The Pricey World of Chinese Golf

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Dec 3rd 2008 at 8:02AM

One of the biggest Western imports to China just may be the love of golf. A recent report by KPMG Golf Advisory Practice published on December 1 after the completion of the World Cup of Golf at Mission Hills Country Club in Shenzhen, China, is part of KPMG's third annual Golf Benchmark Survey. It reveals that China has a rapidly developing and expensive golf market. China now has over 300 courses, more than half of which have opened since 2000. Club memberships and green fees are among the most expensive in the world with the average initiation fee of a golf club set at $53,000 One in 10 Chinese clubs charges initiation fees over $100,000, with annual dues ranging between $1,500 and $4,000. And then there are green fees that average $161 for an 18-hole weekend round. Currently golf in China is an elite sport played mainly by men (87 percent of club members are men). If the fees come down a bit and more people begin to play China could easily have one of the largest communities of golfers in the world.

[via Cybergolf]

Tags: china, golf, shenzhen