Calum MacLeod writes:
“China is full of many contradictions,” said Dan Washburn, an analyst and author of The Forbidden Game: Golf and the Chinese Dream. “You never know what to expect in China, especially when related to golf. It’s a difficult place to try to figure out.”
The Communist Party banned golf and ripped up courses in the 1950s, but players teed off again in the 1980s as China opened its economy and society to capitalist ways. Viewed as “an elitist pursuit enjoyed by a very, very small percentage of the population,” the sport faces renewed pressure under Xi’s vigorous anti-corruption campaign, Washburn said.
“No government officials should afford to play the game with their salaries,” he said. “It’s a very hot button topic, as it’s pretty much a symbol of all the things that Xi Jinping is supposedly rallying against. Golf is an easy target.”
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