Golf has "suffered the brunt of Chinese President Xi Jinping's crackdown on all things unsavoury," according to Alex Jenkins of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. Lumped together with "drugs, gambling, prostitution, ill-gotten wealth and conspicuous consumption, the game has been portrayed as a vice in mainland China, a temptation to hook officials." Since the party’s ban on membership came into effect in Oct. '15, "over 60 courses have been closed by authorities." Aylwin Tai, an authority on the game in China, said that "at least another 50 are in danger of disappearing because they are no longer profitable enterprises." Club Managers Association of China President Tai said, "The government is not encouraging the game, so it’s a challenging time for all whose focus is golf. The government is very careful; they’re not showing support and are seeing how the market reacts." He also said that the game's status as an Olympic sport "has had a negligible effect on membership sales in the country." Tai: "There could be another 50 or 60 courses that close in the next year, not by the government but because for many clubs golf isn’t a profitable business." He added that high construction and operating costs, combined with the government’s "general antipathy," meant public courses are not likely "to be on the golfing radar any time soon" (SCMP, 5/22).