Golf Club Atlas
GolfClubAtlas.com => Golf Course Architecture => Topic started by: David_Tepper on April 02, 2015, 09:10:02 AM
-
Not encouraging:
http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2015/4/1/chinas-central-government-orders-demolition-of-66-courses.html
Reuters article:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/30/us-china-golf-idUSKBN0MQ0UP20150330
-
I haven't seen a list of the courses although I did read that a few courses on Hainan Island are included.
I'm wondering if the Bill Coore or Tom Doak courses are part of the 66. Also Stone Forest?
-
I haven't seen a list of the courses although I did read that a few courses on Hainan Island are included.
I'm wondering if the Bill Coore or Tom Doak courses are part of the 66. Also Stone Forest?
On the best new course 2015 thread, Tom said it looks like his course on Hainan Island will be gone.
-
The moratorium on new course development was kicking in twelve years ago, just as we were trying to break into the market. I guess this is the long term result. I'm not altogether sure I'd want to do business there these days anyway. Assume what you will what I mean by that!
F.
-
I haven't seen a list of the courses although I did read that a few courses on Hainan Island are included.
I'm wondering if the Bill Coore or Tom Doak courses are part of the 66. Also Stone Forest?
On the best new course 2015 thread, Tom said it looks like his course on Hainan Island will be gone.
Hope he was paid in advance.
-
I haven't seen a list of the courses although I did read that a few courses on Hainan Island are included.
I'm wondering if the Bill Coore or Tom Doak courses are part of the 66. Also Stone Forest?
On the best new course 2015 thread, Tom said it looks like his course on Hainan Island will be gone.
Hope he was paid in advance.
We were paid "nearly all" of our fees for the project. Still not certain as to its fate. The course is in a separate category on the list: it was developed entirely legally [there was even a bid process by the local government], but somehow now the central government has ruled against it. For now, they have planted trees in the middle of some holes [even the bunkers and a green or two] while they hash it out.
I don't believe any of the clubs on the list of 66 are courses that have been open for a long time, but I have not seen the list.
-
This is the list translated as best as I can. There is more than one listed from Hainan but Tom may be to confirm which projects they are, the translations don't always make sense in English.
I live in China and we have one local area course being pressured to close and another (quite good facilty) which is unlicensed. We have 8 courses within 30km, only one is truly private. So we are concerned.
Stadium name stadium address
A golf course, Tongzhou District, Beijing Wenyu bottom Shun Zi town new village
Palace Road, west of the town of two Beijing Zuo Zhuanghu Fengtai Sports Park Golf Course
3 Beijing Delong agricultural demonstration garden golf Chaoyang District Jinzhan
4 Tianjin Shi County Golf Course collar southern tier Jingu highway east of the Outer Ring Road green belt
5 Kingswood Golf Course Tianjin Jinnan District Balitai town days Kingswood Xingyaowuzhou
6 Tianjin Pearl River Hot Springs Golf Course (two) Baodi Zhou Liang Town
7 Hebei Qinhuangdao City harbor area Yuanming Hills Golf Course Qinhuangdao City West Town
8 Taiyuan Changfeng golf Wanbailin West Valley West
9 Shanxi Yuncheng Yuncheng yanhuqu Nanshan Golf Nan office
10 Inner Mongolia Erdos City Dongsheng a pass new Dongsheng District Agricultural Park Golf Course Hampshire town nine successful village
11 Inner Mongolia Eurasian sports resort golf course construction in Baotou City Road north of Castle Peak District
12 Inner Mongolia Erdos road travel and leisure area golf Zhungeer road town Ordos City
13 Chifeng thirteen Games golf events in Chifeng Hongshan Road, Nanshan Valley
Dawn village 14 Dandong Tianqiaogou Mountain Golf Course Kuandian Manchu Autonomous County town of two mountains, two groups
15 Fuxin Haizhou mine Mine State Park Golf Course Sunjiawan Fuxin City Taiping Street Siping community
16 Shenyang Dongling District, Lee Sang Lee Sang golf town Licun
17 Shenyang Hun River south bank of the south golf course (Hun River Bridge to grow new Railway Bridge) beach on the ground
18 eco Puhe Shenyang Sports Park Golf Course Shenbei Shenyang moral development zones Po Road
