Golf Day

Golf on Saturday was played in 栃木県　(Tochigi prefecture) in a club called 紫塚ゴルフ with my lady friend Ms. E and colleague Mr. Y. Spring has started and the temperature now around mid teens so I brought my Fujikura shafted R7 TP driver. The shaft torque at 2.9 is hard to play in winter as it it becomes too stiff for me. I did hit some good shots with the driver, some 270-280 yds!

It was a resort course and quite a distance from Tokyo, about 170km one-way. Such is life for golfing in Japan. The courses nearer to Tokyo are not so wide and costs several times more. Also the surrounding views or scenery are not that great as well nearer the city. This course came highly recommended by my colleague, who played here recently.

In Japan, it is customary (more like mandatory, as you don't have a choice) to stop for lunch in between the 18 holes. This is to provide opportunity for golfers to have a meal (usually lunch) and for business people to talk business. In the past, especially during the bubble period, golf was a game enjoyed mainly by very senior executives and high officials for 接待 (settai), or entertainment, on company expense. Many exhorbitant golf courses were built and the memberships went for millions of US$ dollars then. Today, they can be had for a small fraction of the cost.

I had カレー　うどん (Japanese curry udon) for lunch and everyone had a small glass of draft beer, which is very social and common thing to do. Social outings and events in Japan are seldom dry, such is the culture here.

Being a Saturday, the game was very slow but it suited us fine as we had a lady beginner playing, so there was no pressure on us.

The game started off not too badly for me but it got worse as I was not playing the short game too well. So some of the time was spent admiring the sakura bloom on the course instead and talking with each other...

Although we'd tee'd off at 11:18am, the game ended only in the evening at about 4pm. The weather had turned chilly by the time we finished and it was followed by the obligatory 温泉 (onsen, or hot spring bath). The Onsen at this course is a natural one, with the spring being pumped from a depth of 3,000ft. The water is rich with mineral ions such as Natrium, and has healing properties. To top it off, I had dinner with my friend at a local 居酒屋 (Izakaya) or tavern, and had sumptuous local tavern fare at an Izakaya called 酒楽 (Sakaraku).