Early Bird Golf: Crazy Like a Fox

The sun rises on the first hole.

Japan, like most countries in Asia, has no daylight savings.  The summer day in the Tokyo area  begins not long after 4 a.m.  And while the idea of a 4:32 a.m. tee time may strike some as insane, for the Tokyo golfer it can make a lot of sense.

Near the clubhouse before going to the first tee.

The usual golf outing in Japan can be a time consuming affair. In my case, a typical round of golf—including transportation from the time I leave the house until I return—goes for about 12 hours, total, and can go longer.  Five hours play, a one hour forced lunch between nines, two hours transportation each way, an hour before round to get ready and practice, an hour after the round to bathe and visit the 19th hole—it all adds up.  And in my case, I often have to get up at 5:00 a.m. for that 12 hour round.    

Most golfers here are resigned to these long hours for a game on the weekend, but if you can play outside the regular times, you can bring the total time down to seven or even six hours.  That means either “early bird” or “nighter” golf under the lights. 

In my early bird (アーリーバード）golf experience, sometimes just referred to as early morning play (早朝セルフゴルフ), the time went like this: I left with a friend at 3:30 a.m. for a 4:52 tee time at Prestige CG in Tochigi.  With no traffic, the commute was a breeze—just an hour in the dark morning hours.  After getting lockers, changing, and taking a few putts on the practice green, we were ready for our tee time.  There were only a few other groups on the course and with thru-play we finished our round near 8:30—a little over three and a half hours—for the quickest round I’ve played here in Japan.  A quick shower followed and we were on the road back to Tokyo around 9:15, reaching home near 10:45. The total time was a little over seven hours, with most of the day still available. 

Still some long shadows by the 5th green.

Other advantages with early bird golf include a cheaper tee time and no meal to pay for. And the requirements for reserving a tee time is usually less strict—no price penalty for just two players, in our case.

Still calm and peaceful on the par 3 4th.

Outside of the obvious disadvantage of waking up at “zombie time” for early bird golf (2:45 a.m. in my case), there are others.  The club where we played didn’t allow the baths to be used at this time—just the showers.  Except for putting, there is no time or way to practice. And there is a skeletal staff in the early morning—we we’re expected to load our bags on the carts ourselves.  You’ll also need to drive—public transportation, such as taking a train and club bus to the course, are not possible for these tee times.

But even with the disadvantages, this is a great golf option.  This way to play may be crazy, but it’s crazy like a fox.      

No 3 tee box.

The par 5 7th from the tee.

Looking from the 7th fairway on the back of the par 3 4th hole.

The 7th hole from the green.