The Golfjin Story

from Grant Prentice


Golf in Japan can be a challenge especially if you’re a foreigner living here or just visiting on holiday or business; the language barrier, difficulty reserving tee times, unfamiliar customs and probably most troublesome of all, a lack of playing partners. Faced with some or all of these issues, I suspect many an expat golfer who’s lived in this fine country spent more time mindlessly raking balls at the nearest driving range than he or she managed on a proper golf course. And that’s where the Golfjin story begins....my own frustrations with not getting to play real golf very often gradually lead me down a fairway which I’m very glad I took.

On the tee

I arrived in Japan from Scotland not long after completing a degree in Economics at the University of Edinburgh. At the time, I thought like many wannabe explorers before me, I would have an adventure in Japan for a couple of years and then return home to start a career. Well, that was the winter of 1998 so I guess you could say I’ve been here for a little longer than I originally planned! Fast forward to 2011, I'm happily married, settled down in Tokyo and not planning to go anywhere anytime soon despite mother nature and Tepco’s best efforts to get rid of me. Us golfers are made of sterner stuff!

Despite being a mad keen golfer, it wasn’t until about 2004-2005 that I started to get the chance to play golf here on a regular basis. But even then, opportunities were often limited as I had few golfers in my circle of friends to call on. Eventually, born out of frustration of wanting to play more often, I caught upon the idea of starting a golf group and thought why not try and get something organized?

Gaijin Golfers (Google Group)

After deliberating over a name for the group for almost 3 months (lol), I finally decided on Gaijin* Golfers. I thought it was a catchy name and that fellow foreign golfers could easily identify with it. Despite the name choice, I also hoped we could attract Japanese members who were interested in making some international golf buddies. And so, in July of 2008, I launched a Google group and with the help of some classifieds and word-of-mouth, started to spread the word. The idea took off immediately and in a little over three months we’d grown to over a 100 signed up members.

*Gaijin (外人) is the shortened version of gaikokujin (外国人), meaning foreigner in Japanese.

The Kouyou Cup, November 1st, 2008

Things started to gradually take off for the group with lots of small outings being successfully held in those first few months. And not satisfied with stopping there, I thought why not stage something a bit bigger? And so on November 9th, we held the inaugural Kouyou Cup at Windsor Park G&CC. Despite being a complete novice at hosting large golf events, the first Kouyou Cup was a huge success. We managed to attract HSBC Premier as the lead sponsor for the day and 47 golfers from 17 different countries played in the event. The late autumn weather was absolutely perfect for golf, the course was in top condition and staff at Windsor Park were first class. And best of all, the after round party had a fantastic buzz about it! It was then I realized, this concept really had a strong future.

Gaijin Golfers.Com

The very next week, I decided to raid the piggy bank and set about launching a proper website for the group and in early December 2008, GaijinGolfers.Com went live on the web. By early in the 2009 season, we’d grown to over 450 registered members. Our events calendar was getting busier and busier and not before long, golfers who were once struggling to get a game every quarter were suddenly spoilt for choice as to when, where and who they could play golf with - fantastic!

Evolution

In those early months of Gaijin Golfers.Com I soon realized that my hope that we’d attract lots of bilingual Japanese members was not quite working out. It seemed the word Gaijin gave the impression that Japanese were excluded from the group. That was never the intention! So, in order to be more welcoming to any Japanese golfers out there who fancied making international golf friends, I decided to rebrand to Golfjin.

Golfjin.Com

Golfjin (ゴルフ人) Literally Golf people.

I really like this name as it’s short, easy to remember and not only does it encapsulate exactly what we all are, it also defines us in the only way that really matters: We are “golf people”. Whether we are English/イギリス人, Japanese/日本人, American/アメリカ人 it doesn’t matter as we are all Golfjins/ゴルフ人. And so on April 29, 2010, our name and website domain was changed to reflect this more progressive outlook on the future of the group.

Join the club

At the time of writing, the Golfjin website has over 1000 registered users, and a strong core regularly attend our events. We have members from all over the world (over 40 nationalities represented) and are attracting more and more Japanese members which is great. We also have an increasing number of ladies in our membership and have partnered with the The Women’s Golf League in Japan for some events.

The only requirements for membership, are that you enjoy playing golf and can speak a little English. Our group is very welcoming to newcomers and golfers of absolutely level may join. We represent all skills levels, from absolute beginners, novices and true weekend warriors right through to single-digit handicappers, ex college golfers and professionals. So, if you’re a beginner, novice or very occasional golfer, don’t worry! Golfjin has a fantastic network of like-minded players to get a game with as well as a lot of very experienced golfers and some teaching professionals who can help you improve your skills.

Golfjin activities

What do we do? Absolutely everything and anything related to golf and more!

Whether you’re a total golf-a-holic or just occasionally interested in getting a game, we have something to offer you. Golfjin currently averages an impressive 14 events a month including everything from golf competitions, casual rounds, driving range sessions, lessons, 1-day clinics to social events.

On the website, you’ll find everything you need to enjoy the game; information and reviews of Japanese golf courses, instructional tips, golf videos, pro golf news, live leader-boards, twitter feeds from the Pros and loads more. And as a registered member you’ll have access to our all events as well as a score tracker system and our very own fantasy golf league.

Because of our numbers, we are sometimes able to secure discounts for golf outings and most importantly, we can ensure our membership that no one will ever lack for partners for a golf game in Japan!

So, if you like Golf - Start your Golfjin life now: Join Golfjin

Looking forward to meeting you on the course!

Grant Prentice

Golfjin Founder

E-mail: Gprentice (at) golfjin.com

Cell Phone: 090-8450-0228

Memberships

	Business in Japan
	Expats in Japan
	Friends of Japan / Nippon no Yuujin
	GoodPeople Japan
	Japan Networking Group
	Linked Golfers
	Ultimate Golfing Experiences

Golfjin in the Press

From Our Members