world, golf is synonymous with extravagant spending, and even in developed Western countries, it is considered a ‘noble’ sport”. > > Golf club memberships in China typically cost “far above the normal annual income level of officials and the general public”, it said, and office-holders who become “enamoured” of the sport “risk losing touch with the masses”. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/2 "2015-03-31T19:43:36Z")
Golf is \*inherently \*elitist, because you turn a large area of arable land into a funpark that can only support a handful of players at any given time. Doesn’t matter if the course is public or private. In a country where politics have for a very long time been agriculture- and peasant-centric, it’s quite understandable they wouldn’t be down with that. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/3 "2015-03-31T20:08:23Z")
China is huge. Would they have land shortages for agriculture? \ Just when it seems the country is modernizing stories like this come out. Golf could bring in tourism. Especially if they partnered with the PGA and hosted tournaments. I’m not sure. Are the golf tournaments in Europe (European Tour) affiliated with the PGA in any way? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/4 "2015-03-31T20:23:12Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Don’t hold your breath for any PGA tournaments in Red China. 😃 These folks apparently think its the devils handiwork. There are 500 courses in China and more being built. > **[Golf in China](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_in_China)** > > Golf in China is a growing industry, with numerous golf courses being established, especially in the province of Hainan. In 2011, there were around 358,000 core players (aged over 18 and play more than 8 rounds a year) among the Chinese population, with a growth rate of 7.5%, and that figure was projected to grow to about 20 million by 2020. For the general public, golf is considered to be prohibitively expensive. However, it is seen as the top recreational sport for businesspeople and offi The... There are PGA tournaments currently in China. > **[WGC-HSBC Champions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WGC-HSBC_Champions)** > > The WGC-HSBC Champions was a professional golf tournament, held annually in China. Inaugurated in 2005, the first seven editions were played at the Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai, then moved to the Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen for a single year in 2012. It returned to Sheshan Golf Club in 2013. > Since 2009, it was a World Golf Championship event. Played in November, it was the fourth tournament on the WGC calendar along with the WGC-Dell Match Play, the WGC-Mexico Championship, and the WG... ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/5 "2015-03-31T20:27:00Z")
They’re wrong about closing them but I don’t think they’re necessarily wrong about the perception of golf. The Chinese official said that golf is synonymous with extravagance, which is true. That’s different than saying golf is extravagant, which is false. And even in the US, public courses are far different than the manicured lawns and well-kept grass you’ll find in the best courses. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/6 "2015-03-31T20:27:42Z")
Well, thats a bit of a contradiction. 😃 Since it was reported they’ve been illegal for a decade and 70 were just closed. China, (like Russia) by definition is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Nobody fully understands them. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/7 "2015-03-31T20:38:49Z")
The relationship behind China and golf is extremely complicated and mostly not about golf. A journalist wrote a book about it a few years ago, there’s an [interesting summary](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10877555/Why-China-went-to-war-against-golf.html) in the telegraph. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/8 "2015-03-31T20:44:53Z")
Excellent article and right on point. Thank you for posting the link. Complicated is the word for it. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/9 "2015-03-31T20:48:07Z")
[http://www.missionhillschina.com/en-US](http://www.missionhillschina.com/en-US) ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/10 "2015-03-31T20:50:39Z")
I wonder what makes them illegal. Were they built after 2004? Were they strictly private? As for “affordability,” you can buy a 10-piece “starter set” at Overprice for “only” $100. One problem might be that some golfers could become envious of others’ more expensive sets; another might be that I don’t think there are any Chinese club manufacturers, so all clubs would have to be imported. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/11 "2015-03-31T23:08:17Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > China is huge. Would they have land shortages for agriculture? China has \*lots \*of people to feed. But besides that, the principle stands - again, it’s probably less about the actual economics & mathematical nuts and bolts of the equation and more about “rah rah farmable land/capitalist wastefulness/rich people’s extravagance”. And I mean, public course or not, you can’t deny golf is perceived as a posh sport. Mao himself railed about it on these terms. Besides, while I’m no expert on the sport, I understand golf courses require pretty good land to grow even grass and such. So it might be less about absolute acrage, and more about “hogging the most profitable/productive land”. > [@](#): > > \ Just when it seems the country is modernizing stories like this come out. Golf could bring in tourism. Especially if they partnered with the PGA and hosted tournaments. Do people really travel abroad just to sample this or that golf course, besides pro athletes ? I’ll freely grant I’m really not wise in these matters - my parents would play golf wherever we went on holidays to be sure, provided there were courses available, but I don’t believe they picked holiday spots _because_ there were golf courses there. IMO the tourism angle is marginal at best. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/12 "2015-03-31T23:46:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Well, thats a bit of a contradiction. 😃 Since it was reported they’ve been illegal for a decade and 70 were just closed. > > China, (like Russia) by definition is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Nobody fully understands them. That’s par for the course. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/13 "2015-04-01T00:00:03Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Besides, while I’m no expert on the sport, I understand golf courses require pretty good land to grow even grass and such. So it might be less about absolute acrage, and more about “hogging the most profitable/productive land”. Not really. They can truck in some topsoil. Look at all the desert golf courses in Arizona. > [@Kobal2](#): > > Do people really travel abroad just to sample this or that golf course, besides pro athletes ? Yes, people go to Scotland for this reason all the time. Same with the Dominican Republic, although there are plenty of other attractions there as well. (Scotland, too) But the primary reason is the golf. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communist-china-really-really-really-hates-golf-lol/716429/14 "2015-04-01T00:44:19Z")
FWIW Two golf tournaments are being played in China on the European Tour (The European Tour is geography challenged) right after the Masters. The PGATour has a satellite developmental tour based in China. Tiger is has apparently signed a 15 Million dollar deal to design one course and re-design another course. It is supposed to announced sometime next month.