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Editor's Pick

What's it like to golf in Japan? FAQ of Asia's best kept golfing secret

Golf in Japan is as unique as the country itself, there are over 6,852 islands including the four main islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu. There are 2,349 courses in Japan, varying from some revered top 100 courses to riverside pitch and putt. The below information is aimed at newcomers to Japan and attempts to cover the basic questions on teeing it up in Asia's best kept golfing secret!

Image: © shibuya246.com

Destinations

Osaka Canal and Bright lights

Osaka Travel Guide Japan's 2nd largest city but still intimate, approachable, and welcoming

As Japan’s original commercial capital, Osaka prefecture, which wholly incorporates the city that bares its name, has been at the center of Japanese culture for over 1,000 years. Today, the Osaka metropolitan region is the world’s 8th richest metropolitan area, on par with cities like Los Angeles and Paris. The city is roughly divided by an uptown district and a downtown district. Uptown, or the Umeda district, is characterized by its many skyscrapers and Osaka station; while downtown’s Namba district is known for its extensive entertainment and shopping. Aside from its long history and modern cosmopolitan atmosphere, Osaka is known throughout Japan as the nation’s kitchen; it is said that what Tokyoites spend on clothes, Osakans spend on food!

fall leaves in iwate along river with boat

Iwate Travel Guide Japan’s most under-explored hidden wonder

Nestled in the northern region of Tohoku on Japan’s main island of Honshu, Iwate prefecture is one of Japan’s most underexplored hidden corners. Traditionally considered a remote frontier land, Iwate still retains much of its rustic appeal, complete with all the convenience of modern Japan.

Iwate happens to be Japan’s second biggest and least densely populated prefectures after Hokkaido; so, there’s plenty of room to enjoy the open air and get exploring. The prefecture contains some surprisingly magnificent natural and cultural scenery that will equally delight and stir your mind and senses!

Courses

Night Golf In Japan Under an hour from Tokyo

Part of the advantage of living in Chiba, as I do, is the proximity to golf courses. But living out there still doesn't make me immune to the dreaded morning and afternoon traffic jams that greet all golfers! To counter this several golf courses offer night golf, which is the perfect antidote to traffic not only on the roads but on the course itself! Playing night golf in Japan is like playing golf overseas: you drive there in 30 minutes or less, get right on to the course, and play-through in under 4 hours, and head back home. What's not to love? Well, I can hear the naysayers asking about lost balls. But I can honestly say that I lose fewer balls at night than I do during the day. More about that later.

Travel

Winter Golf in Tokyo

Admit it, you think golf in winter is crazy talk. Only a fool would brave Japanese winters to play golf on a frozen course you say. Well, I am here to debunk this myth and explain why golfing in winter in Japan is not only great fun, but equally as enjoyable as any other season.

To be fair, Tokyo is nowhere near as cold in winter as people might imagine. Sure, everyone skis in the mountains of close by Niigata and Nagano, but the vast majority of golf courses in and around Tokyo are snow free year round. And aside from a few seasonal adjustments, winter golf is just like golf during any other season. To prove this point, I went golfing during a winter week at 4 separate courses--each with its own special way to handle the winter weather.

Escape from Tokyo: North or South? A closer look at Hokkaido and Okinawa

Tokyo winters are very mild. The daytime temperature hovers around 10 C and snow rarely disrupts the capital. It’s just business as usual. Which is why Tokyoites look to get away when they have a chance. And many of them head in different directions: some head north, some (especially golfers) go south.

The Japanese archipelago is always described as stretching for 3,000 km from north to south, but that’s not strictly true. It stretches from the southwest to the northeast, from just above the 24th parallel (Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture) to the 45th (the tip of Hokkaido). Ishigaki’s latitude puts it south of Miami, Riyadh and Taipei. Surprisingly, Hokkaido, Japan’s snow country, is no further north than Milan or Ottawa.

But to the residents of Tokyo, Okinawa and...

