Does Japan love golf?
James Craig
Published Jan 06, 2026
There are more golf courses in Japan than the rest of Asia put together. With nearly 2,500 courses (and many more driving ranges), the Japanese are serious golf lovers and they have built some of the world's finest courses.
Is golf popular in Japan?
Golf (ゴルフ) is a popular sport in Japan.
Do Japanese people love golf?
Japan Has Half Of Asia's Golf Courses, But The Game's Popularity There Is Flagging : Parallels In the 1980s, Japan built thousands of golf courses and the game became baked into its business culture. Those days are over. Golf participation in Japan has dropped by 40 percent since 1996.
Is golf a big deal in Japan?
Golf in Japan is as unique as the country itself. Across the more than 6,852 islands - including the four main islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu - there are no less than 2,349 golf courses, varying from revered top-100 courses to riverside pitch and putts.
Do people in Japan golf?
In 2020, the number of people playing golf in Japan amounted to approximately 8.91 million. Figures during the past decade revolved around the nine million mark, pointing at a relatively stable player population.
24 related questions foundWhy can't yakuza play golf?
The police said the three played together at a golf course in Osaka Prefecture in March last year after hiding that they were gangsters. The golf course bans yakuza, they said, adding Kyo has kept silent and Watanabe has denied he is a mobster.
Why is golf so big in Japan?
“There has always been many core golf fans in Japan, but with the pandemic, Japan also saw a huge surge in golf popularity with new people joining the game so there were many more new fans this time around,” Ishizaka said.
Does Japan have more golf courses than the US?
There are around 10 million golfers and 2,450 golf courses in Japan (compared to 25 million golfers and 13,600 golf courses in the United States).
Is golf popular in Asia?
There are billions of golf tourist dollars up for grabs, and Asian golf is getting more popular every year.
Is golf becoming less popular?
Since 2003, there has been a consistent annual decline in the number of golf players. There were 6.8 million fewer golfers in 2018 compared to 2003 — a loss of 22 percent.
Is golf gaining or losing popularity?
Golf is on the decline in America. That reality has finally smacked us in the face like a two-by-four. The number of core American golfers (those playing eight rounds or more per year) has fallen between three and 4.5 percent every year since 2006.
Is it expensive to play golf?
According to research from the National Golf Foundation, the average cost to play a round of golf in the United States in 2020 is $61. The average cost to play nine holes in the United States is $33.
What percentage of Japanese play golf?
About 6.5 percent of the Japan population plays golf, compared to about 8 percent for the U.S. If Japan seems to be a more golf-intense country than the U.S. it's due largely to geographic concentration; Japan occupies a landmass the size of Montana.
What country invented golf?
Golf originated from a game played on the eastern coast of Scotland, in an area close to the royal capital of Edinburgh. In those early days players would attempt to hit a pebble over sand dunes and around tracks using a bent stick or club.
How much is a round of golf in Tokyo?
You can expect to pay 10,000 yen, or about 90 U.S. dollars, for a weekday round at a top-notch facility near Tokyo. That same club on a weekend will run you about double that price, and in some cases more. If you venture about two hours from the city you can find some great deals.
How much does golf cost in Tokyo?
Teeing off on such a course in the Tokyo area costs about 30,000 yen ($195) in green fees for one 18-hole round. In the U.S., by comparison, there are more than 13,000 golf courses, and memberships in even the most exclusive clubs are usually no more than $35,000. Green fees on public courses typically are $10 to $20.
Does Japan have a lot of golf courses?
There are more golf courses in Japan than the rest of Asia put together. With nearly 2,500 courses (and many more driving ranges), the Japanese are serious golf lovers and they have built some of the world's finest courses.
How old is the average golfer?
While in recent years the popularity of golf among younger people has grown, the majority of players are still of an older age. The median age of a golfer in the U.S. is 54, continuing to draw in an older crowd.
How many golfers can break 80?
Only about 2 percent of all golfers ever break 80, which generally is considered the Holy Grail of scoring. To legitimately break 80 — no improved lies; no 3-foot gimmes; no free drop from out of bounds — is to breathe the rarefied air of good, if not great golf.
How many golfers are white?
Golfers in the U.S. by ethnicity 2018
According to the report, 72 percent of golfers in the United States in 2018 were Caucasian.
Is yakuza illegal in Japan?
These activities make the relationship between yakuza and police in Japan a complicated one; yakuza membership itself is not illegal, and yakuza-owned businesses and gang headquarters are often clearly marked. Gang whereabouts and activities are often known to Japanese police without the latter's taking any action.
How are the yakuza treated in Japan?
They dress nicely, are respectful and talk politely – when not trying to make money. Violence for the most part happens between gang branches or non-yakuza gangs within Japan. The yakuza punish their own, sometimes infamously forcing the person who did wrong to remove the tip of a finger as a form of apology.
Can yakuza play golf?
Close contact with the yakuza
assist of the yakuza's activity or operation...” which is prohibited on Article 24-3. And also, when a business owner repeatedly plays golf or eats with members of the yakuza, the owner could be excluded from public projects, which is defined in Article 9.