The Classic GC in Fukuoka and its 'Return to Origins for the Next 100 Years'"

He sees things that are invisible to others. I felt this immediately after arriving and being invited to "Let me show you the overall plan," then stepping onto the course. As we approached the 1st green, he said, "We're going to make this an 'infinity green'." When the trees behind the green are cut down, it opens up to a valley beyond. From the fairway, the green becomes the horizon and offers a magnificent view with distant mountains. I thought course renovation was about changing the shape of the greens and shifting the positions of the bunkers, but he was thinking on a deeper level.

The Classic Golf Club in Fukuoka launched a major project in 2023 to renovate its three 9-hole courses - King, Queen, and Prince - one per year over three years. The task was entrusted to Scottish course designer and shaper, Benjamin Warren. The previous year, while playing several links courses in Scotland and interviewing him, I had learned about his philosophy on golf course design. That's when he told me, "I have a new project starting in Fukuoka next year. Would you like to join as an intern?"

I immediately said, "Sure!" But there was one condition. I needed to have a license to operate heavy construction machinery such as bulldozers and excavators. It's possible to obtain this license even without experience, but it requires a 5-day course and costs 100,000 yen. Both in terms of time and money, I needed the cooperation of my company. When I discussed it with my boss, he readily agreed, saying, "It's a rare opportunity, why not?" That's how I got my license in February and arrived in Fukuoka in March.

In the spring of 2015, Toshiyuki Tanimizu, president of the Classic Management Group, was screaming "Ouch!" in his mind. During a meeting with management, he had set a rule not to use negative words and was discussing future plans with the team. One of the staff said, "We want to host the Japan Women's Open!" The Classic GC had hosted the "JLPGA Championship" in 1995, but that was 20 years ago. The pressure of hosting a National Open is different, and it was hard to imagine what quality of course would be required. He recalled, "In front of the employees, I said, 'Shall we ask the JGA (Japan Golf Association)?' But in my heart, I was questioning whether it was possible." "However," he said, a distant look in his eyes, "I didn't realize it at the time, but now I feel that our company's fate changed dramatically from that day."

To say that "fate has changed" can also be translated as "the path to survival as a golf course has been determined." "Hosting the National Open is not as easy as it sounds," says Mr. Tanimizu. "But if we didn't do this, we would be mired in price competition in the local market. We decided to do something that others can't do and survive as a completely different kind of golf course." They steered towards reform themselves.

After successfully holding the "Japan Senior Open" in 2017 and the "Japan Women's Open" in 2020, the first in Kyushu in 32 years, the company learned from interacting with key people in the Japanese golf world and acquiring new techniques. "Speaking of lawn maintenance, I now realize how easily we can achieve good condition," Mr. Tanimizu realized the big difference that knowledge can make.

His company has always focused on "people" and prioritized "human development". They are proud of having been committed to creating an atmosphere that is not afraid of change for many years. He cites the teachings of the late Kazuo Inamori, the founder of Kyocera, saying that human nature is like a satellite. "It takes a lot of effort to launch it, but once it gets into space, it just keeps orbiting. Once it becomes normal, everyone gets used to it." Before they knew it, most of his employees had broken through the atmosphere.

Mr. Warren told me to bring shoes that could get dirty and noise-canceling headphones. After a quick check of the entire course, I was assigned to a bulldozer. With it, I was to create a new fairway connecting two holes that had been separate. The instructions were "to shave off the steps to create a gentle slope," "to leave flat areas here and there so that the ball doesn't fall down all at once," and "not to fill in the drainage ditches". After that, I was advised to be "Clean and Methodical", considering the work procedure efficiently so as not to mess up the site.

"Then, enjoy!" he said, and went back to his work. In front of me was a bulldozer and a vast piece of land. I started moving slowly at first, then gradually became bolder. Is this right? I felt anxious, but I couldn't check every time. "Think, Build, Look," as Mr. Warren said. The slope isn't too steep, is it? What is the most efficient way to move? There's no shortage of things to think about. My hands were always on the control levers, but the music and podcasts from my headphones were a good distraction. I wonder if one day I'll be playing on this fairway myself? My mind was filled with pleasant imaginations.

The next day, I dug bunkers with a excavator. The procedure goes like this: First, we checked the location and size of the bunker to be built from the tee and marked it with a construction site cone. After determining the scale, the basics are to "keep the entrance step low" and "keep the inside of the bunker flat". Then it's up to the individual's sense of design. The night before, a shaper on the same team told me it was interesting because it allowed for creativity, and I quickly understood what he meant. It was like playing in a sandbox or with clay, and I lost track of time as I was absorbed in the task.

The Classic GC was designed with the bubble era's corporate golf in mind, and there were concerns in Mr. Tanimizu that it might be somewhat unsatisfactory for the National Open. "If we were to hold the Japan Women's Open again, I would like to do it on a slightly different course," he thought. His visit to Scotland in 2017 was what led him to this conclusion. "It was a wonderland for adults. North Berwick left the most impression on me. There were so many gimmicks, it made me wonder if this is really possible," he was amazed by the primitive landscape of golf's birthplace.

Starting the course renovation implies a double punch of revenue decline due to closure and increased costs. But he decided to invest the tailwind that golf received during the COVID-19 pandemic into the future. The direction was clear. "The origin is Scotland, so returning there is the best. That's the logical conclusion, but the satisfaction level after playing golf was also incredibly high," his intuition insisted as well.

He ordered Mr. Warren to create a course that "60,000 visitors a year can just enjoy and navigate". It would be able to accommodate major tournaments and yet also be enjoyable for average golfers by adjusting the difficulty level based on pin positions. Having only one green was a natural return to the origin. The green area would be reduced by 70% and the bunker area by 50%, making it more people and environment friendly. If there was a sliver of worry, it was whether it would fit the sensibility of Japanese golfers. "But I think time will solve that," said Mr. Tanimizu. "I'd be happy if in 100 or 200 years, people think it was a good decision to do what we did..."

On June 7, 2023, the JGA announced that the "Japan Women's Open" would be held at The Classic GC in 2028. The new course, which has undergone a complete transformation since Erika Hara's victory in 2020, awaits the players. What kind of drama will unfold? And personally, I'm wondering how much the players will struggle with the bunkers I built? I'm already looking forward to what will happen in five years.

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