Golf recovery stuck in the elitist bunker

Recently, I watched a video speech of a Chinese investor who talked about his ambition to revive the embattled golf game in the country. He was passionate and elucidating, but I hoped his strategy would be the exception rather than the rule.

After depicting a dismal picture of Chinese golf wobbled by courses closing, fewer players and plummeting sales of memberships, the former economics professor declared the demise of the traditional single club model relying on selling expensive memberships. And with soaring operational costs and fewer courses available, "making golf the ordinary people's game is also an impasse," he warned his audience at a gala dinner.

Instead, he has opted for partnering with high-end golf courses around the world, with attractive membership fees of $20,000, as the only viable solution. The club he founded pledges better value for money with golf holidays of a "real rich man", like Alpine skiing in the morning and teeing off at noon.