china Gary Linn: 54 Holes in China

Like Woodward and Bernstein, the reporters who broke open the Watergate scandal, these days Gary Linn is following the money -– all the way to China.

The Mountain View, California-based designer has two projects in the People’s Republic, including one that could begin construction this spring in Sanya, on Hainan Island, a city that the Washington Post calls “a combination of Waikiki and Miami Beach, perhaps with a dash of Las Vegas thrown in.”

The project is called Oak Valley, and it’ll feature –- along with houses (including houses for retirees), a hotel, and other attractions –- two 18-hole courses, one by Linn and one by Dana Fry of Columbus, Ohio-based Hurdzan Fry Environmental Golf Design.

Linn fears that some overbuilding could be taking place on Hainan Island, as huge, resort-style hotels -– “as big or bigger than anything you’ll see in Florida,” he reports –- are emerging everywhere.

“Sometimes you scratch your head and wonder how the economics work,” he muses.

Last year, construction began on a Linn-designed 36-hole complex at Mao Feng Hill Golf Club in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province and southern China’s largest city. Scottsdale, Arizona-based Flagstick Golf is overseeing the development of Mao Feng, which is expected to open in late 2012 or 2013.