Taipei City Government

In 2011 the first LPGA event ever was held in Taiwan, letting the people of the country get their first ever up-close look at the reigning global queens of the golf links. The world's No. 1, Yani Tseng, is in fact from Taiwan, and also competing were Norway's Suzann Pettersen, South Korea's Na Yeon Choi, Japan's Ai Miyazato, and Morgan Pressel from the United States. The competition was fierce, the display of skills impressive. Taiwan's shining light, Yani Tseng lived up to the high expectations of the home crowd and walked away with victory, continuing her remarkable run of success in recent years and deepening passion for the game amongst Taiwan's golf aficionados and neophytes.

Appropriate for All While Challenging for All

All avid golfers know well, and deeply love, the pure joy felt when stepping out onto a course, with its sweeping swathes of blue sky and green fairway. Nevertheless, once competition begins the eyes
of one and all, players and spectators, are drawn to a work of art of an entirely different color—that little round piece of white perfection called a golf ball. All lose sense of time and space as the club is
brought down with power and the ball takes flight with energy, soaring over the fairway, past treetops, and above water obstacles and sand traps on its way to the impossibly small target: a tiny hole off in the distance.“In the hole!”yell spectators in encouragement, as both players and fans hold their breath.

Information

Taipei Golf Practice Locations Nangang Sports Center: ngsc.cyc.org.tw (Chinese) Wanhua Sports Center: whsc.cyc.org.tw (Chinese) Zhongzheng Sports Center: www.jjsports.com.tw (Chinese) Neihu Sports Center: www.nhsports.com.tw (Chinese) Xinyi Sports Center: xysc.cyc.org.tw (Chinese) Da'an Sports Center: dasc.cyc.org.tw (Chinese) Youth Park Driving Range 5 Guoxing Rd.; (02) 2301-4409 (run by private group under commission by Parks & Street Lights Office) Guizikeng Driving Range 17, Lane 150, Xiushan Rd.; (02) 2895-8670 Qing Qing Recreational Farm Driving Range 32, Lane 266, Sec. 2, Zhishan Rd. ;(02) 2841-2853 Shilin Practice Club 2 Zhoumei St.; (02) 2838-5678

Golf, invented in Scotland, is a game of simple rules. A golfer, playing individually or as part of a team, uses different clubs to hit a small white dimpled ball down a wide fairway and into a small hole on what is called a“putting green”of close-cut grass. Over the course of a normal game, there are 18 fairway/green/hole combinations, simply called“holes,”and the player using the lowest number of hits or“strokes”wins. Holes are generally classified as requiring 3 to 5 strokes, the total number of strokes for a full 18-hole course totalling 72.

The design of each hole on a golf course has its own clever variations, challenging the player. There are rises and falls, curvatures, bunkers filled with sand, ponds, and other obstacles. Golf is thus not merely a game of raw power; experience brings accuracy and finesse. Different conditions bring the choice of different clubs, different swings, and welcome challenges.

Though within the confines of busy Taipei City, there's no opportunity to stand on an open fairway, practice facilities abound, giving you the opportunity to practice fairway drives and putting. Various facilities also offer professional instruction, such as Wanhua Sports Center, which has a comprehensive range of options, including 10 driving stations, artificial putting greens, and sand traps, simulating the experience of being outside.

At the Xinyi Sports Center, in addition to driving-range and sand-trap practice, you can also stand before a digital-simulation screen and happily experience the "real" thing. Other city-established sports centers in Nangang, Da'an, Zhongzheng, and Neihu districts offer practice ranges accommodating golf-club numbers 1 through 6, enabling lovers of the game to save travel time, hone their skills, and impress their friends next time they are on the links for a round in the great outdoors.