Golf

In Japan Golf Expert
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The sport of golf was introduced to Japan around the beginning of the 20th century and the first golf course, The Kobe Golf Club, was was built on Mount Rokko in 1903 by the Englishman Arthur Hasketh Groom. Golf experienced a boom in popularity after Japan defeated the US in the 1957 World Cup and has been a very popular sport since then.

Traditionally, golf was seen as largely the domain of the rich and privileged and during the height of the bubble economy, golf memberships and playing fees were extremely expensive. However, over the last 10 years, there has been an upheaval in the industry with a number of courses being bought over by foreign companies and the sport is now much more affordable and open than it used to be.

History

Getting Started

Where to buy golf gear: Golf shops are in abundance in Japan and if you live in Tokyo, the Ueno/Okachimachi area is an excellent place to pick up 2nd hand clubs. There are lots of golf stores there and if you shop around, you can find some real bargains. Japanese tend to change their equipment more regularly than golfers in other countries so there is usually a good supply of quality 2nd hand clubs.

Where to practice: There are literally thousands of driving ranges in Japan ranging from indoor practice nets at leisure centres right through to 300 yard three-tiered outdoor ranges.

Centrally located driving ranges can be expensive and almost all ranges are very busy on weekends. The prices charged at ranges are varied according to low and high peak times. Weekday mornings are usually the cheapest time to practice. Evenings and weekends are the more expensive times. At most driving ranges you pay a per ball fee and usually have to purchase a prepaid card for their automatic ball delivery systems.

Where to play: There are over 2,600 golf courses in Japan ranging from cheap mundane riverside courses right through to expensive and exclusive championship standard courses. Generally speaking, the closer a golf course is to a central urban area, the more expensive and crowded it will be. If you live in Tokyo, courses that take less than an hour to get to are often double the price of courses 90 minutes away so it’s worth traveling a bit further to play.

Making reservations: There are a few courses where you can make reservations in English (see the list of courses in section 6) but most courses require reservations to be made in Japanese. The most popular way of reserving a tee time is by doing it online. Many courses have their own online booking systems but most people prefer to use one of the larger booking systems offered by companies such as Rakuten or Golf Digest. These companies usually offer better deals than if you reserved directly with the golf course. In order to use one of these systems however you need to be able to read and type in Japanese or get someone Japanese to help you.

How to get there

By car: If there are 3 or 4 of you playing then it sometimes works out cheaper to hire a car for the day rather than all going by train. From March 28th, 2009, expressway tolls on weekends were capped at ¥1,000 which has made going by car a few thousand cheaper than it used to be.

Although, another thing you need to consider is the amount of time it takes to go by car. In the morning, going by car is usually quicker but coming back late afternoon, you can often get caught in traffic jams so sometimes the train is the better and less stressful option.

By train: Most golf courses run free coach services from their nearest station so check this ahead of time. Note: you usually have to reserve coach seats in advance.

And if you have a heavy golf bag or simply don’t want to carry it on the train then you can send it to the golf club in advance via your local convenience store. The convenience store will arrange for it to be sent directly to the course via one of the major delivery companies. The cost of this service is about ¥1,500 return and you’ll need to buy a golf bag cover (¥500) the first time but can keep it for future use. Send your clubs 2-4 days in advance of the day your playing. Delivery times vary according to the company you use and how far away the course is.

Japanese Golf Culture

Japanese Golf Lingo

Japanese golf phrases are heavily influenced by the English language with many well known golf terms simply being transcribed into katakana. There are also a number of interesting examples of wasei eigo (literally, made in Japan English). And there are a number of unique Japanese phrases that are often used whilst on the golf course.

Here’s a list of the most commonly used phrases:

Scoring

Eagle: iiguru (イーグル)
Birdie: baadei (バーディ)
Par: Paa (パー)
Bogey: bogi (ボギー)
Double Bogey: daburu bogi (ダブルボギー)　Often referred to as simply “daburu” (ダブル)
Triple Bogey: toripuru bogi (トリプルボギー) Often referred to as simply “toripuru” (トリプル)
3-Putt: suriipatto (スリーパット)

Common Golf Terms

Fairway: fueauei (フェアウェイ)
Green: guriin (グリーン)
Tee shot: teeshotto (ティーショット)
Approach shot: apuroochi (アプローチ)
Dogleg: doguregu (ドッグレッグ)
Putting: paateengu (パッティング)
Bunker/Sandtrap: bunka (バンカ)
Handicap: handee (ハンディ)
Competition: compe (コンペ)

