Water shortages have forced the city to use water from the adjacent Hebei Province and over-exploit ground water. Beijing's ground water levels have decreased more than 20 meters in the past 50 years, the authority said.

Golf course construction is not confined to Beijing. In Hebei, a large number of golf courses are tapping the underground water that local villagers rely on for their crops. In some places, it is necessary to drill down more than 100 meters to find water.

In one of the most extreme cases, some villagers in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, no longer have drinking water on tap because of a nearby golf course.

"Most people rely on ground water. Golf courses lower water levels and this affects residents," said Ma Jun, Director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Beijing-based environmental NGO.

Given the fact 400 of the more than 600 cities in China are suffering from water shortages, the enormous thirst of the country's new golf courses is simply unsustainable. Once depleted, ground water stocks take centuries to recover.

According to a report in Beijing-based Oriental Weekly, China's golf courses soak up an average of 1.56 million tons of water every day. But that isn't the only negative environmental impact of a golf course.

"Golf courses are not just watered but weeded and fertilized. The pesticides used on golf courses pollute the soil, ground water, and even the surface water," said Hu Lin, a professor at the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences at China Agricultural University.

Studies indicate a 66.67-hectare 18-hole golf course consumes at least 13 tons of fertilizers and pesticides, less than half of which are absorbed by the lawn, leaving tons of fertilizer to find its way into reservoirs and rivers.

CCTV reporters found a golf course in Dalian had been discharging contaminated water into a local reservoir, which supplies drinking water to the city's residents.

Furthermore, scientists said the subsidence and cave-ins that had recently occurred in some cities might also be blamed on the construction of new golf courses in nearby areas. The huge amounts of ground water consumed by these golf courses can cause land to sink.

"Thorough research on golf courses, both existing and under construction, should be done, with harsh punishments, to curb those programs occupying more farmland," said Yan Jinming, Vice President of the School for Public Administration and Policy at Beijing-based Renmin University of China. "The environmental impacts of each golf course need to be included in this research."

Profit driven

Local governments seeking profits from land sales are behind China's recent golf course boom, said industry insiders.

In the first half of this year, the Ministry of Land and Resources received 34 reports of unlicensed golf course projects, up 31 percent year on year, according to a statement released by the ministry on July 29.

The problem of unlicensed golf courses has expanded from coastal areas to the central and western regions of the country. Illegal course construction has been reported in 17 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

"The golf courses are seen necessary to boost tourism and push up GDP in many places," said Li Jianqin, Director of the ministry's Law Enforcement and Supervision Administration.

Since 2009, the government of Tengchong County in southwest China's Yunnan Province has approved more than a dozen golf courses without consent of land authorities. Local officials said the projects were part of their efforts to attract investment and boost tourism.

Feng Ke, Director of the Real Estate Finance Research Center at Peking University, said most of the unlicensed golf courses were developed under the guise of "eco-tourism projects" or "property development."

In Beijing, most golf courses are located near top-end villas and resorts. According to Feng, only a few of them were built in compliance with current policies.

At the Qinghewan Golf Course, a sprawling 36-hole golf complex within sight of the National Stadium near Beijing's Fourth Ring Road, a lifetime membership costs nearly 1 million yuan ($156,400). However, the course has yet to get approval from the municipal government, according to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources.

Chen Guoqiang, Vice Chairman of the China Real Estate Society, said some local governments had turned a blind eye to irregularities in land development examination and approval procedures or are even involved in the illegal projects themselves.

"They have invited developers to open new golf courses, claiming they are good for economic development, boosting employment and improving the investment environment," he said.

Chen said local governments received considerable revenues from land sales, and the development of high-end facilities such as golf courses pushed up property prices in surrounding areas.

Chen said several officials have been sacked or penalized for lax supervision over golf course development, but he acknowledged that enforcement of relevant regulations needed to be further intensified.

"The officials know about every under-the-counter deal. Supervision should be tightened," he said.

Professor Su at the Beijing Forestry University said the ban currently in force was impractical. He suggested a clear system with straightforward criteria be established to evaluate applications and issue certificates.

Yan from the Renmin University of China said authorities should consider easing the restrictions on golf course construction, and in the meantime adopt stricter screening measures to make sure approvals are issued with full consideration of environmental protection and economic sustainability.

"In the long term, golfing should be made more affordable to the broader public in China, instead of being a privilege for the rich," he said.

On July 20, the State Council ordered checks on all golf courses to prevent illegal land use and to prevent the loss of farmland.

On August 17, the National Development and Reform Commission posted a notice on its website, saying local governments are barred from approving new golf courses or allowing the construction of approved ones before the Central Government releases further regulations on the development of the sector.

According to the notice, a campaign is underway to regulate existing golf courses. And since April, golf course operators have been required to vacate any farmland and forestland they illegally occupy.