2015 Yahoo! Fantasy Golf

2015 is nearly here and it's time for fantasy golf once again. 

It's free to join and play, but you'll need a Yahoo! account, if you don't already have one.   

There will be small prizes for segment winners (Winter, Spring, and Summer) and one for the overall winner. 

2014 Aki Cup Finale: Kodama GC Report

The second Aki Cup race came to a conclusion at Kodama GC yesterday and frontrunner Savuth Kong easily won the 2014 Aki Cup with 2,113 total points.  Savuth shot a 72 (gross 85) to take second place on the day and pick up 710 points.  Second place in the season went to Chris Hurquin who won the event yesterday. Chris shot a 68 (gross 91) to take 1,030 on the day and a total 1,635 points in the race.  As a reminder, the points for the Aki Cup finale are double the regular event points. Third place in the race went to 2014 Haru Cup winner Stan Filin with 1,450 total points.

Aki Cup #7: Narusawa GC Report

The beautiful Narusawa Golf Club at the base of Mount Fuji played host to the seventh leg of the 2014 Aki Cup race yesterday.  On another clear, fine autumn day,  Takamitsu Araki played equally fine golf to score his first Aki Cup victory and 510 points with a 71 (gross 103). 

Aki Cup #6: Windsor GC Report

Windsor Park GC in Ibaraki hosted the sixth event of the 2014 Aki Cup yesterday and the event was won by Ann A. with a score of 65 (gross 95). This was Ann's first time to play in an Aki Cup event and she made the most of it, winning by three strokes and scoring 500 points. There was a tie for second with two players at 68 and 310 Aki Cup points.  Steve Anthony, one of the second place finishers, recorded the low gross of the day with a 78.  The other second place finisher, Stan Filin, carded a gross 101 to score his net 68.   

Aki Cup #5: Kouyou Cup Report

The Kouyou cup, an autumn annual golf tournament in the Kanto area, played host to the fifth leg of the 2014 Aki Cup. And on a damp autumn day, Savuth Kong got his first Aki Cup win of the season with a net 66 (gross 79). Four people tied for second with a net 71.  Alastair Macdonald (gross 80), Steve Anthony (gross 81), and Hiroko Saito (gross 107) were among those in second place.

Aki Cup #4: Shirosato GC Report

The fourth leg of the 2014 Aki Cup came to Shirosato Golf Course in Ibaraki yesterday.  Toshimichi Kida had a great round shooting 69 (gross 91) to win the event and 530 points.  It was another fine autumn day for golf and Bahreen Hazeem took second place and 350 points with a score of 71 (gross 83).  Three players tied for third with 73 including Warren Arbuckle (gross 90) and Haru Cup winner Stan Filin (gross 106).

Aki Cup #3: Kodama GC Report

Kodama GC in Saitama hosted the third leg of the Aki Cup race last Saturday and Stanislav Filin won the event with a net 67 (gross 100).  On a beautiful autumn day, Stan won the event by nine strokes and picked up 510 points with the victory.  He seems to play this course well. This is the second time he has won an Aki or Haru Cup event on this course--he won the 2014 Haru Cup Finale here as well.

Aki Cup #2: Kazusa GC Report

The second stop of the 2014 Aki Cup tour came to Chiba again at the Kazusa Golf Club.  On an overcast but comfortable day last Saturday, Thierry "Thy" Grave played one of his best rounds ever shooting a net 65 (gross 100) and winning the event by five strokes.  Thierry scored a total of 510 points with the win and was quite modest about the victory--he attributed his good round to his playing partners.

Aki Cup #1: Kamo Golf Club Report

The 2014 Aki Cup got off to a nice start last Saturday at the beautiful and secluded Kamo Golf Club in Chiba.  16 Aki Cup golfers experienced a course with a nice variety of hole designs, excellent maintenance, challenging greens and beautiful golf holes tucked deep in the woods of Chiba's Boso Peninsula.  In the end, event organizer Yasu Iwatani took first place with a net 68 (gross 84).  He leads the race after the first event with 530 points.

Golf in Tokyo: Segway Golf

Segways work well on flat courses.

Ever considered playing golf on a Segway?  This has been on my golf bucket list for a while and finally the opportunity arrived when a golf partner organized a Segway golf outing. Here's a report of my first time to play with a Segway at Asia Toride Golf Club near Tokyo.

Announcing the 2014 Aki Cup

The 9th hole at Nikko Premium Golf Club

Autumn is just about here and it’s time for golf—the 2014 Aki Cup is on!

It’s the second season of the Aki Cup, won by Jensen Junn last year. This year will include an additional event organizer, Yasu Iwatani, and several new courses on the schedule. Also, a few rule changes have been made: Each player’s top five events will be used for the point total, events with 6-9 players will now count as an event but with 75% of the regular point total, and there will be a small bonus for using a JGA or Golfshot handicap. (See below for details.)

