With its limited land area, the island of Taiwan has an equally limited number of golf courses, and few have the time and means to pursue the sport. And yet despite this, a considerable group of internationally renowned professional golfers have emerged from Taiwan.
In sports such as basketball, soccer and tennis, those with the greatest number of points win the game. In golf however, the goal is reversed, and the player with the lowest score becomes the victor. One might wonder how golf, a game of concentration and skill involving hitting a small ball over roughs, water, sand traps and distance into a small hole, first came into being.
Golf is said to have originated in Holland around 1000 years ago. In their leisure time, shepherd boys would hit rocks with thick sticks, competing to see who could hit the highest, furthest and most accurately. With time the sport evolved into the modern game of golf. Pasture, rock and stick were thus the forerunners of the golf course, golf ball and golf club.
As in the west, golf courses on Taiwan have a standard 18 holes varying in length and difficulty, with an average par of 72. Taiwan has 33 courses, located at a distance from the cities. All of them offer club memberships. The average membership fee is US$1000, while non-members pay green fees of US$25 for 18 holes. The fees cover the high cost of grounds upkeep as well as the services of a caddy for each player.
Most club members are businessmen, doctors, lawyers or government officials. They may drive to the course to play on weekends, or use the sport as an opportunity to entertain clients. It is not unusual for business transactions to be made during a round of golf.
Others pursue the sport for the exercise and opportunity to leave the city and enjoy the fresh air of the countryside. Although golf is not particularly strenuous, playing 18 holes involves a six to seven kilometer walk.
Golf is still considered by many Chinese to be the "game of aristocrats". Unlike many other sports, golf equipment is costly. To be able to play on Taiwan's courses requires a high membership fee and transportation to courses outside the city. The courses themselves require a considerable area of already limited land, and regular upkeep.
Despite these limitations Taiwan boasts a number of excellent golfers, both amateur and professional, from all economic backgrounds. Taiwan has 300 to 400 amateur golfers, most of whom began to learn the game as caddies. Many are students who practice in their free time. They all tend to do well when sent to competitions abroad.
Foremost among Taiwan's amateur players is Hsie Min-nan. In 1964 he won the individual championship at the Eisenhower Cup, one of the largest international amateur golf tournaments. As a member of Taiwan's amateur team, he helped to win four team championships in the Asia Pacific Cup and other competitions.
To become a professional, Taiwan's amateur golfers must play in a competition sponsored monthly by the Chinese Professional Golfer's Association (PGA) to determine their qualifications. The Association's president, Lu Liang-huan remarks that among all sports played on Taiwan, golf has had the highest success in international tournaments. He compares astounding success in the golf world to Taiwan's rapid economic growth, "a miracle achieved despite overwhelming odds."
Taiwan's professionals compete in three basic types of competitions. Many participate in Taiwan and Asian area circuit competitions. Or they may compete for membership in foreign professional associations and participate in foreign tournaments. Most of these golfers enter the Japanese PGA and compete in Japan. This is because Japanese tournaments are plentiful and competition less stiff. Or Taiwan golfers may play in invitational tournaments sponsored by the ROC or other countries.
No one can speak of the history of golf on Taiwan without mentioning Ch'en Chin-shih and the Tamsui golf course, where he trained Taiwan's earliest professional golfers. The Tamsui golf course was first built in 1914 and consisted of three holes. Six, and then nine holes were subsequently added. In 1929 the course was expanded to the standard 18 holes.
Ch'en Chin-shih, born in 1910, grew up beside the Tamsui course. Like many current professionals, he began as a caddy. The young Ch'en often retrieved lost golf balls near his house and used them for practice. In 1932 he began teaching golf at the Tamsui course, but left when it closed down during World War Ⅱ. Upon its reopening in 1947, Ch'en returned to manage the course with two other friends.
Ch'en's first group of students included the successful professionals Hsie Yung-yu, Lu Laing-fan, Kuo Chi-hsiung, Hsu Sheng-san, Hsu Hsi-san and Hsie Minnan.
Hsie Yung-yu, known throughout Asia as Y.Y. Hsie, is a four-time champion on the Asia Golf Circuit. In 1972 he broke a world record at the Kuan Tung Golf Open in Japan by scoring 68 consecutive pars, surpassing the old record of 64.
Y.Y. Hsie, now 50, began his career as a caddy. In 1968 he went to Japan as a golf instructor, and eventually participated in Japanese tournaments. He is now a partner in a private golf course in Japan.
Another of Ch'en's former students is Lu Liang-fan, commonly known as Mr. Lu. In 1971 he won second place in the British Open. Lu's gentlemanly manner and playing style created a sensation among the English fans. With this and the fact that he was the first Asian in the Open's 100 year history to be among the top 20 finishers, Mr. Lu was given extensive news coverage, while the actual champion received a somewhat cooler reception.
Born in 1936, Lu was a caddy at the age of 11,.a golfer at 15, and a golf instructor at 19. He won his first professional tournament in the 1959 Hong Kong Open. In 1962 Lu began instructing at the Hong Kong Royal Golf Club and went on to win three circuit tournament championships and 15 professional titles.
