Crackdown sees 111 golf courses closed

China has closed more than 100 golf courses and ordered 507 others to make changes in the past five years as part of a clampdown on illegal land and water use, according to the top economic planner.

The National Development and Reform Commission said on Sunday that the golf courses were guilty of illicit behavior, including illegally using large amounts of arable land or natural reserves, and extracting groundwater from prohibited areas.

The campaign, launched by 11 central government departments in April 2011, is aimed at cracking down on the illegal construction of golf courses.