About Us

The International Golf Society of Taipei (IGST) is a social group that arranges golfing and social events for all those interested in golf and making new friends.

Management

The IGST is run by a Board of Directors subject to a constitution which was ratified by the IGST membership at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2005. The Board of Directors meets regularly to plan events and activities. Under the terms of the constitution, the Board is empowered to make or amend the society's by-laws. Board Directors are assigned various functions including finance, course bookings, tournaments, sponsorship, membership benefits etc. The Chairman (elected by the Board) oversees the running of the Board and the society. All Board Directors pitch in to help at IGST events.

Membership

Membership is open to anyone who wants to play golf regardless of nationality, gender or golfing ability. Membership tends to vary from season to season but averages between 70 and 100.

Membership fees

Annual membership fees are set by the board at the beginning of each year and are currently NT$5,000. Benefits of membership include:

• Shirt with IGST Logo
• Golf cap with IGST Logo
• Be included in our annual competitions.
• Invited to join our annual overseas golfing trip (Last year we went to Haikou. Feel free to view some of the photos in the Gallery Section
• Meet like-minded golfers
• Included in social events
• Your handicap is also guaranteed to come down!
• New members can sign up at any IGST event.

Tournaments

IGST tournaments are played either on the first and third Saturdays of every month. However, most IGST members also get together for additional friendly games whenever possible. IGST has a range of different competitions, events and social activities.

• Stableford competition
• Match Play (knock-out tournament)
• Individual Stableford
• IGST Championship (a two-round tournament usually held in November)
• Overseas trip tournament (a two-round tournament)
• A group overseas trip (previous years trip have been to Haikou, Kota Kinabalu, Hua Hin, Phuket, Bangkok)
• A beginning sign-up part with dinner and end of year awards dinner
• Social events and casual ‘get together’ dinners!

Handicaps and scoring

Most IGST competitions use the Stableford scoring system based on handicap.

The IGST currently uses the United States Golf Association (USGA) handicap system, but over this year will adopt the new World Golf Handicap system. All IGST members are required to submit scores from all games played (including non IGST events). These scores are then entered into a database/software system maintained by the Board, which calculates the handicaps. Handicap updates and score histories are regularly sent out to members and posted on the IGST website. New members are required to submit at least 5 cards to get an official USGA handicap, which makes them eligible to compete for place prizes in our tournaments. Before receiving an official handicap, new members may play along for fun with their gross scores being used to count towards a handicap.

Social activities

The IGST's main social event of the year is the annual prize giving banquet, held in December where trophies from all the year's major events are awarded. The IGST also periodically holds social gatherings, such as a sign-up party, pre-tournament parties and other 'get togethers'. Many also travel overseas once or twice a year to experience other golfing destinations.

Benefits of membership

Making arrangements to play golf in Taiwan, especially on weekends and if you don't speak Chinese, can be very difficult. It is also more enjoyable to play with a group of people and to have a small competition to make things more fun. IGST is also very proud of the fact that our handicap system is very fair and transparent, which ensures that golfers of every ability can compete on an equal footing.