The Asia Golf Leaders Forum (AGLF) will be hosting the ‘Virtual Golf Conference’ on September 8 in Beijing, China.
Sponsored by Golfzon China, this is the second global conference organised by the AGLF in cooperation with the R&A (Royal & Ancient Golf Association), since the first conference- ‘Growing Women’s Golf in Asia’ was held at the sidelines of the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open in December 2022.
The conference welcomed Se-ri Pak and Professor Soon-young Kim (Gachon University, KLPGA member) who participated in an in-depth discussion with other golf leaders on several topics that focused on the development of women’s golf in Asia then.
“The dream of having world-class players like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy going head-to-head in virtual golf is just around the corner. We expect a big market transformation to go underway next year, with explosive growth, especially in temperate countries,” said AGLF Secretary General Park Paul who will be in attendance at the Beijing conference.
“It is not merely a coincidence that the conference will be held with the R&A and other APAC Association Members, but a beginning of big changes,” added Park.
In addition, the virtual conference will also provide an opportunity for APAC Association Members to discuss the current status of various virtual golf platforms in their respective regions and the future of virtual golf as a new competitive sport, and to make proactive preparations for the future of the virtual golf market in the Asia Pacific region.
Other points of discussion include a quantitative analysis of the behaviours and attitudes of virtual golfers in the Asia-Pacific region, the handicap management system Golf Handicap & Information Network (GHIN), and future directions for calculating handicaps for virtual golfers.
Golfzon China, which has been playing a key role in raising the popularity of golf in China, has been organising the Golfzon China Open with the China Golf Association (CGA) since 2021 where one of its key objectives is to build a solid foundation for the indoor virtual golf market in China.
Last year’s event saw more than 5,000 players participating from more than 150 Golfzon China stores across the country. The highly successful tournament was broadcast exclusively on China’s largest OTT platform and China Mobile affiliate, Migu.
This year, more than 200 Golfzon China stores have been holding qualifiers where they are anticipating a strong turnout of approximately 10,000 participants with 52 players expected to be featured in the finals.
They will compete for the title over three days starting on September 7 where a total prize pool of 2.5 million yuan (approximately USD$350K) is on offer with the first prize worth 1 million yuan (approximately USD$140K).
Further details on the creation of a new international virtual golf organisation by Golfzon China will be made after discussions with industry experts from the global market during the virtual golf conference.
