The Chinese are coming! And they’re bringing their golf clubs.
Chinese investment in America reached $12 billion last year, according to the Rhodium Group, an economic advisory firm. “Absent political headwinds,” predicts Rhodium, “outbound investment by Chinese firms will continue to boom in 2015 and the United States will remain a key market.”

Traditionally, much of that investment has focused on big cities like New York, or West Coast areas with large Chinese populations. But increasingly, Chinese investors are looking at new areas like Myrtle Beach, and one word helps explain that appeal.

Golf.

Chinese investors have paid about $47 million for 13 golf courses here in the last 20 months, according to a report in Myrtle Beach’s Sun News. Ed Jerdon, a partner in three of the courses that sold recently, said: “The Chinese, they came with cash … and they continue to buy.”

That’s good news for the local economy, which depends heavily on tourism but suffers from over-building and lack of capital to shore up struggling real estate ventures.

“I’m glad they’re in the market,” said John Draughn, who has helped broker sales to Chinese buyers, “because if they weren’t, I don’t know who would be buying this stuff.”

via ROBERTS COLUMN: Chinese cash and American jobs | Opinion | wiscnews.