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A warm sunny day creeps up and whispers an inviting message to come and play golf. Unfortunately the day we picked to go, was neither warm nor sunny, but thanks to technology, that was not a problem. I used to play golf on an occasional basis in America, and I had the itch to do it again, but I was not sure of a place to go in Taiwan. I did not have any clubs and was generally unaware of any courses near Taipei. After asking around a bit, I discovered from my boss that there was a virtual reality golf center in Neihu, Taipei.
So, one dreary Saturday afternoon, we decided to pregame by hitting the driving range with one set of clubs between five of us. I believe you can rent clubs there, but we did not have to. Playing a round of golf without warming up is like pulling a hot pan out of the oven, not impossible, but nevertheless not a good idea. So, we hit the driving range for a 30 minute warm up.
Getting there was a little bit of a task if you are not familiar with the bus lines or you do not have a scooter or car. This place is not near an MRT station, so you will have to take a bus or U-bike if you cannot transport yourself.
We went to Songshan MRT station, and took the bus #63 northbound to the terminal station. After getting out, we proceeded to walk about 5 minutes to our destination.
The driving range had two floors, many spaces to hit balls, AND it even had an automatic ball dispenser, how cool! When you hit the ball from the tee or take it off the tee, it gives you another brand new ball! How technology has advanced since my childhood!
After hitting a few balls at the driving range, we crossed the street and were at the Virtual Reality Golf Center. We booked our own private room, so we would not have to share a huge room with 5 other groups of golfers. This was a good choice in the end because a few of us were not the best golfers to say the least, ha! I am really surprised nothing was broken during our experience. But, cheers to that!
After entering the private area, we loaded up the Tokyo Virtual Course, putting buildings in the background that we could interact with, like trees. We typed in our names, and we were off! The floor adjusted itself with a similar angle as your shot lie on the course, which was pretty nifty. With our own private room, they gave us a free bottle of red wine, which was happily consumed by our group. After 18 grueling holes, and 6 hours later, we were finished!
I am generally a decent golfer, but getting used to VR was a challenge at first. I finished 3rd place out of 5, which was disappointing but not embarrassing. I would definitely like to experience a real course in Taiwan eventually. Chipping and putting were difficult to gauge with your mind if you’re used to a real course. If you want to analyze your swing, there is an app that shows you the videos from your rounds. It is always on the screen at the VR center, but I did not bother to download it this time.
If you have any experiences with golfing in Taiwan, we would love to hear from you! Send us a quick message in the form below! I hope this motivated some of you to get out and JUST DO IT!
More information about the golf places:
Golfzon Driving Range
https://www.facebook.com/BeckhanGolfzonGDR/
Address: 101, Lane 76, Ruiguang Rd, Neihu District, Taipei City, 114
Phone: 02 8791 0991
Beckhan Golf VR Center
http://www.global.golfzon.com/gz/main
Address: No. 66, Lane 76, Ruiguang Rd, Neihu District, Taipei City, 114
Phone: 02 2796 5520
On a Date with Asia 