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Golf in China is a growing industry, with numerous golf courses being established, especially in the province of Hainan. There are around 358,000 core players (Aged over 18 and play more than 8 rounds a year) among Chinese population, with a growth rate of 7.5%. That figure is projected to grow to about 20 million by 2020. For the general public, golf is considered to be prohibitively expensive. However, it is seen as the top recreational sport for businesspeople and officials.

China holds such tournaments as the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, TCL Classic on Hainan Island, the Volvo China Open and the BMW Asian Open.

Chuiwan, a stick and ball game with some similarities to golf was played in China as early as 1000 AD, with evidence existing from the Song dynasty.

The sport was banned up until the middle of the 1980s by the Communist Party of China as being too bourgeois.

The first golf course constructed in China opened in 1984. It was the Chung Shan Hot Springs in Zhongshan, based on a design by Arnold Palmer.

The first international tournament held in China was the 1995 World Cup at Mission Hills in Guangdong province.

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