The Northern Clipper #2

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.”