Kasumigaseki East was built in 1929, on the land of Shohei Hotchi, after designs were created by Kinya Fujita and Shiro Akaboshi. It only took eight months to build, and opened for play as a 6600 yard par 72, in September of 1929.
In December 1930 a man by the name of Charles Hugh Alison arrived in Japan. Alison was the assistant to the legendary designer, Harry Colt. Colt was engaged by Tokyo Golf Club to design the new layout for their forced relocation, but, he was concerned about the travel, and sent his assistant (Alison) instead. Although not initially received well by Tokyo GC, the move to send Alison would become a defining moment in Japanese golf.
This will not be the last time you see the name Charles Hugh Alison on the blog for this tour. He was only in Japan for a 3 month period, and this short visit influenced Japanese golf design in a way that Mackenzie's short visit to our shores defined Australian design.
Alison surveyed the course at Kasumigaseki in December 1930, at the request of designer Fujita, and his design suggestions were acted upon. His large sinuous bunkers, became known as "Alisons" and many were constructed here. He was responsible for the redesign of holes 9, 10, 14, 17 and 18.
The course is lined with thousands of pine trees, however the wild typhoons of the past month, have destroyed over 150 of them, as seen above. There is a lot of work being done on the removal and clean up of the affected trees.
A view of one of the expansive bunkers.
World War Two had a huge impact on Japanese golf, and Kasumigaseki Country Club. Occupying forces took control of the nation after the war, including all of the golf courses. It wasn't until 1952 that they were returned to the clubs. This meant a lot of reconstructive work to reopen in September 1952.
Geneveive Morgan playing her second shot on the par five 8th hole.
Wendy Pullar plays her approach into the par 4 9th hole.
The view back down the 9th from behind the green. It is here that we start to see Alisons influence.
The par 3 10th hole, showcasing the first of the "Alisons" constructed.
We got our first look at the Japanese caddy system, and in particular the caddy carts. Wendy and Genevieve are pictured with our caddy, Yonehana, and the cart.
They are pretty impressive, They are motorised, fit four bags, and have places to store drinks, headcovers, sand, rubbish, umbrellas, you name it. Yonehana was brilliant, and ran around after the four of us with ease.
The club has a very proud tournament history, hosting the Japan Open, on four occasions, including in 2006 when it was won by Australian Paul Sheehan. It also hosted the 5th "Canada Cup" (now called the World Cup), in 1957 which was won by the home team.
In 2010, the club hosted the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, which was won by a bloke by the name of Hideki Matsuyama. You may have heard of him.
Dinner for most was at the traditional Japanese Restaurant on site, Inakaya. A tempura and sashimi dinner, in the 300 year old country house.
The next two days we will be playing the Fuji course here at Kawana. Some will play it twice.
Congratulations to today's winners, Geoffrey Knight and Sharon Marks, who both scored 34 points.
Another congratulations to Nola Faure, who celebrated her birthday.
No comments:
Post a Comment