About Course design The Beginning of Golf Course Design History of Course Design in Japan Pathways to the Future

Pathways to the Future未来への道筋

Challenges for the Next Generation

What are the points to be considered in the future?

The values of a good course change with individual values and needs. It is also important to keep in mind that the course should be designed to meet the needs of the times.
The following are some of the issues that can be raised, such as its age-specific trends and deterioration over time.

Future challenge elements

Concerns about declining course numbers and attendance in an aging and declining birthrate society
There is a trend of increasing damage to greens and overall course turf due to global warming
Concerns about loss of course management capacity due to labor shortages
There is a need to review the course due to golf equipment evolution
Each facility is aging due to deterioration over time
Trees planted in accordance with the Forest Law at the time of land development have grown to a large size and are having a negative impact on the lawn.

The way these issues are addressed will greatly affect the future viability of the course.

As a future reminder and response to those issues

1.Decline in the Number of Courses and Visitors in an Aging and Low Fertility Society

The number of golf courses in Japan has continued to decline since peaking in 2004 with 2,356 courses in operation, and as of September 2024, there were 2,121 courses in operation, a decrease of approximately 121 TP3T from the peak, although there are some differences in these figures depending on the survey source, survey period, number of golf courses and number of courses in operation. (See Ippiki Publication data.)
Although there are differences depending on the nature of each course, future courses need to be improved not only in terms of difficulty, strategy, and aesthetics, but also in terms of grandeur and beauty to satisfy the needs of the elderly and female visitors.
One of the countermeasures is to allow carts to ride on the fairways. In order to ensure that golfers can play comfortably during the recent hot summer, and to avoid burdening the elderly and women, carts can be driven onto fairways, which is a future need. To meet these needs, the condition of the grass must be able to withstand these conditions. As points to keep in mind, the course maintenance and renovation is necessary, including consideration of improvement of the underlying soil, easing of slopes, and ensuring effective width and shape of entrances and exits.

2.Increased damage to greens and overall course turf due to global warming and its countermeasures

It can be said that most of the courses in Japan today (70-80%) were built 30 to 50 years ago. Even after repeated aerating every year, the growth of turf is declining due to the deterioration of water permeability and water retention and the hardening of bedding soil, and even modern management methods by greenkeepers are finding it difficult to cope with this situation. In particular, recent global warming, which can be called abnormal weather, has often resulted in the replacement of old Bent varieties and greens with deteriorated water permeability and bedding soil that could not withstand the extreme heat. In recent years, many courses have suffered so much green damage that it has become difficult to obtain bent grass for repair.

3.Decrease in course management capacity due to labor shortage

With a declining population, there are fewer people to manage courses, and all courses are currently struggling to secure turfgrass managers. As of 2024, 10% of all courses will have automatic FW mowers, and many courses will soon be equipped with efficient rough mowers and green mowers, which are currently under development and research.
However, their introduction is not unconditional for any course, and they must be retrofitted so that they can operate without problems.

4.Need to review courses due to golf equipment evolution

Golf equipment, i.e., clubs and balls, has improved over the past several decades, forcing a rethinking of green undulations and bunker hazard placement.
Even at this point, we feel that many courses are not yet ready to deal with this issue.

Photo permission Kakogawa Golf ClubPhoto by Hiroto Nakata

Photo permission Izumigaoka Country ClubPhoto by Hiroto Nakata

5.Aging of each facility due to deterioration over time

Deterioration of water sprinkler system The most important facility essential to turfgrass management is the watering system. Irrigation equipment, the most important facility for controlling turfgrass growth, has deteriorated significantly in recent years, and its damage has become even more critical due to recent global warming. In particular, many courses built before 1985, when steel pipes were used for the water main, have experienced water leakage and pressure drop due to pipe corrosion, resulting in watering problems.

Deterioration of drainage pipes The Japanese archipelago is becoming subtropical due to global warming, causing damage due to linear rainfall zones and torrential rains. In many golf courses, the drainage capacity of drainage pipes is becoming insufficient due to short-time rainfall that far exceeds the design rainfall at the time of construction, and many courses have been damaged due to breakage caused by deterioration of drainage pipes. Many courses have seen cases where emergency measures cannot be taken, such as pipe breakage and clogging due to aging, and drainage dysfunction due to the inflow of soil and sand from the surrounding area.

Deterioration of course bunkers In bunkers, the problem is that the drainage of sand in bunkers is often extremely poor due to the inflow of sediment from the surrounding area caused by heavy rainfall, and water cannot be drained out after rainfall.
Sand replacement is necessary as a countermeasure. Sand can be washed and reused. In addition, some courses use non-woven mats to prevent sand from mixing with the bedding soil.

Aging cart road Ride-on carts were first introduced to Japanese golf courses in 1964.
It was primarily a means of compensating for the shortage of caddies, but it also marked the beginning of the trend toward self-play in Japan, as well as the style of play in recent years. Many of Japan's booming golf courses have installed cart paths at the same time, and many of the less booming courses have also installed cart paths.
As the asphalt deteriorates over time, it settles and undulates, and sometimes the roots of trees get in the asphalt and interfere with cart driving. Pavement work, such as overlay construction, re-paving, and rational rerouting, will improve the landscape.

6.For the impact of the forest zone on the course turf area in accordance with the Forest Law at the time of the opening of the park.

It is important to understand that trees that have maintained the overall beauty, strategy, and safety of the course in the past have become too large and are causing the various obstacles described below.

It creates shade on the greens and other turf areas and hinders their growth.
This reduces airflow and creates factors for disease to develop on the greens.
Roots are crawling on the ground surface, creating a hindrance to turfgrass field maintenance.
Sometimes falling branches or fallen trees can also endanger players.
Management costs have increased beyond initial expectations, such as pine wilting and oak wilting treatment costs.

Therefore, it is very important for the course to review these trees and take appropriate measures such as cutting them down or removing branches.

The above can be considered as reasons for the problems that Japanese golf courses currently face that require renovation and remodeling.