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Hong Kong housing
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Letters | Fanling housing: a small loss for golf or a big loss for Hong Kong?

  • Readers discuss the controversial government proposal to take back part of the land currently leased to the Hong Kong Golf Club to build public housing

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A golfer plays during a competition at the Hong Kong Golf Club on November 25, 2021. The government wants to take back 32 hectares of land, 9.5 hectares of which will be used to build 12,000 public housing flats. Photo: Getty Images
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Hong Kong golf can afford to give up the land

Golf has a long history in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Golf Club was formed in 1889 and initially located in Happy Valley. It expanded first to Deep Water Bay and in 1911 sufficient land in Fanling was secured to build a full 18-hole course. The site continued to expand and in 1931 the New Course was opened for play. A course at Shek O was later built by some businessmen who didn’t want to trek out to Fanling.

After the war, the club surrendered its Happy Valley site and commenced the rehabilitation of the Fanling courses. In 1968, the club leased another 30 acres of land for the development of the Eden Course.

In more modern times, other courses have been built at Clear Water Bay, Discovery Bay and the island of Kau Sai Chau. The last opened in 1995 and it is a public facility built with funds from the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

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With the help of Google Earth, I estimate that the land to be resumed at Fanling comprises 10 holes of the Old Course. They are the fairways that are on the east side of Fan Kam Road. No doubt the remaining part of the Old Course could be reconfigured into a nine-hole course so that Hong Kong would go from having eight 18-hole courses and four nine-hole courses to seven 18-hole courses and five nine-hole courses. Hence the loss is not great in overall terms and in my view is a small price to pay for extra housing land.

The area being resumed is conveniently situated on the edge of Fanling new town and can quite easily be developed as an extension to it.

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The opponents say it will prevent the club hosting international tournaments. However, tournaments are played over the 18 holes that are part of the New and Eden courses, with all the fairways on the other side of Fan Kam Road, and so are not affected.

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