19 Shanghai Pudong International Leisure Park Golf Course Nanhui old town
20 in Nanjing body Peabody Springs Golf Course
21 Zhejiang Zhoushan Islands zhujiajian Sports Park Golf Course Zhoushan Putuo District zhujiajian Ohira posts and pine Tippy reclamation area
22 Hangzhou Chunan Chunan County Sports Park Golf Course left port town Jinxian Bay Area
23 Maanshan and counties such as golf courses and Lake County High Guan Cun Yang Zhen Shi
24 East Pingshan Xiamen Siming District, Xiamen Golf Course East Pingshan
25 Nanchang, Jiangxi Nanchang Evergrande Oasis Golf Course Silver Triangle Development Zone of Nanchang County
26 Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Ganzhou Sports Park Golf Course Zhanggong Sandston
27 Jiujiang, Jiangxi Lushan CITIC West Golf Course Jiujiang Lushan Scenic West
28 Yingtan Lung Fu Shan ecological health Golfcourse Dragon and Tiger Mountain area
Fangzi village 29 Binzhou Snow Hill Golf Course Zouping Binzhou Zouping County, West Dong Town
30 Weihai Wendeng call Ray Hot Spring Golf Course
Weihai Tom Park Springs Golf Course Weihai Wendeng Wendengying only Maling
32 Weifang, Shandong Weifang Zhucheng Lushan golf Zhucheng streets
33 Dasan Qingdao International Golf Course Pingdu City Dianzi Zhen
34 Qingdao Han Long Golf Pingdu City, I wish Town
35 Moe Hill Golf Course Qingdao, Shandong Qingdao Lacey City Southern town of Shu Meng Village
36 Linyi City of Shandong Linyi Lan Bay Park Golf Course Economic and Technological Development Zone
37 Park Golf Course Xianning tourism Xianning City, Fushan office I Zuo village
Wuhan Jiangxia Tangxun 38 golf courses in city of Wuhan Bridge District
39 Sycamore Hills Golf Course in Hubei Ezhou Ezhou Indus Lake District
40 Lumen Xiangyang, Hubei Xiangyang City Xiangzhou District Golf Lumen Temple area
41 Liuyang City Medical Edible Botanical Garden Golf Liuyang City, the ancient town Umeda Village
42 Guangzhou Huadu District, Guangzhou City Golf Course Salzburg Dong
Dragon 43 Huizhou Huizhou City Water Town Golf deer Kong Management District
44 Huizhou Dongjiang Pearl Golf Zone, Huizhou City Water Town Hengsha
45 Huizhou City of Guangdong Huiyang District Jinyu Orient Golf autumn long cloth
46 Maoming City Dianbai Bohe golf Dianbai Bohe town west wharf
47 Jieyang City, Guangdong Jieyang City Jingming golf JieXi mayor Tan Jing River Park
48 Guangxi Laibin, Guangxi Laibin Watertown Golf Overseas Chinese Investment Zone beetles Island Area
Chaoyang Township 49 Guilin, Guangxi Guilin Sports & Leisure Centre Golf Course Seven area
50 Haikou City, Hainan Island Style Sima slope sports base golf course
51 public golf courses in Hainan Ding'an Ding'an thunderous lakeside town of Lijiang
52 Sanya Aviation and Tourism Vocational School golf horizon village town of Sanya City 布梅
53 Chengdu Qingyang Green Ridge Park Golf Course Qingyang District, home neighborhood offices
54 golf courses in Chengdu, Sichuan Chengdu, Pujiang Shixiang Hu Pujiang County, Chaoyang Town, a good town, Daxing Town
55 Kunming Liangwang Mountain Ecological Tourism Zone sports Gulmarg golf course was a goldsmith shop offices
56 eco-tourism and leisure sports Yunnan Ruili River Golf Course Meng Mao town of Ruili City, village banks collapse
57 Yunnan sister divisions Ruili River Dredging segment landscaping golf Ruili JiangJie segment reporting
58 Yunnan Honghe Prefecture Gejiu Gejiu City Golf Datun Datun village Tunzhen
59 Tengchong County, Yunnan Baoshan Stone song eco-tourism resort town golf Baoshan Stone Town Qu Qu stone Tengchong County community
60 Tengchong County, Yunnan Baoshan volcano Eco Resort Golf Course
Kama Area Taiping Village fanjingshanensis 61 Tongren Fanjing ecological Eguchi County Sports Park Golf Course
62 Dushan County, Guizhou Qiannan Long your international health center hundred Springs Village Golf Mitsui Qiannan Dushan County
63 Zunyi City, Guizhou est Koyama for outdoor sports tourism and leisure base golf Zunyi Zunyi County Long Lake est Kengzhen comb community pool
64 The Links Golf Course Xi'an Weihe Weihe Xi'an City marsh section
65 Shaanxi to plant ornamental Yuan Luo Panlong golf Shangluo Zhashui Panlong eco-industrial park
66 Muslims in Yinchuan, Ningxia Yongning County Ecological Park Golf Course
-
Bill Coore's Course - Shanqin Bay - is backed by relatives of one of Mao's oldest Generals. Word is they will be just fine!
