Spurred by China's rapid economic growth and soaring living standards, golf is enjoying an explosion in popularity in the world's second-largest economy.

A number of golf courses have been built in recent years - despite the country's ban on golf course construction due to land use concerns.

China had 490 18-hole golf courses by the end of last year, with 97 courses in Guangdong, 70 in Beijing and 51 in Shandong, according to a report by the Forward Management Group, the organizer of the Forward Chinese Amateur Tour, the country's oldest and largest amateur golf tour.

According to the golf education and research center at Beijing Forestry University, the number of golf courses - not necessarily 18-hole courses - in China more than tripled from 170 in 2004 to more 570 in 2009.

Despite the increasing number of golf courses, only 10 were approved by the government and given business licenses, which implies that most of China's golf courses were illegally created.

The Ministry of Land and Resources imposed a ban on golf course construction in 2004, in order to protect China's dwindling farmland and conserve water.

Li Jianqin, director of the law enforcement and supervision department of the MLR, had said government approval of golf course construction projects in Hainan Province, a region that the government hopes to turn into a major tourist destination, does not indicate that other provinces can ignore the ban.

However, many developers have found ways to skirt requirements, according to experts. Feng Ke, director of the real estate finance research center at Peking University, said most golf course developments are built using the names of country clubs, greenbelts and parks. They do not include the word "golf" in their names or anywhere on their planning documents.

Feng said tough action - including imposing large penalties on violators - must be taken to curb the use of land for golf developments.