Golf's move from the UK to Japan
For the first article, it seemed fitting to tell the story of a Brit moving to the land of the rising sun, who became the founder of golf in Japan.
Over a century and half ago, in 1868, Arthur Hesketh Groom (1846–1918) immigrated following the persuasion of his older brother, Francis Arthur Groom, to help him with trading goods in and out of Nagasaki (the first port in Japan which opened to foreign trade). Soon after arrival, Arthur married a Japanese woman and moved to Kobe to run the branch of Glover & Co. (international trading firm). In August 1870, when Glover & Co. went bankrupt, Arthur joined Mourilyan, Heimann & Co. where a decade later he would become responsible for the Yokohama branch’s exportation of raw silk. His work became increasingly unsatisfactory and in 1894 Arthur returned to Kobe, to enter the hotel management business.
Arthur grew fond of the Mt. Rokko region due to its temperate climate compared to the city of Kobe, and in 1895 bought some land to build a cluster of villas which foreign businessmen could escape to on the weekends. Following a friend’s suggestion, Arthur and some of his pals made a clearing of to lay out several fairways and sand greens.
Golf’s arrival to Japan.
Arthur and co. hadn’t played much golf before coming to Japan, so the opening of woodlands to make the four-hole course in 1896 was inspired by their love for the outdoors and British club culture. With the increase of visitors, the maintenance and operation of the club became too much for Arthur to handle himself. Thus, in February 1903 as the completion of nine holes were imminent, a founding meeting of ‘Kobe Golf Club’ held at the Kobe Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Out of the 26 attendees, who were all foreigners, Arthur was assigned as Honorary Secretary and Treasurer.
On 24th May 2023, the nine holes were completed and the Kobe GC opening ceremony was held. According to “A History of Golf in Japan" (by Kan'ichi Nishimura), the then incumbent Governor of Kobe, Hattori Ichizo, hit the first ball in front of the total 120 members. Hattori hadn’t played golf before, so Arthur was able to pick up his tee shot not far away from the sand-based first tee box. The ball was taken back to the club house as a memento and is still on display in the Kobe GC clubhouse.
By October 1904, the course was expanded to 18 holes and the compacted sand tee boxes and greens were replaced with grass. The membership expanded to 200; however, there were still only several Japanese members. The first recorded Japanese golfer was, Shotaro Ogura, and his younger sister, Sueko, as the first female player.
Golf’s popularity has been persistently bullish throughout the years. Resisting the pressure of countless conflicts, including 2 world wars, Japan as of 2024 has the second-largest number of golfers at 9.2m [2023 World Golf Report / Yano Research Institute Ltd. & Golf Datatech, L.L.C.].
Arthur Hesketh Groom, as a foreigner, paved the way for golf in Japan, and I hope to eventually help foreigners access golf courses that are typically hard to access without speaking Japanese.
