By Lan Xinzhen

Four years of regulatory actions have cut Chinas nationwide number of golf courses from its peak of 689 to 449 thus far， with 34.8 percent shut down， according to reports from 11 ministries， including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources， on May 15.

The regulation of the golf course industry has been hailed by the vast majority of the public， but still some argue that the shutdown might jeopardize the industrys overall development. This is a groundless worry， as China does not intend to ban the sport， but just to standardize its growth.

Golf gained popularity in China in the late 1970s. So far， more than 30，000 adolescents have signed up for various golf clubs across the country.

However， two factors make it increasingly necessary for regulators to resolve the issues with the green mats.

First， the sprawling complexes of golf courses tend to occupy too much water and land resources. Chinas per-capita natural resources are scarce， and consequently the Chinese Government has created stringent approval procedures regarding the construction of golf courses. Meanwhile， such a luxury sports event is not something that ordinary people have access to； therefore golf courses are unlikely to serve the vast majority of society.

However， in the early 2000s， amid an investment craze， local governments were willing to greenlight such all-consuming projects， believing golf courses would help improve the image of its hosts. By 2010， the number of golf courses had become 10 times that of the total figure in 2000.

Nevertheless， a lot of golf courses misappropriate farmland and water resources. Furthermore， several property projects come into being under the guise of golf courses. For example， in Kunming， provincial capital of Yunnan， one golf course was constructed by occupying 30.6 hectares， or 64.9 percent of its area， in the first-grade conservation area of the Dianchi Lake Basin. In Shenzhen and Huizhou of Guangdong Province， golf courses make inroads into a large quantity of farmland and forests， and have villas built up within them， equivalent to real estate programs.

Second， golf courses have increasingly become graft hotbeds. Almost 70 percent of golf courses are involved in property programs， with Yunnan and Hainan provinces hitting 90 percent and 83.3 percent， respectively. In Beijing and Shanghai， this number stands at 70 percent and 73.7 percent， respectively.