"Entertainment" or "Quiet Practice"? Off-course Golf's Dilemma in Japan

The clock shows 1 AM. On his second day in Japan after arriving from Sweden, Dennis Ekstrom, the Chief Technical Officer of Toptracer, is unable to sleep due to jet lag and the excitement of facing the gigantic Far East market. He decided to see the large urban driving range he'd heard rumor about and hails a taxi. The three-story facility has 300 bays, and approximately 2 million balls are hit there each week. Witnessing golfers practicing devotedly even late at night, he was thrilled with the thought, "I'm going to put a Toptracer in all these bays someday." That was five years ago. "That's why this place is special. Dreams have become reality," he mused, his cheeks flushing pink as he surveyed the scene.

On March 28, 2023, the "LOTTE KASAI SAKURA TEE Fes 23" was held at Lotte Kasai Golf in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo. A large-scale event was hosted for the first time at the facility to celebrate the introduction of Toptracer to all bays in January. Toptracer is a system that uses high-performance cameras installed outdoors to track the ball's trajectory, allowing golfers to instantly verify distance, ball speed, and trajectory on a monitor at their bay. Utilizing this technology, the event included closest to the pin competitions with professionals, club shaft trial meetings with multiple manufacturers, and hole-in-one challenges accessible from all bays.

The decorations featured cherry blossoms, and as night fell, subdued neon lights created an atmospheric illumination. From the bays, the Ferris wheel in Kasai Rinkai Park could be seen, offering a sense of openness and photo opportunities. This was popular among women and young people, and with the introduction of Toptracer, the number of young group customers reportedly increased. "I wanted to transform it from a mere driving range into something with an entertainment factor," said Masahiko Kawashima, manager of Lotte Kasai Golf, who was pleased with the elaborate production reminiscent of makeup.

Last year, in the United States, for the first time in history, the number of off-course golfers who enjoy golf at facilities other than golf courses, as represented by "Topgolf", exceeded the number of those who actually play on golf courses. Ben Sharp, the president of Toptracer who visited Japan for this event, emphasized that "a major transformation is taking place". "We are accelerating this transformation with Topgolf and Toptracer Range. Driving ranges are part of the daily lives of the Japanese, and it's wonderful to witness this change. Technological innovations bring about new players, and the golf industry is becoming healthier," he proudly proclaimed.

The executives at Toptracer view their competitors not as golf courses or driving ranges, but as other entertainment facilities such as cinemas and bowling alleys. Compared to these entertainments, the advantage of golf is the exhilarating feeling of moving your body while breathing fresh air outdoors. On the other hand, the challenge lies in time. Busy modern people are consumed by work on weekdays and crave time with their families on weekends. For those who resist spending a holiday away from their family on the golf course, a quick hour of golf with their family at the Toptracer Range is possible. "We are trying to remove the barrier of time," Sharp emphasized.

The use of Toptracer varies by country and region. For example, in Japan, the simple " launch monitor" to measure distance, trajectory, and ball speed has a utilization rate of 72.5% (as of March 2023), which is far ahead of the rest. However, in Europe and the United States, " launch monitor" is at 32.2%, followed by " whats in my bag" at 23.9%, "virtual golf" at 18.7%, and "long drive" at 11.3%. This means that while there are still few people in Japan who are proficient in using the system, people in Europe and the US enjoy features suited to their needs and those with a gaming aspect.

"In an extreme argument, we want to be the best partner for golf ranges," Sharp concluded. The innovation started from ball tracking, brings precise information and entertainment to the driving range, allowing individuals and groups of all levels, from those aiming for improvement to beginners, to enjoy various forms of golf. They have confidence in being able to approach diverse needs appropriately. "We are beginning to understand customer behavior more deeply from the vast amount of data gathered daily. We can help improve overall operations while providing many choices for golf ranges to do their business."

The future seems rosy... However, Japan faces a reality that cannot be ignored. This is the so-called "2025 Problem", where the baby boomers born in the post-war first baby boom (1947-1949) become elderly (75 years and older). According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the population of the elderly will reach 21.79 million (18.1% of the total population) in that year.

That's why we want to attract more young people to golf. It is a natural progression to want to utilize the highly entertaining Toptracer for this purpose. However, there is a difference in needs with existing golfers, symbolized by the poster saying "黙練(moku-ren, a Japanese term meaning to 'quiet practice'” posted on the pillars of the driving range. "We're a bit torn, as we have many elderly customers who want to practice quietly, especially on weekday mornings...", says Kawashima, embarrassed between "entertainment" and "quiet practice". It is indeed a transitional period of transformation.

If they suddenly start playing loud music without considering their passionate regular customers, it would likely cause chaos. For example, they could explore ways to coexist by dividing areas or setting specific times. They should also be able to get senior golfers to use Toptracer more, not just young people. In fact, according to the "Public Opinion Survey on the Implementation of Sports (2022)" released by the Japan Sports Agency, people who enjoy golf at the driving range alone are almost evenly distributed from their 20s to 70s. Among them, there must be many senior golfers who have retired from golf courses for physical reasons. If they could once again experience the feeling of a golf round...

Kawashima, who was in the confectionery sales business at Lotte for 25 years until last year, has a dream of "creating a facility that is loved by many customers and excites them." How can they transform it into a golf range that everyone can enjoy? The recent event where they played music, a move considered taboo in the past, was a step towards their new challenge of "gradually getting people to accept things like this."

<End>