ONE of the first golf clubs to open in China, Tycoon Golf Club, announced its withdrawal from an area considered a reserve for water resources in Bao’an District recently in response to a government order that regulates golf clubs in Shenzhen.

    Among the 15 golf clubs in the city, Tycoon Golf Club was the first to react to the order issued last November that impels six golf clubs, including Mission Hills Golf Club in Guanlan and OCT East Golf Club, to remove their facilities from water-resource reserves and the other nine to reconstruct before June this year.

    Tycoon Golf Club, a subsidiary company of China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Limited, was following legal procedures when being constructed, but was asked to withdraw due to the recent change in the law regarding water-resource protection, according to a report in yesterday’s South Metropolis Daily.

    China Travel Service said the club should receive a compensation package since it did not violate any laws when being constructed, but the city’s development and reform commission replied that the enactment is in response to a national reform. A negotiation between the two parties is still underway.

    Withdrawing from the water-resource reserve does not mean closing down the business. The golf clubs can continue operating their businesses on land outside the reserves, according to the report.

    Among the golf clubs, Shenzhen Golf Club is one of the most prominent, with its location at the center of Futian District. However, the club’s fate is uncertain at the moment as the charter period of land use has come to its end this February.

    The urban planning, land and resources commission is still considering the final decision on the land at Shenzhen Golf Club, which is only open to the 2,000 members of the club.

    Policy advisers suggest the government repurpose the land into a public park so as to meet residents’ request for a public park in downtown Futian District.

    The development and reform commission said that they would take the proposal into account, but no certain plans have been issued yet. (Zhang Qian)