Can anybody recommend a few courses in Taoyuan County where you can just pay and play? Whats the average cost for a round?
Most courses require a caddy and a cart. So, if you’re playing with others, you split the cost between you. If playing alone, you’ll have to foot the bill all by yourself. In the Taoyuan area, expect to pay at least 3000NT if playing in a fourball on the weekend, with a 500NT discount during the week.
Cheers for that info mate i guess its a bit pricey by UK standards but playing beats just going down the range to hit a few.
There’s a pitch and putt down in Xindian which is about 700nt or so.
Thanks ill check that out, ive had a look at a few course websites and they all look like Asian Tour standard which is fine except for the cost and I would imagine membership would be astronomical. Still where there’s a will there’s a way. 
There are also three good golf societies in Taiwan. They are run by foreigners and are always looking for new members.
In Taipei there is IGST or the International Golf Society of Taipei
In Taichung there is TIGS or Taichung International Golf Society
In Kaohsiung there is KEGS or Kaohsiung Expats Golf Society
The first two can be found on the web with a simple Google search, while the KEGS group is on Facebook.
I would suggest linking up with one of those societies and get a few rounds of golf in with them. They sometimes get group discounts if they show up in large enough numbers.
If you’re expecting courses and conditions to be similar to Europe or North America you are in for a rude awakening. The course conditions here are pretty poor even at the most expensive courses on the Island. We golfers here just try to get used to it, but the up side is you always feel like you’re playing Augusta National whenever you make a trip back home and play some golf.
Also memberships in the traditional sense are non existent. They only have member cards which provide you with a discount. You still have to pay about 1200 NT per round even if you have a golf membership. These member cards can cost anywhere from about a million NT to well over 10 million NT. Regardless, you still need to take your wallet to the course. It’s not like back home where you pay your annual dues and then play as much as you like.
Some decent mid level courses:
Zai Xing has decent greens and the fairways are very wide so it’s often a fun place to play.
Yang Mei Forumosa is a cool layout, but conditions aren’t always the greatest. Up side, no caddies and you drive your own cart.
Forumosa Blue is a good course, quite difficult though off the tee so not always the most fun if you want a good score.
Royal Guan Xi is always a good choice, as is Lily which is in the same area.
Bei Hai has some awesome scenery, but I think it’s slightly more expensive. Up side is they have a driving range on site, which is very rare.
Xin Fong is a nice course, western style tree lined fairways, and quite difficult. Downside is it’s a bit of a drive, probably 75 minutes or so.
Then there is the infamous Bing Hai. No caddies, drive your own cart, and bring a hard hat because it’s a shooting gallery on a few of those fairways.
Upper end courses “maybe” worth the price if you want something closer to championship style:
Mirimar is nice, good practice facility, and usually in decent shape. It’ll cost ya, so maybe try for agency tickets or group rates.
Sunrise ( yang Shen ) Is probably the closest thing to a real tournament style course.
Da Shee is quite nice, they’ve hosted a few PGA events, but a few years back they got new management and I’m not sure how it is now.
Old Dan Shui is pretty nice, and although you still need caddies you get to walk the course and your caddy pushes a cart.
Linkou Golf Club is another one that you get to walk the course, and it’s one of the closest courses to the city which is nice.
BTW: if you’re looking for a pitch and putt course to take your girlfriend or something too there’s a decent one at Taipei Golf Club. The Xin Dian one can hardly be called golf, but the Taipei golf club one has some decent holes. About 700 bucks, and nobody’s out there so you can always sneak some extra holes 
Brent, what about dress codes? Legitimate golf shoes? Club hire?
Dress code is very relaxed in Taiwan, but you’d better at least wear a collared golf shirt and running shoes as a minimum just to be safe because you never know. But I’ve seen many untucked shirts and cargo style golf shorts and staff doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. I’ve even seen the odd wife beater or people wearing jeans playing on some of the courses.
Surprisingly though I went to Jiao Xi in Yilan wearing sandals and they wouldn’t let me tee off. I’ve played tournaments in those sandals back home but for some reason they had a big problem with it. 
Thanks for the info Brent i must admit the websites i looked at were deceiving and i wasnt particularly happy about having to hire caddies and carts so im glad there a few courses where i can walk. Obviously Taiwan isnt interested in promoting golf and making it more accessible to play judging by those membership prices, its a pity that.
[quote=“Roval”]There are also three good golf societies in Taiwan. They are run by foreigners and are always looking for new members.
In Taipei there is IGST or the International Golf Society of Taipei
In Taichung there is TIGS or Taichung International Golf Society
In Kaohsiung there is KEGS or Kaohsiung Expats Golf Society
The first two can be found on the web with a simple Google search, while the KEGS group is on Facebook.
I would suggest linking up with one of those societies and get a few rounds of golf in with them. They sometimes get group discounts if they show up in large enough numbers.[/quote]
Thanks for that info mate much appreciated.
