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Golf Triathlon Begins In Mie Prefecture, Japan A World's First Competition

When it comes to Golf, Japan is not known for ground braking new trends, however, word has reached us of an exciting and new concept event; the inaugural ‘Golf Triathlon’ happening on the 14th of October at the renowned Tsu Country Club in Mie prefecture. The race will be a triathlon consisting of golf, running, and cycling. The organizers hope to combine these individual sports to make a series of events that they hope will attract many foreign and domestic participants and also inspire other Golf triathlon events abroad. 

The System

The triathlon is based on points, with the winner the one with the lowest point accumulation. There will be 3 categories of competition: ironman, challenge and relay. Iron man is the full triathlon, challenge are only required to bike and run half of the distance and for the relay, the course can be shared between 3 teammates.

The first leg starts with running, with participants accumulating 1 point per second. Ironman level is required to complete one lap /18 holes and just 9 holes for the other categories.  Next comes cycling; participants must complete two laps or 36 holes of the course (challenge just 18 holes), with one second again equivalent to one point.  The final leg is golf: Consisting of a standard 18-hole stroke play format for all categories, not determined by time, you can carry your own bag, or you can wheel it on a trolley. Competition rules are the local rules of the course. Points calculation is 40 points per stroke.

Origins Of The Event

The event organizers state the three objectives of the event:

1. To create a new sport combining Golf, running and cycling and encourage a new generation of athletes into the sport. 

2. For Golf courses to pursue new possibilities as outdoor sporting venues, combining golf and something else. The golf course business has changed drastically in recent years in Japan and this aims to help courses by providing new business opportunities. For example, golf courses are ideal as cross-country venues. For mountain biking, they offer hilly terrain and are safe from regular roads and have facilities offered by the clubhouse such as locker room and restaurants.

3. They hope to create a ripple of economic effects in the area which are predominantly rural and will surely benefit from the extra influx of visitors. Working in coordination and cooperation with local governments and businesses to grow the event as well as tourism in the local areas. 

Details of the event

Participation: limited to 150 people.

Date and time: October 14, 2019 (Monday, national holiday) 

Venue: Tsu Country Club and surrounding roads

Address: 30 Katadahase-cho, Tsu, Mie Prefecture 514-0077

 

Entry fees: 

Ironman: ¥15,000 / person

Challenge: ¥15,000 / person

Team Relay: ¥21,000 / team

Classification and course requirement

Ironman (Run: 18H, Bike: 36H, Golf:18H)

Challenge (Run: 9H, Bike: 18H, Golf: 18H)

Relay (Run: 18H, Bike: 36H, Golf: 18H )

Participation conditions

  • Men and women must be in good physical condition
  • Junior high school students must have parental consent to participate
  • Persons who can play golf at a competitive level (average scoring is 100 or less for the Ironman Division and 115 or less for the Challenge Division)
    ​* Relay participants must have a golf average score of 115 or less
  • People who can cycle 30km and who can run 10km 
     

What you need on the day  

  • Bicycle (can be rented)
  • Golf Clubs (can be rented) 
  • Valid ID  (like Passport, health insurance card or driver's license, etc.)
  • Helmet for cycling
  • Golf trolley if you need (There are 6 rental trolleys at the golf course, on a first-come, first-served basis).

Participants meeting:

Will be held the day before the tournament (Sunday, October 13th) at Tsu Country Club. The players meeting is from 18:00, and when you register as a player at the reception, you will receive a bib number and a locker key. Please be sure to come as all aspects of the courses and competition will be explained. If you would like to play the course before the player's meeting, that can be arranged.

Registration and more info: https://golftriathlon-japan.com/ (Japanese only) 

For English please email: suzuks06 [at] pref [dot] mie [dot] lg [dot] jp

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