Japan tour has lost kudos but not charm

CADDIE'S ROLE:WE WERE in Japan last week for the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament. It was held, as it has been for the past 36 years, in Miyazaki on the southern island of Kyushu. The last time I was here was 21 years ago with Fred Couples, one of the best players in the world at the time, who was playing at one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world.

How times have changed.

The Japanese tour was riding high on the back of a strong economy and a fascination with golf that was fuelled by the corporations who were driving that economy. Japan was the place to come as a successful western golfer for their end-of-year junkets.

The tournament lured these players here with the fact the prize money was so big; $2 million in the late 1980s was still a huge purse and with the relative lack of competition the foreigners felt it was worth trying to get some of it.

Tom Watson played last week, having been one of the early pioneers of north east Asian sorties. He designed a course next door, has won the event in the past and this year at 60 years of age, he was signing off on Japanese travel; it was his last visit as a golfer.

In order to mark the occasion he asked for his regular “house” caddie, as they are called locally, to come out of retirement for a week in order to share the last tournament for the legendary golfer in Japan.

The women who work as day-to-day caddies at Japanese country clubs are a rich part of the experience of playing golf there, with their bright uniforms and wide-brimmed bonnets and trolleys laden not only with the golf bag but with so many accoutrements you could comfortably last for a week on the course if some unforeseen disaster stuck.

There seems to be a strong sense of pride in being associated with one of these country clubs. You would be hard pressed to find a weed on the manicured fairways and well-tended rough. A stone in the bunker would be cause to call a superintendents extra-ordinary meeting. When walking the course one evening I came across a row of caddies and grounds staff on their hands and knees picking weeds off the otherwise pristine fairways.

Detail is what makes Japan so different to any country I have visited. Every aspect of life seems carefully planned and exquisitely packaged. Their presentation of food would indicate the Japanese set the template for food as art as well as sustenance.

On the golf course, despite a healthy gallery, there is no litter. What is more surprising is there are no litter bins either. You are expected to carry your own bin bag and dispose of it at an appropriate time.

The long tradition of female local caddies has carried on to the men’s tour. Despite the seeming social prestige that still exists for having a foreign caddie on tour in Japan, most of whom are Australian, there are quite a few female touring caddies.

I suppose the fact it is such a safe country in which to travel makes it more attractive for independent female caddies to work on tour.

The course is one that lends itself to a crafty golfer where length is, unusually, not an advantage. So it was not a surprise the older players all made the cut by using their savvy and not simply relying on brawn. Joe Ozaki and Massy Kuramoto, in their mid-50s, played well alongside Watson and Jumbo Ozaki, who is now in his 60s.

The course is set amongst dense brush pine trees and you can hear the crashing of the waves from the Pacific Ocean beyond as you navigate your way through the trees on the sand-based course. The greens are relatively large with subtle slopes that make positioning vital to scoring on a course where pars are good. They are similar to the greens at Augusta, Georgia, where you are better off missing a green below the hole rather than leaving yourself even a 15-footer downhill.

The tournament is aware of its similarity to the famed Augusta. It has modelled the event on the Masters, with low-key green banners and stands, understated advertising and caddies even have the pleasure of wearing green jump-suits while carrying the bag.

Having just followed three huge tournaments in Asia from the Malaysian, Shanghai and Singapore events totalling just less than €15 million in prize money between them it is naturally quite a challenge for the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament to attract a foreign field.

Despite obvious sweeteners for the invited foreign players, there is a warmth and sense of appreciation when you make the effort to come to Japan.

People will say: “Thank you for coming to Japan”, and mean it.

My man, Edoardo Molinari, signed a simple autograph for a little boy. The next day he came with a small gift for both of us in appreciation of the previous day’s gesture.

In a country where the aircraft technicians and baggage handlers line up and wave good-bye as your plane pushes back from the stand it is difficult not to be in awe of the respect and quality of service that you receive in this special land.

The Japanese golf tour may have lost its kudos on the world stage, much like its economy. However, what it may lack in financial appeal to the modern superstar global golfer it makes up for in warmth of hospitality and unique north east Asian charm.

To those still with an inquisitive nature it is an enriching experience that all golfers should enjoy at least once in their globe-trotting careers.