Haru Cup Finale at Kodama GC: Event Report

June 21, 2014--On the challenging and beautiful Kodama Golf Club new course, Stanislav Filin scored a net 64, won the Haru Cup Finale, and became the first Haru Cup champion.

Stan broke 100 for the first time with a gross 98 that included 45 on the front nine. The Finale had double points and Stan took the 1000 point first prize for a season total 1,832 points.  Stan received the Haru Cup trophy and a hotel voucher plus breakfast for two at Mercure in Ginza from Accor.

Haru Cup #6: Koshigaya Golf Course Event Report

On a hot, summerlike day, Marcos Tanaka took first place in the 6th Haru Cup event at Koshigaya Golf Club in Saitama. With temperatures approaching 30 degrees, Marcos matched the hot weather with superb golf that included five birdies on his way to a net 67 (gross 73).  Marcos picked up 500 Haru Cup points with his first Haru Cup victory, played at the refurbished course in the new Koshigaya Sports Center.

Haru Cup #5: World Cup at Windsor Park Event Report

Gero and Reto, members of team German Precision, took first place in the World Cup and Haru Cup #5 golf tournament at Windsor Park Golf Course in Ibaraki.  On a beautiful sunny day, the German Precision team took 500 points each shooting a gross 69 (net 61) in the 2-person Texas scramble.

Team Singapore and Germany 1 tied for second place with net 63s.  All four members, Adrian and Terence of Singapore and Karl and Tom from Germany 1, received 300 points each.

Haru Cup #7 at Nikko Premium GC, June 7th: Rained Out

Rainy Season is here, and Haru Cup #7 was unlucky.  The event was rained out.  The June 21st outing at Kodama will be the Haru Cup Finale.   

Haru Cup #3: Manna CC Gary Player Course Event Report

On a special holiday edition of the Haru Cup, Aya Morohoshi shot a net 69 to take first place in the third event of the Haru Cup.  Held last Tuesday, April 29th, Aya played very solid golf throughout the round and finished with a gross 91 for her first win and 500 Haru Cup points.  With her win, Aya also moved into third place in the overall points race.

Coming in second on the Midori no hi (Greenery Day) holiday event was the overall points leader, Chris Hurquin. Chris's net 71 captured the 350 point second place prize, while Haru Cup #2 winner, Steve Novosel, took third with a net 72.

Haru Cup #2 Report

The second event of the 2014 Haru Cup sponsored by Accor and Piranha Golf was held last Saturday, April 12th, at the Kodama Golf Club in Saitama.  On a beautiful day with some cherry blossom petals still in sight, Steve Novosel won the event with a net 74. This was Steve's first Haru Cup event and he is now in third place in the overall standings. 

The inagural Haru Cup sponsored by Accor and Piranha Golf is off and running

Last Saturday, April 5th, 28 golfers kicked off the first ever Haru Cup golf tournament at Camp Zama Golf Course just outside Tokyo.  On a crazy weather day, Canadian Chris Hurquin took first place and the 500 point prize.  Chris shot a net 65 (gross 91) and also took a near pin prize on one par three and for the first time scored two birdies in one round.  In addition, Chris won the Sagami Cup being played that day (42 Stableford points) and the ¥15,000 first prize.  The Sagami Cup was a tournament for the same 28 players and organized by Jason Millward.  

Golf in Tokyo: What to Expect

Most Japanese golfers are passionate in their approach to the game and it shows—this is definitely a golf loving country.  And that makes it a fabulous place for the international golfer as well. There are over 2,400 golf courses throughout the country from simple, everyman, riverside courses to prestigious and exclusive designer courses.  Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Jim Fazio, and Desmond Muirhead are just a few of the foreign designers who are well represented in Kanto (the area surrounding Tokyo).  A trip around one of these tracks was quite expensive during the golf boom and economic bubble in Japan several years back, but they can now be played for reasonable prices.  Moreover, courses here are usually well maintained, have usually helpful and courteous staff service, and offer hot spring-like baths for relaxing after the round.   

2014 Japan Golf Fair Report (Part 1)

The 2014 Japan Golf Fair is being held from February 14-16 at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center. There's a lot to like about the Japan Golf Fair for the average golfer--the latest equipment from the major golf manufacturers, hitting cages to try out the equipment, a golf fashion show, one point lessons from PGA pros, celebrity golf speakers, and lots of free golf tees.

2014 Japan Golf Fair Report (Part 2)

More Photos from the Japan Golf Fair:

Winter Golf in Tokyo: A Guide for Weather Wimps

It's late December and I haven't played golf in about a month.  It's time to work up a game.  It's a little harder getting a foursome now since some of my golf friends refuse to play in winter. I view these golfers as weather wimps who have gone into golf hibernation caves.  "Enjoy the bath," one wimp tells me after declining to play with me just after the New Year's holiday.  I manage to find a group that will play, however, and the weather forecast is for a day of sunshine.