-
"Haikou City, Hainan Island Style Sima slope sports base golf course"
Heard it called many things but not a Slope Sports base golf course.
I have called it my place of work for the past 4 years.
In fact I was instrumental in locating trees & shrubs to please the current situation.
While this is China one has to "Hear What is being Thought"..... not what is spoken or written. Perhaps the most interesting comment I have heard.
The Island Golf Club at Simapo Island, when and IF approved, will be relatively easy to put back together............provided the duration doesn't take to long for applications and approvals.
-
"China's Crackdown on Corruption Targets Golf, a 'Sport for Millionaires.'"
From the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/world/asia/chinas-crackdown-on-corruption-targets-golf-a-sport-for-millionaires.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
The powers that be aren't fooling around.
-
Im not sure why everything thinks this is surprising. I worked in China for years and everyone I knew was saying 10 years ago that this would end in tears. There is not enough land or water for the population let alone golf courses, but it seemed an industry intent on pushing right to the edge.
Perhaps a few little munis may have been a better way of going about it rather than importing the unsustainable opulent model
-
Im not sure why everything thinks this is surprising. I worked in China for years and everyone I knew was saying 10 years ago that this would end in tears. There is not enough land or water for the population let alone golf courses, but it seemed an industry intent on pushing right to the edge.
Perhaps a few little munis may have been a better way of going about it rather than importing the unsustainable opulent model
Which is different, how, exactly, from the worst case scenarios being published on the California drought?
[I said worst case scenarios. Ask me in 84-120 months what happens.]
-
HAs CA seen an explosion of new courses or is the drought affecting them all?
I would be curious to know much water is poured onto a square metre of Californian golf turf per year compared to elsewhere in the world
-
Jonathan & Josh -
There are other threads discussing the impact of the drought on golf courses in California. Let's stick to China on this one. ;)
That being said, remember many golf courses in California are big users of reclaimed water and serve a useful function in doing so. Also, this article may be of interest:
http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2015/04/is-golf-being-unfairly-targete.html
DT
-
I worked extensively across many areas of rural china over a few years. It was common to see every square inch of land that was remotely arable, planted with something edible. It is a big country but surprisingly little of it is amenable to proper agriculture - the north is all desert and much of the west and south is mountainous and really only good for very labour intensive terracing etc.
Flat land, in good climates with water, is rare in China. Afraid I am of the view that golf simply has no place there.
-
Jonathan & Josh -
There are other threads discussing the impact of the drought on golf courses in California. Let's stick to China on this one. ;)
That being said, remember many golf courses in California are big users of reclaimed water and serve a useful function in doing so. Also, this article may be of interest:
http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2015/04/is-golf-being-unfairly-targete.html
DT
What is the useful function they serve in using reclaimed water?
Seems like the Daily Beast article the GD article makes fun of has more info than the GD article, though it is no peer-reviewed scientific journal article either.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/11/town-with-11-golf-courses-is-sucking-california-dry.html
-
Could this happen here?
-
Could this happen here?
Where is here? and can you demolish a golf course?
-
Seems like the Daily Beast article the GD article makes fun of has more info than the GD article, though it is no peer-reviewed scientific journal article either.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/11/town-with-11-golf-courses-is-sucking-california-dry.html
The Daily Beast article says a town with 11 golf courses (Bermuda Dunes and area) is sucking California dry. Some basic arithmetic makes that statement look absurd.
According to the article, on average each person in BD uses 379 gallons of water per day. Average for California is 89 gallons per person. So Bermuda Dunes uses, on average, over four times as much water per person as the rest of the state.
But Bermuda Dunes population is just 6159. California overall has over 38 million people. Which means while Bermuda Dunes uses 2.15 million gallons per day, the state as a whole uses over 3.4 billion gallons per day. By the logic of the article, a town that uses well less than one one thousandth of California residential water is sucking the entire state dry.
