How much to play golf in Taiwan?

Recreation Sports
21

[quote=“Roval”]Brent is correct about a lot of things regarding golf in Taiwan. I do in fact agree with him about much of what he says. On the other hand there are some reasons people try to get a round finished in under 4 hours and that’s because the courses in Taiwan are very busy come weekends. People want to get in and out of there and back to their families.

The Taiwanese are also not accustomed to people playing through. So if your group is playing faster than a group ahead of yours they will almost never let you play through. Only once I was allowed to play through when the group in front stopped to eat something at the snack house.[/quote]

I know you get a few people like that everywhere who turn up 10 mins before a round and leave as soon as its over but if you play golf regularly then you should be at least aware that any course is more busy at weekends, and until you actually get on the course nobody has any idea how fast the play is going to be. A busy course and groups not letting others through is just going to create a backlog. Whats the role of the resident professional at the course? Is he teaching the basic rules of etiquette? Do the members actually take any notice of the rules? Im not an absolute stickler for abiding by every regulation but things like allowing faster groups through are a given, especially when you stop at the tea hut after 9 holes.

It seems to me that the Taiwanese attitude of ultra convenience and complete selfishness in some things they do dont go quite hand in hand with the game of golf, its almost as if theyve watered it down to suit Taiwanese tastes when they had no right to touch it in the first place.

22

The what? :whistle: Funny enough, there are no golf professionals at the golf courses here. No head pro’s, no teaching staff, nothing like that at all. Golf here really is nothing like anywhere else. You just have to get used to it because unfortunately I don’t think it’s going to change. Golf is just a totally different experience in Taiwan.

23

:slight_smile: To be honest it doesnt really surprise me being Taiwan and all, im not likely to go back to the UK and play very often anyway. Thanks for your insight, I enjoy a game of golf and im more bothered by how i actually play than most other things, im sure ill get used to it :slight_smile:

24

Look, I have played golf all over the world and this place is the worst. Everything here is based on money, especially the so called memberships to these so called Country Clubs. Their is no program for young players because unless your rich here you don’t really play golf. My daughter goes to a Taiwan School, speaks and writes perfect chinese and English and has many chinese friends. None of them have ever even been to a driving range much less actually play golf. If you have kids and want them to play sports especially golf, move back to America. Just my opinion.

25

I played my first round on the weekend in Kaohsiung, and unfortunately agree…

i played solo, and the caddy rushed me around like she was on fire… played 18 holes in 2.5hrs, and that was with some crappy shots in there also!.

any time on the course is great time, but my experience is that they are rushed to finish rather than enjoy the game…

D

26

[quote=“doohan21”]I played my first round on the weekend in Kaohsiung, and unfortunately agree…

i played solo, and the caddy rushed me around like she was on fire… played 18 holes in 2.5hrs, and that was with some crappy shots in there also!.

any time on the course is great time, but my experience is that they are rushed to finish rather than enjoy the game…

D[/quote]

D, sorry to hear that you were rushed around. The Kaohsiung golf society has unfortunately disbanded due to lack of interest or else you could join up with them next time. (The main organizer was tired of putting in all of the work and not having people show up, which is fair enough.)

If you have a chance to play in Taipei, you can consider joining the International Golf Society of Taipei. This year IGST had 106 members sign up, the biggest year in the club’s 15-year history. What others have posted in this thread is pretty true about course conditions, caddies, etiquette, etc…but when you play in a group like ours all of that is easily forgiven because of the added social element. This may or may not include beers and gambling, if that’s your thing.

We normally have 24+ players at each event. The demographic (mostly foreign males) ranges from student to retiree: traders, teachers, tech folks, MNC…it’s a varied bunch.

Here are the events we have for the rest of the year: taiwan-golf.com/event/upcoming/year/2015

Membership is NT$5000/year and it goes towards prizes like long drive, closest to pin, lowest net score and more. (Team golf shirt and hat also included.) Players pay for their own green fees for each event.