After the 1971 British Open, Lu was asked to instruct the king of Morocco, Singapore's prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, President Marcos of the Philippines, and leaders of Fiji and the Ivory Coast. With golf's popularity among world leaders, Lu views the game as a possible channel for furthering international relations.
Ch'en also instructed Hsie Min-nan, winner of the individual championship at the 1964 Eisenhower Cup. Hsie went professional at the age of 25, but had a slow start. He received little recognition until six years later in 1971, when he won the overall Asia Golf Circuit championship. The next year he won individual and team championships at the World Cup.
Hsie and Jack Nicklaus are the only golfers who have won both Eisenhower Cup and World Cup championships. In 1981 Hsie set another record in Japan by participating in three consecutive weeks of competition, winning first place every day. During his years in Japan, Hsie's annual earnings averaged US$100,000. Hsie now runs his own Tony golf equipment factory, using a dragon trademark.
T'u Ah-yu is the ROC's world renowned women's golf champion. In 1973 she won the championship in the Philippine Amateur Golf Tournament. In her last three years as an amateur she was the continual women's amateur champion in Japanese tournaments. Since becoming a professional in 1974, T'u has won over US$700,000 in Japanese tournaments. America's Golf Digest chose T'u as 1975's foremost new talent.
In 1976, T'u qualified for the American Women's Professional Golf Association tour. Because of language difficulties, she did not compete in the U.S., but returned to Japan to compete in an average of one four-day tournament a week. Her busy schedule, she says, leaves little time for leisure or romance. Nevertheless, T'u feels lucky to have accomplished such startling success, and considers herself the Cinderella of women's golf.
Other successful woman golfers from Taiwan include Ts'ai Li-hsiang, Wu Mingyue and Huang Yue-ch'in.
Among the most recent new golfers are Lu Hsi-chun, Liao Kuo-chih and the brothers Ch'en Chih-chung and Ch'en Chihming.
Lu Hsi-chun, nephew of Mr. Lu, was raised in a golf environment. As a caddy he did barbell and pull-up exercises for arm strengthening, and swam for endurance training. A professional at age 26, he went on to win the Asia Golf Circuit championship for three consecutive years.
Ch'en Chih-chung, at the age of 25, was the first Asian player to enter the American PGA. While 3000 golfers compete yearly for entry, only 50 are chosen. Ch'en chose to enter the American PGA rather than compete in Japan because of the greater challenge that it provided. His 1983 winnings were US$80,000, ranking him 68th among all players. Last year he ranked number 100, winning US$54,000.
Most of us envy the prestige and money enjoyed by professional golfers such as Ch'en Chih-chung, T'u Ah-yuand Hsie Min-nan. What must not be forgotten are the great pressures that they are under and the extensive training required to become an international champion. Their distinctions have been well earned.
(Jill Ardourel)
[Picture Caption]
The small, white golf ball has brought fame and fortune to many players, and made Taiwan a leader of golf in Asia. 1. Special personalized golf balls are made to prevent hitting someone else's ball. That pictured belongs to T.C. Chen. 2.3. Golf champions T'u Ah-yu and Lu Liang-fan in action.
1-3. Golf on Taiwan is the sport of the wealthy. 1. The clubhouse of the Tamsui golf course. On weekends and holidays the parking lot fills with golfers' cars. 2. High priced, imported golf clubs. 3. The green, attractive Tamsui course. 4. Taiwan's Li Wen-sheng creates a cloud of dust and sand as he hits the ball out of a sand trap.
1. Measuring to see whose ball came closest to the hole. 2. Hsu Sheng-san shows his frustration at having missed a putt.
1. The new talent Yu Chin-han makes a twist after putting, in hopes of changing the direction of the ball. 2. Young caddies study the players' techniques as they carry their clubs, in hopes that someday they will be active on the course.
The small, white golf ball has brought fame and fortune to many players, and made Taiwan a leader of golf in Asia. 1. Special personalized golf balls are made to prevent hitting someone else's ball. That pictured belongs to T.C. Chen. 2.3. Golf champions T'u Ah-yu and Lu Liang-fan in action.
1-3. Golf on Taiwan is the sport of the wealthy. 1. The clubhouse of the Tamsui golf course. On weekends and holidays the parking lot fills with golfers' cars. 2. High priced, imported golf clubs. 3. The green, attractive Tamsui course.
1-3. Golf on Taiwan is the sport of the wealthy. 1. The clubhouse of the Tamsui golf course. On weekends and holidays the parking lot fills with golfers' cars. 2. High priced, imported golf clubs. 3. The green, attractive Tamsui course.
1-3. Golf on Taiwan is the sport of the wealthy. 1. The clubhouse of the Tamsui golf course. On weekends and holidays the parking lot fills with golfers' cars. 2. High priced, imported golf clubs. 3. The green, attractive Tamsui course.
4. Taiwan's Li Wen-sheng creates a cloud of dust and sand as he hits the ball out of a sand trap.
1. The new talent Yu Chin-han makes a twist after putting, in hopes of changing the direction of the ball.
2. Young caddies study the players' techniques as they carry their clubs, in hopes that someday they will be active on the course.
1. Measuring to see whose ball came closest to the hole.
2. Hsu Sheng-san shows his frustration at having missed a putt.
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@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)