Aug 9, 2021 5 min read Email

THE STARTER SHACK

South African, Rory Mario Trevor Sabbatini is your Olympic silver medalist...for Slovakia. We can't believe we just typed those words. Not the Rory we expected on the podium.

🇯🇵 You need a 4-inch collar to play the Kasumigaseki Country Club

♣️ Cleveland's new golf club

😎 How to stay cool on the golf course

👶 Junior golfer shoots 58

OLYMPICS

Only Knee High Socks If Wearing Shorts

The halfway point of the Olympic golf event is upon us. Entertainment value for the men was high as medals were bestowed on Xander, the Other Rory and C.T Pan.

The quality of the golf has been great but the star of the show thus far has been Kasumigaseki Country Club.

Unlike the made for TV course designed specifically for the 2016 Rio Games, the course hosting the Tokyo Games golf events has a long, storied history:

Founded in 1929, comprised of the East course (Olympics site) and West Course
Based heavily on the classic courses of the Northeastern United States
Historically had two greens per hole, each planted with different grass species
Allowed the course to be played continuously across different golfing seasons

Long before the Olympics, Kasumigaseki hosted the 1957 Canada Cup, an event dominated by Japanese players that jump started Japan’s love affair with golf that continues to this day.

Kasumigaseki has long been associated with the Japanese golfing elite.

No female members until recently (shortly after the course was selected for the Games)
1270 full-time members, 1800 family/weekday members
Family membership -> $36K annual dues, full membership -> $91K annual dues
Even knowing a member, there is a two month waiting period for tee times

BEWARE! If you are lucky enough to secure a tee time, be wary of the dress code, as it is stricter than a 1950s dad laying down the rules on dating his daughter:

Blazers are required upon arrival at the club
Shorts cannot be worn to the golf course, but can be worn on the golf course
Shorts must be paired with knee high socks. Must.
Shirt collars can be popped up during play, but must be lowered in the clubhouse

While this all sounds kinda stuffy and starchy, we can all get behind one of the last rules they have onsite - “In the heat of the summer players are asked to have the courtesy to change their shirt and trousers before entering the dining room, to prevent leaving a damp seat for the next guest.”

Yeah, three cheers to Kasumigaseki for finally clamping down on swamp ass and back sweat.

GIMME

Junior shoots 58: 13 year-old shot a 58 with 14 birdies. Davis Hartwell edged out second place by a nerve wracking 16 strokes. This reminds us of that time we beat our...sorry what were we saying.
High tech golf balls: is what Xander Shauffele was playing at the Olympics. Shauffele used a new Callaway Chrome Soft X ball named the LS (Low Spin) to help get more distance and control. We're pretty sure this won't help our over the top heel pull slice but we're willing to try anything...including a ball retriever as our 14th club.
Seven for One: a seven man four hole playoff determined the bronze medal at the Olympics. Not as riveting as our 28 man men's league Horse Rave but still exciting.
Bronze makes $141,500 more than Gold: CT Pan won that seven man playoff and his home country paid him $179,000 while Xander Schauffele won a paltry $37,500. Apparently payment is not regulated by the IOC.
Gambling is illegal at Bushwood: but if it's not at your golf club you should be playing these games. Our favourite game is...if you want a mulligan you have to shotgun a PBR tallboy. We usually don't know who we are walking off the 13th green.
Cleveland's got a new driver: no, we're not talking about our Uncle Cleveland—he hasn't played golf since someone cut his hamstring on the back of his leg, right at the bottom before a big money match. We're talking about their new Launcher XL Drivers.

PIC OF THE DAY

We're 53.4% sure George Lyons would've sweated through his wool jacket if he was competing at the Olympics this past week. But he would've looked damn dapper doing it. George Seymour Lyons (Canadian) won the Gold Medal in St. Louis in the 1904 Olympics.

WITB

Our favorite golfer Patrick Reed was playing a set of custom forged irons he had a helping hand in creating with Grindworks. A Japanese company trying to disrupt the more established brands.

Driver: Titleist TSi3 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 125 MSI 70 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade SIM (15 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Black 130 MSI 80 TX

Hybrid: Callaway Apex Pro (20 degrees)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Recoil Prototype 95

Irons: Grindworks PR-202 (4) Grindworks PR-101A (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Artisan Proto (51), Vokey SM8 (56-08M), Vokey WedgeWorks Proto (60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot Pro 3

INSIDE THE ROPES

Kinya Fujita is the designer of the Kasumigaseki Country Club and he thinks that if certain holes make the golfer angry, that's just part of the game. Well, listen here Kinya, every hole makes us angry, even the driving range and putting green makes us angry, what do you have to say about that? Watch this video of the Kasumigaseki Country Club while we go and cool down.

GOLF GEAR

We're real fans here.

Have you been passing out on a regular basis at about the 12th hole from heat stroke? Asking for a friend. If you've been waking up in the bushes off the 13th tee well behind pace of play you may need a neck fan. A real thing (along with a host of other cooling items) that was present at the Olympics because of the screaming hot heat index.

*not a sponsored post (may at times include affiliate links)

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