BD could stop using water altogether: it would have about the same effect on CA water supplies as adding one drop of water to a half gallon bucket.
-
Water aside, there are clearly other issues in China.
For commercial reasons, China has chosen the wealthy opulent option. Rather than a sport, golf is being promoted as an accoutrement to wealth and success. I am sure there are a few enthusiasts, but equally sure there are many many more Chinese players that don't understand it, are not good at it and don't really like it, but play it nonetheless because it is a overt display of wealth.
That is not sustainable and clearly is not something the government wishes to promote. I cant see anybody missing these places if they should not have been built in the first place
-
While this is China one has to "Hear What is being Thought"..... not what is spoken or written. Perhaps the most interesting comment I have heard.
Here's a thought.... Rio Olympics shouldn't allow a team from China to participate.
-
Seems like the Daily Beast article the GD article makes fun of has more info than the GD article, though it is no peer-reviewed scientific journal article either.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/11/town-with-11-golf-courses-is-sucking-california-dry.html
The Daily Beast article says a town with 11 golf courses (Bermuda Dunes and area) is sucking California dry. Some basic arithmetic makes that statement look absurd.
According to the article, on average each person in BD uses 379 gallons of water per day. Average for California is 89 gallons per person. So Bermuda Dunes uses, on average, over four times as much water per person as the rest of the state.
But Bermuda Dunes population is just 6159. California overall has over 38 million people. Which means while Bermuda Dunes uses 2.15 million gallons per day, the state as a whole uses over 3.4 billion gallons per day. By the logic of the article, a town that uses well less than one one thousandth of California residential water is sucking the entire state dry.
BD could stop using water altogether: it would have about the same effect on CA water supplies as adding one drop of water to a half gallon bucket.
The title was figurative, not literal. The article itself did not make the claim that you go to great lengths to debunk.
-
And yet, I leave for China tomorrow morning for one of my projects there. It is on Hainan where golf is legal. Approvals are said to be in place, but then some locals say they need to save about 5 acres of rice paddies in various locations, so we need to resolve it for construction to begin.
I really have no understanding of how it all fits in, and when I ask my clients, they say the same thing. Just that it is "very confusing."
-
Josh,
I live in China as well and I am well travelled throughout the country. While land issues are present, the government here wastes no time in building huge monuments which are not remotely used to full capacity. While arable land is certainly an issue, much of it has been turned over to factories, especially in the eastern areas like the Yangtse River delta. Some of China's most arable land and its converted to cities and factories. If China continues on this path, it will have issues but the farming system here is remarkably inefficient. My mate runs an organic farming company here and the practices he sees are far removed from modern farming.
As for the image of golf as elitest, it's marketed that way here because that's a very common method to market anything remotely "western". Wine, clothes, food, etc. How is BMW marketed in China? Does it work? Resoundingly yes. Did golf in the USA begin any different?
A balanced society should make space for all the activities it's members enjoy. Golf is recreation and if the land can be paid for and used properly than it deserves its place. Nobody is suggesting they build golf courses in downtown Shanghai anymore. But their will always be areas not ideal for farming or residences which can be used for golf. The middle class want these options available to them. I disagree when land has been taken away from locals unfairly, or should be used to meet a more immediate local need. And if you think these courses that are being closed will be returned to farmland, you are mistaken. The local course in my town they want to close will be used for further housing and retail development. More empty villas, a plague that is everywhere in this country but returns a tidy tax profit to the local government.
And I disagree with your assessment of Chinese golfers, I know many and they really enjoy the game. Yes, some join clubs for the prestige but I know far too many good Chinese golfers to think they got that way for prestige. They enjoy it.
I believe China can find a balance.
-
I know this is far fetched, but there is a war against the 1%, a war against Wall St, California has a drought, golf courses are for the 1%, California needs the water, California is ultra liberal, by Presidential Degree or Executive Order, I can actually see this happening and the land would be excellent for affordable housing, especially for the 47%.
-
Cary, I doubt the "war" against the 1% will target golf courses. We're more interested in dragging the bankers and hedge fund managers from their offices and hanging them in Times Square.
Where I live we have a 18 hole muni that runs along side what has become a high traffic "strip" developed commercial street. I could imagine a day when the course is reconfigured as a 9 holer, and the land along the street sold to commercial developers....
