Post by mnmlistgolfr on Nov 4, 2016 23:43:08 GMT
Good Saturday morning from a Starbucks in Tokyo. I attended the first round of the 2016 Toto Japan Classic yesterday and here are some thoughts and observations.
The Taiheiyo Club is located in Ishioka City, Ibaraki, about 60 miles northeast of Tokyo. I am staying in southern Tokyo at the moment and left the hotel before 6am, hoping that I would get there by 7:30. The train to Ishioka was not a high-speed Bullet Train, but a light-rail train with many stops and full of commuters. I was only able to sit for about 20 minutes before giving up my seat to an elderly person. The trip ended up taking two hours and I was already tired from all the standing.
After two transfers, I arrived at Ishioka Station at 8am. The station is very small but there were posters and banners everywhere for the tournament. Just outside the station there was large tour bus waiting to shuttle us to the course. Every seat was filled and the auxiliary fold down seats in the aisle were also used. The bus ride was about 20 minutes and I arrived at the Taiheiyo Club Minori Course just before 8:30. Tickets were 4,000 Yen for Friday, Saturday and Sunday rounds are 6,000 Yen, though there is a slight discount for buying all three days.
The first tee time was 7:45 with split tees. I got a pairings sheet/map and was trying to get oriented when Mi Hyang Lee walked right by me. I was caught off guard and wasn't able to say anything. A few minutes later Beatriz Recari walked by and this time I said, "Beatriz... good luck." She turned around, smiled, and thanked me.
The front nine and back nine are separated by quite a bit of distance. The back nine is near the fan entrance so I had a bit of a walk to get to the 1st tee. Stacy Lewis then walked by and said good luck to her. She looked in my direction, but did not smile or say anything. It was then that I decided I would do a little experiment by saying something to as many players as I could and see how they would react.
To be continued...
The Taiheiyo Club is located in Ishioka City, Ibaraki, about 60 miles northeast of Tokyo. I am staying in southern Tokyo at the moment and left the hotel before 6am, hoping that I would get there by 7:30. The train to Ishioka was not a high-speed Bullet Train, but a light-rail train with many stops and full of commuters. I was only able to sit for about 20 minutes before giving up my seat to an elderly person. The trip ended up taking two hours and I was already tired from all the standing.
After two transfers, I arrived at Ishioka Station at 8am. The station is very small but there were posters and banners everywhere for the tournament. Just outside the station there was large tour bus waiting to shuttle us to the course. Every seat was filled and the auxiliary fold down seats in the aisle were also used. The bus ride was about 20 minutes and I arrived at the Taiheiyo Club Minori Course just before 8:30. Tickets were 4,000 Yen for Friday, Saturday and Sunday rounds are 6,000 Yen, though there is a slight discount for buying all three days.
The first tee time was 7:45 with split tees. I got a pairings sheet/map and was trying to get oriented when Mi Hyang Lee walked right by me. I was caught off guard and wasn't able to say anything. A few minutes later Beatriz Recari walked by and this time I said, "Beatriz... good luck." She turned around, smiled, and thanked me.
The front nine and back nine are separated by quite a bit of distance. The back nine is near the fan entrance so I had a bit of a walk to get to the 1st tee. Stacy Lewis then walked by and said good luck to her. She looked in my direction, but did not smile or say anything. It was then that I decided I would do a little experiment by saying something to as many players as I could and see how they would react.
To be continued...
A sweet threesome just hit there: Hur, D. Kang, & Ayaka M. You're right about the train station...the tournament Facebook page posted pix several days ago showing it with Toto signs all over the place.