The Taiwanese golf culture misses the point of many of the things that we in the west enjoy most about golf. Walking the course is one of those things. They simply don’t understand that we aren’t there to get it over with as fast as possible. Enjoying the great outdoors, taking in the scenery, talking with our playing partners as we’re walking down the fairways, and getting a little bit of exercise are all reasons we enjoy golf so much. Taiwanese people play lightning fast, jam four people and two caddies into a cart and race around the course skipping holes and jumping ahead of groups if need be to try to finish in under 3 hours.
They also completely miss the point of the social aspect of golf and the “club” atmosphere. Go to any course in Taiwan after the round and you’ll hardly see anybody having lunch and drinks in the clubhouse. Being a member at a golf club anywhere else is just as much about the social club aspect as it is about the golf. We all know each other, we’re friends, we know the staff and the professionals who run the course, we play tournaments and club events, and even in the winter when the course is closed we still attend functions and banquets throughout the season to hang out with our friends.
I love my Taiwanese people and really enjoy this wonderful country, but unfortunately the Taiwanese people still have a lot to learn about golf. 
Sounds pretty shit to me. My dad is a founder member of a club in Ireland, run by the members by committee, they have social nights and activities all the time, they all get to know each other, pros, amateurs etc. There’s not so much of the cart and caddy culture there. They did raise the fees during the boom but they have dropped a lot now to attract new members. Only the top flight or historic clubs would approach or surpass fees above.
The Taiwanese golf culture misses the point of many of the things that we in the west enjoy most about golf. Walking the course is one of those things. They simply don’t understand that we aren’t there to get it over with as fast as possible. Enjoying the great outdoors, taking in the scenery, talking with our playing partners as we’re walking down the fairways, and getting a little bit of exercise are all reasons we enjoy golf so much. Taiwanese people play lightning fast, jam four people and two caddies into a cart and race around the course skipping holes and jumping ahead of groups if need be to try to finish in under 3 hours.
They also completely miss the point of the social aspect of golf and the “club” atmosphere. Go to any course in Taiwan after the round and you’ll hardly see anybody having lunch and drinks in the clubhouse. Being a member at a golf club anywhere else is just as much about the social club aspect as it is about the golf. We all know each other, we’re friends, we know the staff and the professionals who run the course, we play tournaments and club events, and even in the winter when the course is closed we still attend functions and banquets throughout the season to hang out with our friends.
I love my Taiwanese people and really enjoy this wonderful country, but unfortunately the Taiwanese people still have a lot to learn about golf. [/quote]
Sounds like im better off just going down the pitch and putt, i dont think i could put up with kind of behaviour you described and paying through the nose for the privilege. I suppose they have no idea of course etiquette as well that would drive me crazy. Like you Brent i appreciate everything the game has too offer one of the best things ive ever done was join a golf club.
I hate playing golf on a buggy and i dont think it necessarily speeds your round up at all, ive been let through loads of times by groups who have been using buggies. On weekends back in the UK i used to play two rounds with lunch inbetween and then a drink afterwards sometimes we were there for nearly 12 hours. As long as you had your tee times booked no problem.
I would say as a whole course etiquette in Taiwan isn’t that great so yes if that’s something that bothers you then you’re probably better off playing with a few friends rather then pair up randomly with people you meet at the courses. It’s not like they are breaching any major rules, but the usual stuff is quite common. Hitting out of turn, stepping on your putting line, standing behind you when teeing off, talking during shots etc… The caddies also quite regularly break all the etiquette rules as well so you have to get used to that too. Because I’ve played so much golf in Taiwan, whenever I go back home it takes a round or two to get back into the habit of being quiet when people are hitting. I get a few shushes the first round or two back home 
For me personally I try not to let course etiquette bother me because golf should be a game that everyone can play and enjoy. If they are new or never learned proper etiquette it’s fine with me as long as they enjoy themselves.
And I agree with you that walking the course can be just as fast. In the case of Taiwan since the carts have to stay on the cart path at all times, walking can actually be faster. If I have my clubs on my shoulder at all times I’m ready to hit when it’s my turn. In Taiwan there is a lot of wasted time walking perpendicular to the fairways back and forth to the cart getting clubs.
Brentgolf Wrote:
Yang Mei Forumosa is a cool layout, but conditions aren’t always the greatest. Up side, no caddies and you drive your own cart.
I heard that some foreigners caused havoc at this course a few years back, including someone seriously damaging a cart. As a result, foreigners now must be accompanied by a caddy at Yang Mei Forumosa.
I hope that passport control in the US hands Taiwanese a paper explaining how eating dog meat is illegal because a Taiwanese immigrant in the 1960s once ate a dog.
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.
This doesn’t surprise me in the slightest, just look at the driving.