English golf club hit by dispute with new Chinese owners

London

LONDON has been cosying up to Beijing in recent years in the hope of attracting Chinese investment - but in one leafy corner of England, the love-in has turned to acrimony.

Long-time members of Wentworth, a hallowed golf club in the affluent county of Surrey just west of London, accuse the new Chinese owners of using an eye-watering fee hike to get rid of them and turn the club into a preserve of the global ultra-rich.

The dispute has caused diplomatic ripples, with interventions from Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who represents the local area in Parliament, and from the Chinese embassy in London.

At issue is a plan by Beijing-based property and investment firm Reignwood Group, which bought Wentworth in 2014, that would require members to pay £100,000 (S$209,458) to remain part of the club and double maximum annual fees to £16,000. "My own personal feeling is that they don't want us," said Michael Fleming, a local dental surgeon and Wentworth member for 28 years who has just ended a term as club captain…