11.7% of adult men and 2.3% of adult women participate in golf at least once a year in Japan. You didn’t specify what percentage you consider to be “popular.”
It’s definitely a pretty popular sport in the older generations. Golf used to be a communication tool but not sure how prevalent that is now a days
I actually had this same thought the other week and looked it up, by chance I still had the links I came across in my history. As a country, Japan has the second most golf courses behind the United States. When you break it down relative to its size though, Japan has one course for every 46.5 square miles, which is second only to England in terms of density. So yes, theres lot of golf courses in Japan for a country of its size. However, it does not crack the top ten list in terms of golf courses per capita, but then again Japan has 130million residents. That’s just two ways to look at it though.
As for whether anyone on here plays, I love playing golf. My in-laws all play, in fact they play a round a week (usually on a “short course”). My wife can “play” golf in the sense that her parents made her learn but she doesn’t actually like playing, so her clubs just are collecting dust. I’ve also golf numerous times with colleagues. It’s very popular in the workplace.
Aside from golf course, you’ve probably also noticed a ton of driving ranges.
Sorry this was probably more long winded than need be but yes, tl;dr golf is popular in Japan.
Very popular outside the big cities. Typically, an old and wealthy man in the countryside is either a golfer, tennis player, or skiier.
Yes it’s popular. A lot of golf shops around and all the senior people at my work are golfers including the women.
I went to high school in Japan and had to take a ‘golf class’ which taught us theoretical rules, score sheet filling and practical skills for golf. It was way more intense than I would have thought for highschool PE.
It was explained to me that playing golf is big in office work/ company politics and a lot deals are fleshed out on a golf course, so its a skill needed for office and company workers. This was about 15 years ago so take it with a grain of salt though.
Very much so. Some pretty nice courses in Japan (Okinawa is my favorite golf location but there are many on the mainland too). Fees can be kinda high but you can hit balls at the driving ranges here pretty affordably
Not as popular as Air Golf, i.e. practicing your swing whenever you’re standing still for more than 30s, whether in the street while having a smoke, on the train platform or in front of the elevator.
Very popular. For business it’s second only to the nomikai/clubs as a place to entertain and get to know your clients.
Even when the current generation of senior managers retires, they’ll probably still play golf. My father-in-law, retired for like eight years now, goes probably 2-3x per month with his golf buddies. These are the people that have been golfing since like the bubble era.
That said, most people under like 45 years old simply can’t afford to go out to courses regularly, so many don’t bother taking it up at all. Unless the prices come way down, golf course owners will need to lean hard into that senior demographic.
Yes, in recent years during the pandemic it has gotten more popular among younger people, too.
It’s popular but not many people play it. In Japan it’s extremely expensive, so if you tell people in Japan you play golf, they often are impressed, it’s a social status thing here.
In the 80s and 90s was the peak, so there are lots of courses. Membership in some clubs was in the millions ($)
I’m a golfer in Japan. Play almost every weekend, 36 holes. It’s primarily played by older people who took it up during the bubble and businessmen in terms of breaking ice with clients.
I play on a 9-hole riverbed course. This is land within the river walls that acts as a buffer so it is leased at a low price to the course. Regular round is about 5,000円. I like to play early morning and twilight rounds which cost about 3,600円. I can get 27 holes in during a busy afternoon for a twilight round in the summer. It’s a great practice area to check distances and it flat ground except for the raised greens.
Within the younger crowd, many people have swung a club or two but not enough to practice or go for a round more than once in their life. Of course, having a young family makes it difficult and the cost CAN be expensive compared to other sports. There are cheap routes but those places are slowly being eaten by rising costs to maintain service.
Unfortunately, golf instruction in Japan is pretty poor. A lot of it is centered on positioning instead of matching setups and swings which is becoming more common in US and Europe. I have been taking the Shawn Clement: Wisdom in Golf approach of just letting the body naturally do it’s athletic thing and seeing a coach every now and again to check.
golf is v.popular in Japan but expensive. Most of my friends (some ojichans i met at the gym) here play regularly and always ask if i want to play even though i’m ****. I think i’ve played at the course more than the range, i usually hit around 125-135. They told me ‘once you play 18holes with a man you are his true friend’.
I see sooooo many golfers on Bumble.
Not as much as it used to be. A lot of golf courses have been closed in recent years, only to be turned into solar farms.
I live in Kyushu and there are a few golf courses near by. Weekends I find it too crowded and the pace of play is too slow for me but I will play a couple of times a year on a weekend at various local courses. You can get some good deals sometimes.
I prefer to play 9 holes on a weekday afternoon when I have some free time. I play at one owned by Accordia Golf and they let me by play myself from around 3pm. Sometimes I’ll play with a friend but it is normally hard to find someone who plays golf with my schedule. I just call the course on the day and check they aren’t busy. I bought my own trundler/cart to push around as I enjoy the walk and it is cheaper than having to rent a motorized golf cart. On weekdays I pay 3,200 yen for 9 holes. I get some golf, some exercise and some thinking time so all in all it’s pretty good.
I’d say it is. I cycle along the Arakawa and Edogawa, and there are several golf courses along the riverside. The golf courses are very full during the weekends.
They even have hole-in-one insurance, as you are expected to give gifts and host a party if you ever achieve one.
It is still somewhat popular with 4% of total population plays golf but players become a third of its peak in 80s to early 90s.
Interms of viewership it is ranked 10th with 1.4 million estimated audience. NPB(Japanese pro baseball league) is 1st has roughly 10x audience.
20 comments
11.7% of adult men and 2.3% of adult women participate in golf at least once a year in Japan. You didn’t specify what percentage you consider to be “popular.”
