What's it like to golf in Japan? FAQs when it comes to Asia's best kept golfing secret

Booking yourself

Booking a tee time in any non-English speaking country can be a challenge but it's getting progressively easier here in Japan. Though the market here is almost 100% domestic customers only, more and more courses have English-speaking staff on hand to deal with inquiries - you can check out the comprehensive golf course database at Golf-in-Japan.com for contact details of each course. Golf in Japan can also act as a bilingual concierge service to help with your booking as well. You can also drop us an info [at] air-golf [dot] com (email) and we will recommend you the right course for your location and play style. Large groups and competitions also welcome.

Booking through hotels and travel agents

Most hotels will be able to book a round for you, but if it's short notice then probably games played midweek on courses outside of Tokyo or the other larger cities is the best option. There are both large and bespoke tour operators in Japan, but they will only deal with a handful of courses. This could be the best option if you don't fancy doing it yourself. A great tip is to try local taxi companies like MK taxi

Local foreign golf groups and outings

Head over to our community section to see what's happening!

In Japan, you will most likely be playing from the white tees. This is the regular tee, with the black or blue being competition or long tees, gold being senior, and pink or red being ladies. As you tee up, you will see a flag in the middle of the fairway about 230 yards from the whites. This indicates a good position for the next shot and also acts as a guide. Usually, when the next group passes the flag it is generally OK to play away. If you're a long hitter though, it's better to hang on another minute or two.

White stakes

The white stakes indicate OB; most courses in Japan will have a lot of these, so always check the hole guide. If you do go OB, and If indicated, players can be required to play their 4th shot from forward tees (usually about 100 yards from the pin).

This can even be the case for par 3's which can have 'play 3' forward tees! Love it or hate it, it's part of the game here and is intended to speed up the round. The forward tee is usually indicated by yellow or white tee ground stakes in the fairway.

Yellow stakes

The yellow stakes (can be yellow and black) indicate an area like an OB line. If your ball crosses it you are required to take a drop with a one-shot penalty. Your drop can be within two club-lengths of the point of crossing but no closer to the hole.

Blue stakes

This is ground under repair and is usually accompanied by a chalked border, you can lift your ball and drop at the nearest point of relief from the chalk boundary.

Start your engines

On most courses in Japan, it's expected you will go out in carts (it's included in your green fee). If you prefer, you can walk the course, but don't expect bag trolleys to be available - there are none! A lot of courses have remote control carts so it is possible to walk while the cart lugs the clubs on the cart track to the side of the fairway.

In Japan, most courses are planted with native korai grass for the course and bent for the greens. Korai dies off in the winter and becomes a pale yellow (though many courses paint the fairways with a dyed fertilizer). Korai is a dense grass and once it's in season it's quick growing and has a thick root system. The greens are generally bent (I would say 98% of courses), although some courses will also have korai greens which can be brutally fast!

Why are there two greens on a Japanese golf course?

It was popular in Japan to have two greens on every hole, particularly for courses built before the '90s. The idea was to have a winter green of bentgrass and a summer of korai grass. These days the same courses will plant both greens with bent grass and alternate them to allow for recovery and aeration treatment. A good tip is if you're going by the course yardage markers, the right side of the fairway markers will indicate the right green and the distance to its center, and the left markers will indicate the left green and the center distance.

The dreaded Japanese pitch mark goblin!

Something that drives everyone bonkers when they play in Japan is the pitch marks, or should I say, lack of pitch repairing that seems to be going on. All Japanese golfers that we have played with seem to fix their pitch marks. But there are a lot of older golfers who back in the day (when a caddy was required) got used to having it done for them, and, as sad as it is, do not repair, so you will see pitch marks on the green.

That said, the dedicated greenkeepers are relentlessly checking during and after the rounds to make sure their greens are top-notch. But if you can, try and repair your own + 1 more (The golf gods will like that and reward you with birdies and long straight drives!)

This is something that you just have to accept as part of the game (usually). No matter what time you teed off, you generally will break after nine holes for 40 minutes or so and eat lunch.

Diehards, of course, can go to the range or the practise green, but what we say is "when in Nippon...!". Golf in Japan has many intricacies and these should be enjoyed. Plus, the lunch sets are usually high quality, delicious and inexpensive. Slurping down some soba or udon noodles is a great way to get your energy levels up before getting back out on the course. 

There are also usually tea houses on the course where you can purchase snacks and beer etc. This would be only a short stop for a minute or two as you cannot hold up the group behind!

During the summer months earlier tee times with through games are available- please check before booking. Also some courses will let you play another 9 or 18 during summer, again, please check what the option are before you start.