Black cover plate with white serif title: Japanese Golf Etiquette, Dress, Pace and the Bath

Japanese Golf Etiquette: Dress, Pace and the Bath

Japanese golf etiquette is a choreography of small courtesies, and almost every one of them is a form of consideration for the person behind you. The collar, the quiet phone, the half-round finished on time, the bunker raked smooth, the bath taken before the street clothes go back on: none is difficult, and together they make a day that runs.

This chapter belongs to the playing set within The Atlas of Japanese Golf. It draws on a course’s own notes for players, a clothing guide from a Japanese golf retailer, the national tourism body and two guides for visitors. Each club sets its own rules, and the retailer’s guide says so plainly; the lists below are a floor, and the club’s website is the law.

Arrival and the locker key

A specialist guide describes the arrival. Staff take the bag and the shoes separately, so that neither passes through the clubhouse in the player’s hands. The player receives a locker key, a bracelet, a card or a key, and with it charges food, drink, rentals and shop purchases, which are settled at checkout; a booking service adds that settlement is by cash or physical card. The guide advises arriving and leaving in smart casual dress, not in golf kit, changing in the locker room; and removing soft spikes before entering the clubhouse. One course asks for check-in thirty minutes before the tee time.

Dress, and the jacket question

The tourism body gives the baseline: a collared shirt with slacks, or a skirt for women, with golf shoes or sneakers; shorts are generally accepted in summer, sometimes with knee-length socks; and some high-end clubs ask men to wear a jacket in the clubhouse. A course’s own notes put it more exactly. On the course, a collared or high-collared shirt, golf shoes and a visor or hat; shorts with short socks that cover the heel; collarless sweaters only over a collared or mock-neck shirt; no metal spikes. In the clubhouse, a jacket is required except from June to September, and sandals, slippers, T-shirts, tank tops, jeans, jerseys and training wear are not allowed.

A clothing guide from a Japanese golf retailer, written in 2022, adds that a stand collar about three centimetres high is generally acceptable and a folded-over turtleneck generally is not, and that at prestigious courses denim is barred even when it is not trousers, and trousers other than knee-length are not permitted. It advises wearing or carrying a jacket when unsure. A booking service says that jackets are generally not required from June to September, and recommends golf attire on arrival and departure; the specialist guide quoted above advises smart casual instead. A resident’s guide excludes denim, T-shirts and athletic shorts outright.

On the course

  • Pace. One course gathers players at the first tee fifteen minutes before the start and asks each half-round to finish within two hours and fifteen minutes. A resident’s guide asks players to be ready to hit on their turn and not to spend long searching for a lost ball; the same course advises carrying two or three clubs when a ball may be lost in the woods or a hazard.
  • The yellow flag. The tourism body and a travel guide describe a yellow flag on the fairway about 230 yards (about 210 metres) from the tee, and players are expected to wait for the group ahead to pass it before teeing off.
  • The forward tee for out of bounds. Some courses set a tee ahead on the fairway from which a player whose ball went out of bounds plays the next stroke. The tourism body’s guide of 2021 describes yellow out-of-bounds tees; black-and-yellow striped stakes mark areas that are out of bounds with a one-stroke penalty. The local rule differs from the standard Rules of Golf; read the scorecard.
  • The ground. Repair ball marks, replace divots, rake bunkers, and enter and leave a bunker at its lowest point, as a course’s notes and a resident’s guide state. Metal spikes are prohibited at the course whose notes were read.
  • Quiet. Keep phones silent and use them only where they will not disturb others; stay quiet while others play. A specialist guide adds that mountain courses may have little coverage, so download maps beforehand.

Caddies and carts

A specialist guide says that caddies are common, and often included, at private and semi-private clubs; that one caddie typically carries two bags for a group of two to four; that tipping is not the norm and a sincere “arigatō gozaimasu” and a nod is the usual thanks, though tour operators may advise otherwise for specific clubs. It describes buggies that run on fixed paths, often remote-controlled by the caddie or staff, so that players walk to the ball and leave the buggy alone. A resident’s guide agrees that carts stay on paths, and adds that some courses allow fairway access for an extra fee. A booking service says that most courses do not offer caddies at all, and that where they do, one is assigned to the whole group and speaks only Japanese. An Okinawa sports-tourism page lists courses where carts may run on the fairways, subject to weather and turf.

The table and the bath

Lunch is a proper hot meal, with tea and beer on offer, according to a specialist guide, which adds that arriving visibly drunk on the back nine is not acceptable. The tourism body notes that most clubhouses have large locker rooms, many with an onsen or bath, and a travel guide says that towels, soap and shampoo are usually provided. The specialist guide advises bathing before changing back into street clothes. Most onsen baths are nude, and tattoos should be covered. A booking service is firmer: it says most courses do not allow communal baths or onsen even when tattoos are covered, and that tattoos must be covered as thoroughly as possible on the premises. The pages disagree; ask the course.

Do and do not

  • Do read the club’s dress code before packing, and carry a jacket for the clubhouse outside June to September.
  • Do arrive thirty to forty minutes early, with cash or a physical card.
  • Do keep the locker key on your person; it is your account.
  • Do let the caddie handle the bags and the buggy, and thank the caddie.
  • Do keep pace, and be ready when it is your turn.
  • Do rake the bunker, repair the green and replace the divot.
  • Do bathe before changing, where a bath is offered and permitted.
  • Do not wear jeans, cargo trousers, T-shirts, sandals or metal spikes.
  • Do not tee off until the group ahead has passed the yellow flag.
  • Do not use a phone where it disturbs others, or play loudly.
  • Do not assume a tattoo will be admitted to the bath.
  • Do not tip as a matter of course; a nod and thanks is the usual reply, though a tour operator may advise otherwise.

Women, and the traditional clubs

A specialist guide says that women’s access has improved at many clubs but that some traditional private clubs still have restrictions, and that a tour operator can advise. The retailer’s guide adds, for women at prestigious courses, that camisoles and sleeveless tops are not allowed, and that a jacket is the safest choice. Ask before booking.

Where the accounts differ

  • Caddies. Most courses have none in one account; common at private clubs in another.
  • Shorts. Accepted in summer by most clubs in one guide; permitted at a growing number but not all in another; knee-length only at prestigious courses in a third.
  • Jackets and arrival clothes. Not needed from June to September; carried or worn the rest of the year; required at some high-end clubs. One booking service recommends golf attire on arrival; a specialist guide says smart casual.
  • Baths and tattoos. As above.
  • Tipping. Not the norm, with a caution that a tour operator may advise otherwise.

The quiet code, then

Nothing here is a rule imposed on a stranger. It is the way a room full of people keeps from getting in one another’s way, and it is soon learnt.

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Index terms: japanese golf etiquette · golf course dress code japan · japan golf dos and donts · golf in japan tattoos onsen · golf caddie japan tipping · japan golf lunch break · japan golf locker key · yellow flag golf japan · golf japan jacket clubhouse · golf manners japan

References

Dates and figures in this chapter were checked against these pages. Where accounts differ, the text says so.

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