Community

Knights and Knightesses with Drivers Cup Open competition, 11/08 @ Tochigi Gold President Country Club

If you are looking for a fun golf outing with some great people, support a worthy cause AND play a fantastic course, we would like to let you know about this 80 person better ball competition on Sunday Nov 11th, to raise money for disadvantaged children in Japan which will be held at Gold Tochigi President Country Club

The event is supported by great prizes form our sponsors, and welcomes players of all abilities, male and female for a fun golf outing. More details and sign up can be found here www.kkwids.com or contact William Ramsay william [at] hyndgroup [dot] com

BMW International Golf Challenge 2018 Sep 28th, The Royal Golf Club, Ibaraki

2018 sees the return of the ultimate 2-ball scramble open event: 'The BMW International Golf Challenge'. This is an event going from strength to strength both in popularity with the ex-pat golfing community here in Japan and also support from sponsors and the organizers- BMW themselves. A really cracking day is planned, that has EVERYTHING; a great course, scramble format with a shot-gun start, transportation laid on, fantastic food, drinks both on and off the course, car displays, models, over forty fantastic prizes, and to top it off, you could be driving away in a brand new BMW 740e i-performance car! If, of course, you are lucky enough to get an ace...

News

First annual Japan PPGA TOUR event to debut October 2019 Introduction of the ZOZO Championship

The popular shopping site ZOZOTOWN operated by ZOZO Inc. announced a title sponsorship agreement with the PGA TOUR, establishing Japan’s first annual PGA TOUR tournament planned in the fall of 2019. 
 The 'ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP' is scheduled from October 21st-27th of 2019, and the main competition will be held on the 24th, as one of the early events of the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR season. The planned venue for the tournament Narashino Country Club in Chiba prefecture. The prize money of $9.75 million dollars(approximately \1.1 billion yen) will be the highest in Japan’s golf history. 
 Every year since 1993, the PGA TOUR has had at least one member from Japan on its membership roster, and there has been a total of 18 Japanese players who have held PGA TOUR membership to date. Currently, there...

Ryder Cup 2018 5 takeaways from the European victory

So if you were lucky enough to have satelite TV, and dedicated enough to stay up late to watch the 42nd Ryder Cup, you would have been impressed with a fortified European team and rather disapointed with an incohesive and quiet team USA. The final scoreline of 17.5 - 10.5 suggests a romp, but there was in the afternoon of the single matches, a glimpse of hope for the Americans. But the barage of superior shot making by the Europeans, and a tight and punishing course in the form of Le Golf National, proved decisive in giving the Europeans victory on home soil.

Equipment

Taylormade Golf Introduces GAPR Distance gapping in your long game

Featuring SpeedFoam Technology, a new trio of products engineered to Fill Distance Gaps in a player's long game, has come onto the market.

TaylorMade Golf, the original creators of the rescue line of hybrids in 1999, announced the debut of GAPR, a highly innovative trio of products with unique identities and performance deliverables providing golfers with the right clubs to fill gaps in the long game.

Nearly every golfer has a gapping challenge in the long part of their set; specifically, the difficult-to-manage yardage between the longest playable iron and the shortest metalwood. With a majority of players not comfortable hitting 3, 4 and even 5 irons consistently to precise yardages or with any dependable accuracy and 5, 7 and 9 woods often difficult to control,...

ODYSSEY EXO Odyssey releases new high-MOI putter

Odyssey has just revealed a high-MOI (moment of Inertia) mallet putter line with the launch of its EXO range.

Bringing together elegant detailing and Tour-level performance with some of the finest finishes ever seen in an Odyssey Putter, the EXO line marries the on-trend red and traditional black putter look in one technology-rich package.

All three multi-piece designs take inspiration from two classic head shapes in Rossie and Number Seven and a more recent shape, the Indy, from Odyssey’s Toulon Design family.

Each head is precision-milled, with a weight-saving aluminum red section contrasting with an elegant, milled black stainless steel body that drives significant increases in MOI, pushing putter performance to new levels for all golfers.

On impact...

Instruction

Making of Good Alignment

If you are hitting a lot of shots offline and struggling with your consistency, try taking a look at your alignment. To align your body properly, your feet, hips and shoulders should be square (parallel) to the target line. You should imagine two lines running parallel to each other. Railroad tracks should be something easy to envision. The ball is on the outside track (target line) and you are standing on the inside track with your feet, hips and shoulders parallel to the outside track.

