Low-cost hobby:
Affordable hire charges help promote the sport, Tiffany Chan says.
Idllyic setting:
Steven Lam enjoys practicing golf in the peaceful environment the Tuen Mun Golf Centre offers.
Expansive quarters:
The Tuen Muen Golf Centre is the largest of four government-run golf facilities, with 91 driving-range bays, practice greens and bunkers.
Safety first:
Tuen Mun Recreation & Sports Centre manager Judy Li says dividing nets between the individual bays in the driving range and a 50m high net surrounding the driving range protects people inside and outside the venue from balls hit astray.
In the swing:
Having both a short-game area - to practice chipping and putting - and a driving range for practicing long shots helps players improve their overall game.
Master your swing in Tuen Mun
April 25, 2011
The game of golf can be rewarding, frustrating and addictive. It can also be expensive. Two Hong Kong golf team representatives took news.gov.hk on a tour of the Tuen Mun Golf Centre, part of the sprawling Tuen Mun Recreation & Sports Centre, where you can master your golf swing for a lot less money than you might expect.
The Tuen Mun Golf Centre, Hong Kong’s first public golf driving range, opened on February 26, 1995. The largest of four government-run golf facilities, the 48,500 square-metre area includes a two-storey driving range with 91 bays, practice greens and bunker facilities. It offers golf training courses and related programmes at reasonable prices.
The centre caters to golfers of all ages. Tiffany Chan, the 17-year-old champion of the 2010 Hong Kong Ladies Close Amateur, got hooked on the game at this centre when she was six.
She used to accompany her father to the centre almost every week when she was a child. At first, she stood by his side and watched him play, but soon picked up the clubs and started swinging them herself.
“Golf is really important in my life. If my Dad had not brought me here and encouraged me to participate in this game, my life would not be so exciting and interesting.”
The golf centre holds annual driving-range competitions for young golfers. Tiffany has won twice.
“Facilities here help me improve a lot,” she said.
To hire one of the 91 bays in the driving range costs $48 an hour, with unlimited golf balls, while an hour on the practice green costs $12. Those without their own clubs can hire individual clubs for $12 an hour. Full-time students, and seniors aged 60 or above enjoy concessionary half-price charges during non-peak hours. The affordable hire charges help promote the sport, Tiffany says.
Tiffany’s teammate, Steven Lam, agreed.
“This centre is also close to the city, so it’s convenient for students to play golf here after school,” he said.
Steven represented Hong Kong in the Guangzhou Asian Games last year at the age of 17. He considers golf to be a “gentlemen’s game”.
“If you can’t control your temper, you won’t play well.”
Steven enjoys practising golf in the peaceful, quiet environment the Tuen Mun Golf Centre offers. He also appreciates having both a short-game area - to practise chipping and putting - and the driving range for practising long shots. Golfers need to hone both types of swings to perform at their best.
Tuen Mun Recreation & Sports Centre manager Judy Li stressed, as a government venue, there is a sharp focus on safety. Dividing nets between the individual bays in the driving range protect golfers from balls hit astray. To protect people inside and outside the venue, a high net of more than 50 metres surrounds the driving range to stop balls from flying outside.
Click
here for more details and booking methods.
