Golf changes with Corona What is the new play style June 17th 17:23

The new coronavirus has changed our lives and continues to be alert to infections in various industries. There is a movement to search for a "new playing style" even at a golf course where you can go outdoors on a vast course full of greenery and there is a low risk of infection, and there are efforts that are well received.
Can the new style of spread become the savior of Japan's golf world, which was hit hard by the new coronavirus in a difficult situation where the playing population halved from its peak?
(Sports News Department reporter Yuuki Hosaka)

“New style”

The Yotsukaido Golf Club in Yotsukaido City, Chiba Prefecture, visited for coverage in early June.
Something that was always on the course was gone.

It is a rake to smooth the sand after hitting with a bunker.
Due to the risk of viruses being used by many people, this golf course removed all bunker rakes on the course in late April.
The person who played plays the sand in the foot and clubs.

There was also a new style on the green.
Play with the pin standing upright.
If it is within 50 cm from the cup, it is OK to assume that you entered without putting.
They try to avoid the risk of viruses being transmitted by multiple people touching pins and cups.

The clubhouse has changed too.
All staff wear masks. A transparent sheet is installed at the reception to prevent flying.
The fact that there are no gloves to try on at the equipment department is part of measures to prevent viruses.
Every time I use the table, chairs and cart in the dining room, the staff carefully wipes them with disinfectant.

Satoshi Yoshida, Manager, Yotsukaido Golf Club
"I would like to take as much measures as possible to reduce the risk of infection. Regarding the play style, there are some voices that customers will leave footprints if they do not use a rake with a bunker. But I want to seek understanding.''

Golf course suffering from corona

The spread of the new coronavirus has hit the golf courses nationwide. According to the operating company that operates more than 130 courses in Japan, including golf courses in Yotsukaido City, in April when the emergency was announced, sales were 40% lower than last year because customers refrained from playing. It has decreased.
In May, when the declaration was lifted, the number of customers was gradually returning, but the sales still remained at 80% of last year.

The management company called for customers to cooperate with infection control measures in the national guidelines that were revised in April, and proposed a play style that reduces risk.
We posted it on the course of our golf course and also on the site that accepts reservations.

This guideline is to keep two meters or more apart from each other on the course or clubhouse, to not touch the pins on the green, to assume that you have not hit a very short distance, and to not use the rake in a bunker. Was included in.

Will it take hold in Japan? "Through play"

An increasing number of golf courses are introducing "through play," which has not been adopted until now.
Through play without a break is a common style overseas, but in Japan, the main way of enjoying was to take lunch and break between the first half and the second half, and play 18 holes over a day.

Up until now, the "Seven Hundred Club" golf course in Sakura City, Tochigi Prefecture has only allowed through play for three months in the summer and winter, but from mid-April, acceptance is limited to through play. Did.
To prevent the infection with the new coronavirus, it was a bit of a pity to avoid crowded clubhouses during lunch and reduce contact with others,
but the golf course was run from April 17th to 27th immediately after the introduction of through play . In a questionnaire survey to users, more than 70% of the respondents answered, "Do you want through play after the new coronavirus infection is over?" The reputation seems to be good.

Seven Hundred Club President Tadahiro Kobayashi
"In light of recent social conditions, the potential needs for through play have emerged."

From June, the golf course resumed accepting the traditional play of having lunch after finishing 9 holes, but continued to leave through play as well, and will take the form of letting the customer choose one style in the future. Policy.

New style: Will it stop the decline in golf population?

According to the "Leisure White Paper 2019" announced by the Japan Productivity Center, Japan's golf population is 6.7 million in 2018. It has been halved from the peak of 14 million people in the mid-1990s, and it is feared that the caution against the new coronavirus infection will further exacerbate this trend.
A new way of playing is being created in this context.
The same 28-year-old Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Ishikawa teamed up in a support project for a new coronavirus countermeasure that started in June. A video to practice by going around has been released.

In addition, some golf courses accept single-person play, which has not been accepted so far, and the Japanese golf style is beginning to change.

Junichi Oishi, Executive Director, Japan Golf Course Management Association
"The influence of the new coronavirus may change the value of golf so far. The golf course is subject to change and is flexible to what customers want. It will be important to prepare play options so that the

Will the new play style, which was created to avoid contact with other people and reduce the risk of virus infection as much as possible, will stop the decline in Japan's golf population?
I also want to take out the golf bag and check the course after a long time.

Sports news department reporter
Yuuki Hosaka