Is China Demolishing Illegal Golf Courses?

Clare Jim and Xiaoyi Shao of Reuters file an investigative look at multiple golf courses that appear to have been demolished by the Chinese government for violating the 2004 ban on building "golf courses." They outline how many developers have gotten around this by calling their properties "sports training centers" or "tourist resorts."

Note the photo with the story showing the method to prevent people from crossing barriers onto the demolished courses. Thanks to reader Jeff for sending in this excellent Reuters report, which includes this:

During a recent visit to the 60-hectare (148-acre) site, a villager in his 20s told Reuters how workers wiped out virtually all trace of the course in a few weeks.

"Trucks went in and out. They almost destroyed the road in our village," said the man, surnamed Wang, who declined to give his full name.

Someone has since planted corn on parts of the muddy land.

The NDRC said the course had been built by Lao He Wan Investment Co under the guise of the Delong Agricultural Model Park. Reuters could not find any trace of the company. Local authorities responsible for the district did not respond to requests for comment.

Among the other courses demolished, one was built in southwestern Yunnan province by a subsidiary of medium-sized Chinese property developer Agile Property Holdings Ltd, the NDRC said. Agile declined to comment.

All five developers were fined.

Andy Murray Invested In Seve Movie, Admits To Sandbagging

Bob McKenzie reports for the Express that Scottish tennis great Andy Murray invested in Seve The Movie, released June 27th, in part because of his dad's admiration for Ballesteros.

McKenzie writes:

"We went to watch the tournament in Gleneagles quite a few times which was just down the road from our house. I haven't played golf since I started having problems with my back and since the surgery, I haven't bothered trying to be honest.

"I will wait till I have finished (my career)."

Not that you would want to play Murray for 50p by the sounds of it.

"When I used to play for money, I always used to play off 16 or 17," he says with a smile.

"I have never lost a game of golf for money in all the times I have played. I don't know what my handicap was exactly but that is what I used to play off. "Everyone got hacked off when I was playing against them."

Murray plays Kevin Anderson in a fourth round match Monday at Wimbledon, reports The Guardian's Kevin Mitchell.

Henry Fitzherbert of The Express raved about Seve The Movie, calling it...

absorbing, beautifully shot picture (brilliantly edited by Saska Simpson) cleverly combines archive footage of Ballesteros with a dramatic re-enactment of his youth featuring a charming performance from young unknown Jose Luis Gutierrez.

Ewan Murray previewed the film for The Guardian and noted this about the lead actor:

José Luis Gutiérrez, who plays the young Seve in the early part of the film, should be underplayed. This is a role bearing a heavy weight of pressure and responsibility. Even for Gutiérrez – a 16-year-old with a handicap of four – Ballesteros is iconic to the level that he admitted to being “frightened” about not being up to the task.

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw called Seve The Movie “engaging enough” and writes:

a misty-eyed tribute that, in DVD form, is destined to rest on the memorabilia-packed shelves of legions of golf-crazy guys from Dallas to Dumfermline.

No release date outside of the UK and Ireland has been set.

The trailer: