Heading to Japan

Vision54 · September 7, 2006

Appreciate some information...

I travel extensively overseas and will start heading to Tokyo in about a month to start busines development for my company and will be going back every 8 weeks for the next 2 years; would appreciate any information on the following:

-Courses to play around Tokyo
-Any good golf stores in Tokyo I can spend $$$ at
-Tips on golf course ettiquite in Japan

greenmachine0227 · September 7, 2006

Don't know anything about courses or stores, but you have to go to a driving range at least once. When I was in Kobe in the spring, I went to a range that was by far superior to anything we have here in the states. The driving range was entirely automated. You purchased cards out of a vending machine that gave you a a spending limit. The price per ball varied on the time of day. You then took the card and went to a hitting bay where you inserted the card into another machine. from that machine you could control the tee height (with the press of a button and not having to mess around with switching rubber tees (any mat users know what I'm talking about)). Once the card was in, the tee disappeared under the mat, and reappeared with a ball pre-tee'd. When they needed to pick up range balls, long sticks attached to flags swung around in circles and knocked all of the balls into a gutter system that brought them back to the main ball dispenser where they were washed and put back into circulation. The other neat thing about the range was that it had a fully synthetic putting green and a practice bunker. Ranges are pricy, but golf in Japan is in general. I'll try to find the video I took of the range.

littlepoison · September 7, 2006

I travel extensively overseas and will start heading to Tokyo in about a month to start busines development for my company and will be going back every 8 weeks for the next 2 years; would appreciate any information on the following:

-Courses to play around Tokyo
-Any good golf stores in Tokyo I can spend $$$ at
-Tips on golf course ettiquite in Japan

I can't give any advice regarding Japanese golf, but from a business culture standpoint, whatever you do... do NOT ever do anything that could be considered a "slap on the ole back..." here in the US it's considered a congradulatory "atta boy!" but in Japan, if I remember some of my core business class work from college, it's considered something of an insult... I think :diablo:

TReed · September 7, 2006

Don't know anything about courses or stores, but you have to go to a driving range at least once. When I was in Kobe in the spring, I went to a range that was by far superior to anything we have here in the states. The driving range was entirely automated. You purchased cards out of a vending machine that gave you a a spending limit. The price per ball varied on the time of day. You then took the card and went to a hitting bay where you inserted the card into another machine. from that machine you could control the tee height (with the press of a button and not having to mess around with switching rubber tees (any mat users know what I'm talking about)). Once the card was in, the tee disappeared under the mat, and reappeared with a ball pre-tee'd. When they needed to pick up range balls, long sticks attached to flags swung around in circles and knocked all of the balls into a gutter system that brought them back to the main ball dispenser where they were washed and put back into circulation. The other neat thing about the range was that it had a fully synthetic putting green and a practice bunker. Ranges are pricy, but golf in Japan is in general. I'll try to find the video I took of the range.

Yes, I agree that you should go to a range in Japan. They are very nice and alot much nicer than any I have been to in the states. They are very expensive, though. Actually, all golf in Japan is very pricey. There are some nice golf stores in Tokyo, but right now I can't recall the names of them.