Golf Clubs

Driver: doraibaa (ドライバー)
3 W: su-poon (スプーン)
4 W: ba-fii (バーフィー)
5 W: go-ban woodo (ゴーバンウッド)
Hybrid/Utility Club: yuuteeritee (ユーティリティー)
7 W: nana-ban wood (ナナバンウッド)
3 iron: sanban aian (サンバンアイアン)
4 iron: yonban aian (ヨンバンアイアン)
5 iron: goban aian (ゴバンアイアン)
6 iron: rokuban aian (ロクバンアイアン)
7 iron: nanaban aian (ナナバンアイアン)
8 iron: hachiban aian (ハチバンアイアン)
9 iron: kyu-ban aian (キュウバンアイアン)
PW: pichingu (ピチング)
SW: sando (サンド)
Putter: pataa (パター)

Exclamations/Comments

Nice shot!: Naisu Sho! (ナイスショ!)
Fore!: Faa! (ファア!)

Made in Japan English

Wasei eigo (literally, made in Japan English) are phrases coined by compounding English roots that are usually nonsensical in non-Japanese contexts.

Examples

shingurupureya (シングルプレヤ) : Single player. Known in English as a single digit handicapper.

niyapin (ニャピン) : Near Pin. Japanese people often have competitions to see who gets the nearest the pin with their tee shots on par 3’s.

doracon (ドラコン) : Driving contest. Japanese people often have competitions to see who can hit the longest drive on certain holes on the course.

daburupaa (ダブルパー) : Double Par (8 shots on one hole) Often referred to as a snowman in English.

paaonu (パーオヌ): Par on which means to hit a green in regulation.

buubiimeika (ブービーメイカー) : Boobie Maker. The Japanese equivalent of the wooden spoon or to come last in a golf competition. Consolation prizes are often awarded for this.

daburuperia/shinperia (ダブルぺリア／シンぺリア): Double Peria/Shin Peria. This is a competition system known in English as Double or New Peoria. The system whilst often used for amateur competitions in Japan is relatively unknown in other countries.

Japanese phrases:

tempura (天ぷら): A skied tee shot, comes from the Japanese word ageru (to fry, or to lift up)

kyoichi (今日いち): The best shot of the day. Literally, 'today number one'.

ikepocha (いけぽちゃ): When the ball lands in the water. Ike - pond, pocha - the sound your ball makes when it lands in the water.

zenshin yonda (ぜんしんよんだ): Means to 'Play Four'. When you hit a ball out of bounds from a tee shot, and play on from halfway down the course (marked with yellow tee markers) as if it were your fourth shot.

betapin (ベタピン): When you hit a shot that lands close to the hole's flag.

wanpin (ワンピン): When your ball is the length of the flag away from the hole.

zekkohcho (ぜっこうちょう): means best game of golf ever.

oshii (おしい): Means close/almost. A word often used in sport to describe a near miss. In golf, this is said for a putt where the ball goes very near the hole but not in.

oonamishou (おおなみしょう): Literally prize for a big wave. In amateur competitions sometimes a prize is awarded for the biggest difference between front and back nine scores.

konamishou (こなみしょう): In amateur competitions sometimes a prize is awarded for the most consistent front and back nine scores.

A selected list of golf courses/driving ranges

Golf Courses

Windsor Park Golf & Country Club

(ウィンザーパークゴルフ＆カントリー倶楽部)

http://www.wpgcc.com
Prefecture: Ibaraki
Address: 3473, Shiogo, Shirosato-machi, Higashi-Ibaraki-gun, Ibaraki 311-4401
Tel: 0296-88-2221
Email: wpgcc@manager.interq.or.jp

By car

Expressway & I.C.: Joban Expressway, Mito I.C.
Distance from Tokyo: 101 km (82 km by Joban Expressway, 19 km from Mito I.C.)
Estimated travel time: 105 minutes

By train

JR Joban Line
1 hour by "Fresh Hitachi" from Ueno Station to Tomobe Station. From there, a bus runs from Tomobe Station to the Clubhouse. *Reservations needed in advance.
Estimated travel time: 85 minutes

Aqualine GC

(アクアラインゴルフクラブ)

http://www.accordiagolf.com/htmls/eg/aqua/
Prefecture: Chiba
Address: 4345-3 Mariyatsu, Kisarazu-shi, Chiba 292-0201
Tel: 0438-53-3800
Email: aqualine-ap@accordiagolf.com
Expressway & I.C.: Tokyowan Aqualine Expressway, Kisarazu-higashi I.C.
Distance: 33 km (29 km by Tokyowan Aqualine expressway, 4 km from Kisarazu-higashi I.C.)
Estimated travel time: 30 mins.