It’s definitely a pretty popular sport in the older generations. Golf used to be a communication tool but not sure how prevalent that is now a days
I actually had this same thought the other week and looked it up, by chance I still had the links I came across in my history. As a country, Japan has the second most golf courses behind the United States. When you break it down relative to its size though, Japan has one course for every 46.5 square miles, which is second only to England in terms of density. So yes, theres lot of golf courses in Japan for a country of its size. However, it does not crack the top ten list in terms of golf courses per capita, but then again Japan has 130million residents. That’s just two ways to look at it though.
As for whether anyone on here plays, I love playing golf. My in-laws all play, in fact they play a round a week (usually on a “short course”). My wife can “play” golf in the sense that her parents made her learn but she doesn’t actually like playing, so her clubs just are collecting dust. I’ve also golf numerous times with colleagues. It’s very popular in the workplace.
Aside from golf course, you’ve probably also noticed a ton of driving ranges.
Sorry this was probably more long winded than need be but yes, tl;dr golf is popular in Japan.
Sources:
https://www.golflux.com/countries-have-the-most-golf-courses-in-the-world/amp/
https://aussiegolfer.com.au/countries-with-most-golf-courses-per-capita/#google_vignette
Very popular outside the big cities. Typically, an old and wealthy man in the countryside is either a golfer, tennis player, or skiier.
Yes it’s popular. A lot of golf shops around and all the senior people at my work are golfers including the women.
I went to high school in Japan and had to take a ‘golf class’ which taught us theoretical rules, score sheet filling and practical skills for golf. It was way more intense than I would have thought for highschool PE.
It was explained to me that playing golf is big in office work/ company politics and a lot deals are fleshed out on a golf course, so its a skill needed for office and company workers. This was about 15 years ago so take it with a grain of salt though.
Very much so. Some pretty nice courses in Japan (Okinawa is my favorite golf location but there are many on the mainland too). Fees can be kinda high but you can hit balls at the driving ranges here pretty affordably
Not as popular as Air Golf, i.e. practicing your swing whenever you’re standing still for more than 30s, whether in the street while having a smoke, on the train platform or in front of the elevator.
Very popular. For business it’s second only to the nomikai/clubs as a place to entertain and get to know your clients.
Even when the current generation of senior managers retires, they’ll probably still play golf. My father-in-law, retired for like eight years now, goes probably 2-3x per month with his golf buddies. These are the people that have been golfing since like the bubble era.
That said, most people under like 45 years old simply can’t afford to go out to courses regularly, so many don’t bother taking it up at all. Unless the prices come way down, golf course owners will need to lean hard into that senior demographic.
Yes, in recent years during the pandemic it has gotten more popular among younger people, too.
It’s popular but not many people play it. In Japan it’s extremely expensive, so if you tell people in Japan you play golf, they often are impressed, it’s a social status thing here.
In the 80s and 90s was the peak, so there are lots of courses. Membership in some clubs was in the millions ($)
I’m a golfer in Japan. Play almost every weekend, 36 holes. It’s primarily played by older people who took it up during the bubble and businessmen in terms of breaking ice with clients.
I play on a 9-hole riverbed course. This is land within the river walls that acts as a buffer so it is leased at a low price to the course. Regular round is about 5,000円. I like to play early morning and twilight rounds which cost about 3,600円. I can get 27 holes in during a busy afternoon for a twilight round in the summer. It’s a great practice area to check distances and it flat ground except for the raised greens.
Within the younger crowd, many people have swung a club or two but not enough to practice or go for a round more than once in their life. Of course, having a young family makes it difficult and the cost CAN be expensive compared to other sports. There are cheap routes but those places are slowly being eaten by rising costs to maintain service.
Unfortunately, golf instruction in Japan is pretty poor. A lot of it is centered on positioning instead of matching setups and swings which is becoming more common in US and Europe. I have been taking the Shawn Clement: Wisdom in Golf approach of just letting the body naturally do it’s athletic thing and seeing a coach every now and again to check.
golf is v.popular in Japan but expensive. Most of my friends (some ojichans i met at the gym) here play regularly and always ask if i want to play even though i’m ****. I think i’ve played at the course more than the range, i usually hit around 125-135. They told me ‘once you play 18holes with a man you are his true friend’.
I see sooooo many golfers on Bumble.
Not as much as it used to be. A lot of golf courses have been closed in recent years, only to be turned into solar farms.
I live in Kyushu and there are a few golf courses near by. Weekends I find it too crowded and the pace of play is too slow for me but I will play a couple of times a year on a weekend at various local courses. You can get some good deals sometimes.
I prefer to play 9 holes on a weekday afternoon when I have some free time. I play at one owned by Accordia Golf and they let me by play myself from around 3pm. Sometimes I’ll play with a friend but it is normally hard to find someone who plays golf with my schedule. I just call the course on the day and check they aren’t busy. I bought my own trundler/cart to push around as I enjoy the walk and it is cheaper than having to rent a motorized golf cart. On weekdays I pay 3,200 yen for 9 holes. I get some golf, some exercise and some thinking time so all in all it’s pretty good.
I’d say it is. I cycle along the Arakawa and Edogawa, and there are several golf courses along the riverside. The golf courses are very full during the weekends.
They even have hole-in-one insurance, as you are expected to give gifts and host a party if you ever achieve one.
It is still somewhat popular with 4% of total population plays golf but players become a third of its peak in 80s to early 90s.
Interms of viewership it is ranked 10th with 1.4 million estimated audience. NPB(Japanese pro baseball league) is 1st has roughly 10x audience.
Yes.