It’s a great deal for all of the effort that goes into organizing everything throughout the year. We play twice a month so think of each Saturday as its own golf tournament. In addition to prizes, we have a board that volunteers to help out with the handicapping, course booking, sending out newsletters, and updating the website. It’d definitely be a full time job for one person.

This summer we also organized an overseas trip to Mission Hills Hai Kou because our chairman is a member there. We got a fantastic package deal for 4 nights in the hotel and 3 days of golf.

Here are the past events that we played in 2015: taiwan-golf.com/event/past

It might sound like we’re super serious but take a look at our handicaps and you’ll notice that everyone is pretty much a weekend warrior: taiwan-golf.com/user/handicaps

If anyone on F.com is interested in joining this year, send me a PM for more info and I’ll see if we can offer a discounted membership rate. Either way, any new potential member can come out and play as a guest (don’t need to pay membership) to try things out before joining.

27

Hey Rocky,

dont get me wrong, wasnt all that bad, as i was on the golf course and not at work! I realise (in hindsight) i also let her rush me around in the end so lesson learnt for next time. Agree about the K.E.G.S, (tried to organise something and no interest) its a shame as i love the sound of your group, it’ll be right up my alley.

I would love to join you guys and will most definately soon enough, but i’ve only got limited times due to other commitments, so round trip to Taipei for regular outings isnt possible… i’ll keep my eye on your events and see if i can make one of them

28

[quote=“doohan21”]Hey Rocky,

dont get me wrong, wasn’t all that bad, as I was on the golf course and not at work! I realise (in hindsight) i also let her rush me around in the end so lesson learnt for next time. Agree about the K.E.G.S, (tried to organise something and no interest) its a shame as i love the sound of your group, it’ll be right up my alley.

I would love to join you guys and will most definately soon enough, but I’ve only got limited times due to other commitments, so round trip to Taipei for regular outings isnt possible… I’ll keep my eye on your events and see if i can make one of them[/quote]

Sure, that sounds good. Hit me if you’re in the area during one of our events and we can try to work something out. :sunglasses:

29

Hi All,

Just want to add one thing to this thread. The Taichung golf society has a new website which shows more detailed information for 2016. Any interested golfers can visit it and contact the admins for more information.

taichunginternationalgolfsociety.com/

30

I second that. IGST is pretty awesome if you’re a golfer in Taiwan. Very well organized, lots of fun events, and a good diversity of members. The membership fee pays for itself just in discounted green fees, but then you get all the extra’s as well. It’s really a no brainer for Taiwan golfers to join IGST.

31

Hi Rocky,

Is IGST opened to teen members ?
We used to live in Indonesia and my son learned there but we stopped completely for 3 years so we are a lot kind rusty now.
We shall probably start again at the practice range first but would be interested to join IGST when ready.

Also, I want to ask you if golf clubs are expensive in Taiwan, he will need new ones (left handed).

Thanks

32

[quote=“Captain”]Hi Rocky,

Is IGST opened to teen members ?
We used to live in Indonesia and my son learned there but we stopped completely for 3 years so we are a lot kind rusty now.
We shall probably start again at the practice range first but would be interested to join IGST when ready.

Also, I want to ask you if golf clubs are expensive in Taiwan, he will need new ones (left handed).

Thanks[/quote]

Hi Captain,

No problem at all for you and your son to join IGST. There’s another member who has a teenage son who also plays from time to time.

Like a lot of imported items, golf clubs are 25-30% more expensive here than in the US. The US tends to be pretty cheap for golf stuff since it’s such a sporting-goods culture.

Feel free to PM me if you need any other info. Hope to see you on the course soon. :slight_smile:

33

Hi Rocky,

Many thanks.
25/30% more that in the US is not too bad as they are really cheap there.

Yes, will take contact after summer break. :slight_smile:

34

Anyone golf in Kaohsiung? Moving there in a month. I guess KEGS is not very active.