China Bans Party members From Playing Golf

China has seen the enemy, and that enemy is golf.

Yes. Golf. That seemingly most Western of sports is a unique prism on modern China. Many Chinese want to play, but the Communist Party doesn’t like the game. And today, Communist Party officials officially barred its 88 million members from belonging to a golf club.

But the ban is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s drive to root out extravagance and corruption. For golf has played a role in recent high-profile corruption cases in China.

NPR has an interesting article on China’s political opposition to golf.