-
In the US, there is probably more emphasis on keeping golf courses. So many middle class homeowners have home equity tied up in their golf course view, many local govts lobby to keep unprofitable courses open. Even back to the great depression, there seems to have been a trend for private clubs that struggle to go to public.
Maybe the same will happen in China, let the private investor overspend on the clubhouse, and then take it over and make it a more peoples friendly pay as you go golf course.
-
And yet, I leave for China tomorrow morning for one of my projects there. It is on Hainan where golf is legal. Approvals are said to be in place, but then some locals say they need to save about 5 acres of rice paddies in various locations, so we need to resolve it for construction to begin.
I really have no understanding of how it all fits in, and when I ask my clients, they say the same thing. Just that it is "very confusing."
Don't be so sure about how "legal" it is on Hainan. I'm guessing you will be flying into Haikou, and you will no doubt see all the trees planted in the greens and grassed over bunkers of the course I spent 2 years building for RGD. The flight path into Haikou takes you right past the course about 5 min before you touch down.
Where in Hainan is your project?
-
Jaeger,
Not far from Shankin Bay. However, inland, so nowhere near as good.
I toured the Doak project a year ago, and it is sad to hear it is grassed over. May have to go take a look.
Like I say, I have no idea how this all fits in, but they tell me when we finish this rice paddy issue we will be ready to go. But, the timing is suspicious. It could be they want it stopped, but knowing the permit is basically there, throw up some kind of environmental obstacle to stop it from being permit compliant. I just don't know. I guess I will know more on Tuesday.
-
It is too bad young Li Hao-Tong did not win the European Tour Shenzhen Open in China earlier today. He lost in a playoff. Had he won, it would have given the sport a (male) national hero.
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2015/tournamentid=2015028/news/newsid=253882.html
-
In the US, there is probably more emphasis on keeping golf courses. So many middle class homeowners have home equity tied up in their golf course view, many local govts lobby to keep unprofitable courses open. Even back to the great depression, there seems to have been a trend for private clubs that struggle to go to public.
Maybe the same will happen in China, let the private investor overspend on the clubhouse, and then take it over and make it a more peoples friendly pay as you go golf course.
Jeff,
I'm not sure the same thing can happen now. After the depression there were courses where people could learn to play. Today, a Chinese guy taking up the sport at 25-35 years old can't learn on so many of the projects developed to attract RE sales.
-
Better Call
Saul Bendelow
(From Wikipedia )
Design philosophy[edit]
. . .
... "Most of Bendelow's early work was focused on spreading the game and "bringing golf to the majority of the populous."[6] As a result, most of his designs prior to World War I were fairly basic, focusing more on playability and ease of construction and maintenance. After World War I, Bendelow's designs started to become more strategically intricate, particularly in his work for private clubs. Bendelow left A.G. Spalding and joined American Park Builders during this time. In addition, construction technology and client budgets greatly advanced after World War I. These factors would give him the time required to focus on developing more challenging layouts. The added resources also allowed Bendelow to use more refined techniques in design and construction, including the use of topographic maps, soil surveys, irrigation plans, and plaster of paris green models."
Its great that China is enjoying the game but perhaps the culture would be better served in the long term if Bendelow's and Spalding's Johnny Appleseed philosophy was more prevalent than the Apple Pie speculations.
-
Jeff - I suggest you contact some people involved at The Dunes in Shenzhou Peninsula. Should be about an hour south of you. The last time I was there (year and a half ago) they were getting protests from local farmers who used to occupy the land.
Shanqin Bay had some protests too I believe, but the main investor there is a part of the same party as President Xi, so they will not be effected the same way others have in the most recent crack down.
-
These guys probably don't care:
http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/28882076/chinese-investment-group-now-owns-22-myrtle-beach-golf-courses
-
These guys probably don't care:
http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/28882076/chinese-investment-group-now-owns-22-myrtle-beach-golf-courses
Jim:
The main purpose of that operation is probably to acquire green cards for the children of investors. I doubt they have a whole lot of expertise in running golf courses, or even a lot of interest in it.
-
Tom,
The article didn't read like that, but I may have missed the fine print.
-
That's not the only thing they are banning.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11560137/China-outlaws-obscene-striptease-funerals.html
I believe tour caddies used to call the practice range "No-fun-Land." Name would suit China better.
I do find it interesting that Golf is the seemingly where the cultures clash as they attempt modernising.
