LET’S GET IT ON – Why China is frowning upon golf?

By Neil Bravo
If you are a government official in China and you are playing golf, you are in trouble.
Reason? Golf is widely associated with lavish spending which the Chinese government treats as a capital sin. That is why for government officials, golf is a forbidden game.
President Xi Jinping has laid down the “8 Rules on Official Behavior” which included golf as a forbidden game.
I heard too that the ruling party’s anti-graft body has laid down a directive where provincial Communist officials would face punishment if they engaged in any golf-related activities and that includes joining a club. They even set up a hotline where the public can report suspected golf violations.
The Chinese anti-graft commission believed that “all over the world, golf is synonymous with extravagant spending, and even in developed Western countries, it is considered a ‘noble’ sport”.
If you join a club in China, membership fees are far above normal annual income level of officials and the general public. Meaning, if you are a mere government official, you cannot afford a membership. That’s the presumption. Hence, if you join a club, there is suspicion that you have enriched yourself in office.
They also believe that if officials join a golf club, they risk losing touch with the masses.
Those who cannot stay away from the sport do so under false names in order not to be perceived corrupt or out of touch.
Which reminds me of the ZTE deal during the time of former President GMA where the deal was reportedly sealed at the fairways. That’s the other side of golf–a convenient negotiating arena for under-the-table deals where there are no walls with ears.
But don’t get me wrong here. The Chinese love golf. In fact, from 200 golf courses in 2004 when the government issued a moratorium on building golf courses, the number rose to more than 600 at present. Tax breaks were even given to developers and operators of new courses in places like Hainan.
Talk about the world’s largest golf resort? China owns that distinction with the Mission Hills Golf Club in the southern industrial hub of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong. The 20-square-kilometre (7.7 sq mile) complex was founded in 1994 and boasts twelve (yes, a dozen!) 18-hole courses.
China also holds clout over major golf events like the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, a tournament known as “Asia’s Major” where 40 of the world’s top 50 players present for the second consecutive year. This $8.5 million event is now the largest tournament in the world outside the US and the British Open.
Talk about the biggest golf design project? Tiger Woods has been commissioned to redesign a course to the tune of $16.5 million. That is why it worries not if Tiger is playing bad these days. He is bound to become the highest paid golf designer.
Now, who cares if China is closing down 66 golf course they consider as illegally built? Or who cares if a senior official is now being investigated for breaking the “8 Rules” by playing golf?
The forbidden tree always bears fruit.
Notes: Listen to “Let’s Get It On with Neil Bravo” at 105.9 Balita FM every Saturday 8 am to 10 am. You may write the author at bravoneil@rocketmail.com.