Next time you are on the practice range, choose a target. Then have your friend hold an alignment stick up to your feet, hips and shoulders to see if they are square (parallel) to the target line. This might cure some of your offline shots.

Tempo drill Mini Lesson

Golfers sometimes struggle to be consistent from one club to another (especially irons to woods) because their tempo varies from club to club. If your tempo varies from club to club, it makes it very difficult to have the proper timing to hit consistent golf shots. To work on your tempo, try the drill below.

Get in your athletic set up position. Without a ball, do continuous swings for 15 seconds. To help with your tempo, try counting (1.................2). Do this drill with woods, long irons and short irons. Hopefully, your tempo will remain the same for each club.

Lifestyle

The Tavern - Grill & Lounge Brilliant creative food in a casual upscale atmosphere

An area that has undergone a remarkable transformation over the last few years is Toranomon 1-chome. This classic Tokyo business town has evolved into a modern, youthful promenade, thriving around Kanata Street. Towering over the district is yet another remarkable Mori Building Co. creation, Toranomon Hills. On the top 6 floors, nestled over a plethora of blue chip companies and the JOC, is the Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills hotel, which is the focus of our attention. In particular the newly conceptualized The Tavern - Grill & Lounge, which under the creative brilliance of Executive Chef, Shaun Keenan, and his dedicated team, has come into its own.

BMW X7

There has been a buzz with BMW owners since the unveiling of the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance at the Frankfurt motorshow, the BMW Group is not only pulling back the covers on a new model concept for the luxury segment, it is also introducing a whole new take on luxury for the BMW brand. The Concept X7 iPerformance is it's largest SUV to date. It's striking exterior composed of intently focused lines with simplified accents. The interior offers 3 rows of luxurious comfort and cleant elegant design. The BMW TwinPower Turbo petrol engine to create an exceptionally efficient and dynamic plug-in hybrid powertrain that excels in all driving situations – including running with zero local emissions.

The X7 will join the 8 Series, the 7 series, the BMW i8 and new BMW i8 Roadster in the...

More on Air

Top 10 Golf Shops in Tokyo

In Tokyo, as in the rest of Japan, golf is an immensely popular sport, enjoyed by the Japanese on meticulously kept golf courses and driving ranges. Not surprisingly golf shops in Japan are also high spec, and it is not hard to find stylish apparel and high-quality equipment from both international and domestic brands in Tokyo. Here Is our list of the top 10 golf shops in Tokyo.

S’Port Mizuno Go straight to the source at the Mizuno flagship store where the entire shop is dedicated to the Mizuno range of equipment and apparel. You’ll find all the latest products from clubs, balls, and bags to shoes, gloves, and accessories. Try the club fitting; employing the latest Mizuno developed technologies and techniques, it will match you with the perfect clubs for your...

Five Japanese Drivers for 2018 Buying guide for the latest J-Drivers

Currently, the driver club market has no end of new tech to salivate over, new ways of adjustability, added yardage and more forgiveness promising to take your game to the next level. But before we get into all of that here are some key things to remember before you start shelling out your hard-earned yennies!

Custom Fit

With all the different launch angles and designs it's important to have a go of some different models with a pro or fitting professional to check the data and see which suits your game best. Most of the large chains of Golf shops such as Nikki Golf, Victoria Golf and even some Golf partners carry have the correct equipment to give you a good fitting experience, plus they carry enough different brands to give you the best choice....

Up Your Golf Game With an Apple Watch More than an accessory!

Mark your score after that awesome birdie, check the yardage via GPS, decide strategy on the next hole. But first, a quick press of the digital crown to have Siri remind you to call your wife when you get back to the clubhouse. Wait,… what? Yep! All of that was just done on your Apple Watch. It's certainly not your father’s Rolex anymore when it comes to golfing and the Apple Watch.

Just like how the iPhone and other smartphones revolutionized how we communicate and use technology 10 years ago, the new Apple Watch has changed how golfers approach the game today, and possibly changed the game itself. And, with onboard GPS, increased water protection and other performance enhancements Apple Watch Series 2 has the potential to make an even bigger impact. It comes as no surprise...