As John and I wait for the snow to melt the temperatures are starting to warm up. It looks like winter is finally over. John and I have started swinging at the simulator at the Gosser Golf Course on base and finding ways to stay busy and be ready for the season to begin later this month. While waiting here is a history of Golf in Japan for some light reading.

Golf has been in Japan for a little over a hundred years and they have taken it to new heights in their society. Golf is known to be a leisurely activity, but Japan infatuation with the sport is off the charts. There love of this sport is and the relaxing nature of it molds well to their society. The golfers that go on to success at the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) are iconic pop stars inside this proud island nation for the remainder of their life. The Japanese golfer loves his sports and plans to be good at it, and if he cannot be goo, at least look good doing it.

Wikipedia says: “In 1903 a group of British expatriates established the first golf club in Japan, at Kobe. In 1913 the Tokyo Golf club at Komazawa was established for and by native Japanese who had encountered golf in the United States. In 1924 The Japan Golf Association was established by the seven clubs then in existence. “During the 1920s and early 1930s several new courses were built, however the great depression and increasing anti-Western sentiment limited the growth of the game. By the time of the Japanese attacks against the USA and British Empire in 1941 there were 23 courses. During the subsequent war most of the courses were requisitioned for military use or returned to agricultural production. 

In the postwar period, Japan’s golf courses came under the control of the occupying forces. It was not until 1952 that courses started to be returned to Japanese control. By 1956 there were 72 courses. Between 1960 and 1964 the number of golf courses in Japan increased from 195 to 424. By the early 1970s there were over 1,000 courses. The 1987 Resort Law that reduced protection on agricultural land and forest preserves created a further boom in course construction and by 2009 there were over 2,400 courses. 

In 1957 Torakichi Nakamura and Koichi Ono won the Canada Cup (now World Cup) in Japan, an event that is often cited as igniting the post-war golf boom. The victory over Sam Snead and Ben Hogan earned Nakamura the invitation as the first Japanese golfer to play in the Masters in Augusta. Today the most successful Japanese golfer on the PGA tour is Hideki Matsuyama. He won the Asian Amateur Championship in 2010 and 2011. He is a five-time PGA Tour winner, and an eight-time Japan Golf Tour winner. On 19 June 2017, Matsuyama became the world No. 2-ranked player on the Official World Golf Ranking, the highest ranking by a Japanese player ever. The country’s best players compete on the Japan Golf Tour. The tour has 26 tournaments stretching from Northern Japan to Singapore. 

As for the more successful golf companies (this is not an endorsement for them) you have Mizuno. They are into all sports gears especially golf and baseball. With my limited experience in using their equipment, it is decent craftsmanship and comfortable in the hand. When you think of Japan golf balls and Tiger, Bridgestone should come to mind. They manufacture many different models based on your swing and hit pretty consistently. They use a numbering system i.e. Bridgestone 4, Bridgestone 6 to identify their golf balls. I would prefer they call them different names like Titleist does. 

Overall the golf scene in Japan is pretty good. I am going down to the Tokyo area for some business and leisure but looks like I will be able to get a couple rounds in while I am down there. I am looking forward to swinging the clubs again and hopefully the snow melts and the course is ready for me and until then “let’s take this a little north.”

The Norther Clipper #1

Golf and Japan, the beauty of cherry blossoms, challenging terrain, exquisite water hazard’s, and lush green grasses; makes you want tee off and rip one down a narrow fairway setting up a perfect second shot to the sloping green. Man I love the challenges of golfing in Japan.  Join us as we trek the northern most prefecture’s challenging golf courses and give you a descriptive review of these courses. We will start our Japan golfing adventures as a team in Honshu’s northern most prefecture Aomori. In March the snow is starting to melt, and the courses are preparing for the 2019 season. This is our first year as a startup and will be sticking close to home.We will go south occasionally for work and play as well. Our plan for this season is to hit most of the public courses in Aomori and start golfing into Iwate prefecture by the end of the season (November).  As this site grows, I hope to expand and get further south.

            We are George Calbert (Curious George) and John Lyon (Simba). We are both currently in the United States military stationed in Misawa, Japan. I (George) am going on my sixth season of seriously golfing and trying to get better each day. I finished last season with a GHIN handicap of 15. John going on his 13th season of seriously golfing but has played since he was 10ish. He enjoys working to hone his craft each day and looks forward to a life time of golf. He finished last season with a GHIN handicap of 7.  

            This goal of this site is to have fun, be light hearted and share our experiences golfing in Japan. If you are looking for a video lesson or how to hit this shot or that shot; sorry that is not us. For that kind of instruction, spend the money and hire a professional coach. Here is what we intend to bring to our audience on his site: the golf culture in Japan, how to set up a round of golf in Japan when you do not speak Japanese, some do’s and do nots on a Japanese course, an everyday Joe’s opinion and review of the equipment that we are using, the facilities at the golf course, and of course a review of the golfing itself. These are going to be our opinions of how we feel the course plays in the current conditions. 

If you’re interested in playing golf here in Japan, please come back and visit us often, read our articles, drop us a line and watch our videos. Join us on this journey and let us know what you would like to see that we can we bring you that is different or what are you are looking for? The starter is about to call our group to the first tee here in Northern Japan. Thank you for checking us out and until then “let’s take this a little north.”

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