Now that golf is an Olympic sport - we all know that China is more than a little crazy about Olympic medals - the government is starting to pay some attention to the game, and they want to get as many Chinese golfers competing in the Olympics as possible. And when I say Chinese golfers, I'm not talking about recreational golfers. To what extent has that become a popular event in the country.ĭW: I think it's more important for the development of Chinese golfers than it is for the development of Chinese fans of the game. A few years ago the government started looking at a satellite photos to try to get a handle on the number of golf courses in the country.īL: Just three weeks ago, the PGA Tour China held its last event of 2014. No one knows exactly how many because it was so unregulated. And right now there's anywehere between 600 and 1,000. Since the moratorium went into effect, no other country has built more golf courses than China. So in 2004, according to state media, China had around 176 golf courses. But what they did was they instituted this ban and, in effect, turned their backs and let this thing that they were supposedly trying to stop grow even more out of control. Beijing issued a ban on it citing an out-of-control real estate market and the illegal seizure of farmland - both very valid concerns. Highlights from Bill's conversation with Dan WashburnīL: How did it happen that the construction of golf courses came to be forbidden in China?ĭW: Well, the most recent moratorium on golf course construction came about in 2004.

Washburn spoke with Bill Littlefield on Only A Game. That's one of several challenges Dan Washburn explores in his new book, 'The Forbidden Game: Golf and the Chinese Dream.' Building one in a country where course construction is against the law is even harder work.

Forbidden game book