The Chinese were playing a form of golf a thousand years ago, but under communism the sport was banned until the early 1980s – now the Middle Kingdom is teeing off again

China has had an on-off relationship with golf. It can lay claim to having played a similar sport as early as AD1000, but the modern game has a much shorter and chequered history in the Middle Kingdom. Unlike Japan and Korea, the sport is strictly for the elite. From 1949 to the early 80s, it was banned. What followed was a frenzy of course building, providing some of the best in Asia.

These are five of the top golf courses in China:

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Mark Andrews has written about everything from Japanese houses to heli hikes on New Zealand glaciers, test drives of Chinese cars to bar and restaurant reviews. He currently specialises in travel articles and reviews of Chinese cars plus articles about the Chinese auto industry.