It’s hot. Really hot.
While I’m happy that the rainy season is over, it feels a bit early. I experienced a severe drought about thirty years ago, so I know how difficult it is, and we need more rain when it’s supposed to rain.
Playing golf in this heat is like going to certain death. No matter how many heat-protection products are available, there are limits. You can’t beat the power of the sun.
In the past, temperatures above thirty degrees Celsius were considered “summer heat.” Now, it’s already summer heat when you wake up in the morning.
Seriously, these days, many golf courses on the plains of Honshu are closing during July and August. Some even close until September 15th.
It’s late June now, and it’s possible that some courses might end up closing from June to September.
But then, if you say, “What about winter?” well, winter is cold. When you’re playing in the biting cold wind with falling snow, you might think that the summer heat is better. And then, when you actually play in the heat, you might think that winter is better because you can wear more layers.
If the extreme heat continues and the number of golfers keeps decreasing, some courses might end up closing for seven months—from June to September, or even from January to March in some places. That would leave only five months to play. Less than half a year.
This makes me think that golf in Japan is finished, but when I look into it, foreign golf courses also have rainy seasons, animal problems, and dry seasons, so there aren’t that many countries where you can play year-round.
In England, you can play year-round, but the weather changes so much that they say there are four seasons in one day, and there are often days when finishing a round is difficult. Of course, golf courses in Scandinavia are closed for half the year because of snow. So, it’s not that Japan is particularly bad in this regard; in fact, being able to maintain a course year-round might actually be a remarkable achievement.
The ability to maintain a golf course in good condition throughout all four seasons is something that Japanese golf course superintendents do exceptionally well, and they deserve high recognition for it on a global scale.
“Enjoying a stroll around the golf course, experiencing the beauty of each season…”