-
WSJ raises an eyebrow at China's view on legal vs. illegal golf courses. A-hed story today:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-china-the-legal-status-of-many-golf-courses-is-full-of-holes-1431563801 (http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-china-the-legal-status-of-many-golf-courses-is-full-of-holes-1431563801)
-
To borrow a line from Austin Powers: "Finally those capitalist pigs will pay for their crimes, eh? Eh comrades? Eh?"
;)
-
Any update on the courses on Hainan?
Tom Doak - in another thread you said that you would be doing two courses on Hainan. Did they both get built?
-
Any update on the courses on Hainan?
Tom Doak - in another thread you said that you would be doing two courses on Hainan. Did they both get built?
Wayne:
The first one got built, in Haikou ... that's the one Jaeger worked on and mentioned above. It is on the list of courses that's not allowed to open, but with a unique caveat. At last report [July] the owner was still negotiating with the government about it.
The other project, for the same client, will likely never happen now. It's a shame, as that was a spectacular site; but all the government's new regulations about setbacks and buffers and so on probably would have ruined my plans for it anyway.
-
Tom:
Didn't you have a potential job in Beijing (possibly with Pacific Links) which was going to be part of a large scale development?
-
Didn't you have a potential job in Beijing (possibly with Pacific Links) which was going to be part of a large scale development?
We decided not to pursue the job in Beijing. After our last adventure, nobody was keen to go build another course over there.
-
The last mayor of Nanjing was sentenced to 15 years in prison for taking bribes (unrelated, I would note, to golf courses!) He is one of many senior Communist Party members being dealt with harshly in recent years for such offences. If a one-party state apparatus in a country of 1 billion+ people doesn't defend -- and be seen defending -- "the rule of law" in its various aspects, the utility and validity of said apparatus will soon start being openly/publicly questioned.
Peter
-
PPallotta.
Well, it not exactly like that. "Rule of law" as many would understand it does not have the same meaning in China. Their are many many laws and many ways to interpret them and many government bodies to implement them.
The current regime is after corrupt officials but what kind of corrupt officials?
Xi seems to support a more professional judiciary which sounds good but its too early to see results as yet.
And as for openly/publicly criticizing the government, how is that possible when the government has very tight control over media? They recently tightened those controls where bloggers must verify their ID cards before allowing the blog sites to remain posted.
Xi will likely be in office until 2023 and the next regime may be very different.
I think China is a different "kettle of fish" as they say and using traditional interpretations of how nations function often do not apply.
-
Over a week ago China banned Communist party members from playing golf, amongst other things.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-34600544
-
Over a week ago China banned Communist party members from playing golf, amongst other things.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-34600544
and then they bought Wentworth ;D
-
Over a week ago China banned Communist party members from playing golf, amongst other things.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-34600544 (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-34600544)
and then they bought Wentworth ;D
'They'?
-
Adam,
Wentworth is now owned by a Chinese company. Ironic as they are banned from playing the game as it is opposed to the values of the Chinese state. I wonder if it will be back on the market? ::)
-
Chinese citizens are not banned from playing golf. Communist Party members are banned from joining golf clubs. Plus fwiw I believe Dr Ruayrungruang holds Thai citizenship too.
-
Chinese citizens are not banned from playing golf. Communist Party members are banned from joining golf clubs. Plus fwiw I believe Dr Ruayrungruang holds Thai citizenship too.
Adam, maybe a bit of a flippant remark by me apparently. I would imagine however that anyone on the board of a big Chinese company is almost certainly a party member. Also I doubt Dr. Ruayrungruang's Thai citizenship is of any relevance to the Chinese when it comes to party directives.
As I said, my comment was meant as an ironic joke rather than a serious point hence the emoticon.
-
Tim Finchem was on Morning Drive yesterday and had an interesting politically correct take.
He felt that the government has nothing against golf but instead the closing was all about corruption.
-
Tim Finchem was on Morning Drive yesterday and had an interesting politically correct take.
He felt that the government has nothing against golf but instead the closing was all about corruption.
He is correct. Golf is perceived as an arm of corruption. If you have been following China generally over the last couple of years you'll be aware that a LOT of senior officials have been put on trial for corruption. Golf has been a way that the political and business elites connect and thus a channel by which corruption has spread.
-
Tim Finchem was on Morning Drive yesterday and had an interesting politically correct take.
He felt that the government has nothing against golf but instead the closing was all about corruption.
He is wrong. It is not all about corruption.