After finishing a "9-hole private lesson" at the Kawagoe Country Club's "East Course," Assistant Buyer Yamauchi of the Dress Shirts & Ties section on the 1st floor Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building immediately exclaimed with a big smile, "That was fun!"
Before starting the lessons, she said, "I'm nervous about playing a round," but as she played the 9 holes, she quickly developed a passion for golf. She seemed to have gained considerable confidence, saying, "I need to schedule my next golf game soon!" ( Click here for a full report on her course debut .)

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I was able to hit the ball without rushing, and it was so much fun!

Kawakami , thank you for your hard work today. Did you gain anything from playing 9 holes?

I've been to Yamauchi Driving Range before, but it was my first time practicing approach shots to get the ball onto the green on the 3rd hole, and it was a lot of fun. I've played rounds there before, and obviously you only get to hit the ball once, but today I was able to hit from the same spot multiple times, which felt strange at first (laughs).

How did your practice session with Kawakami go?

Yamauchi: At first, I had a hard time getting a feel for the distance. But it became fun once I started to understand things like, "If I'm this many yards from the pin, it should look like this."


Kawakami seemed to be having trouble with his bunker shots.

Yamauchi : I've never been properly taught, but I've tried it a few times on the course (laughs). As Kawakami-san taught me, I kind of understand in my head that you "open the face of the sand wedge when you address it, don't sole it, and hit the sand," but it's really difficult to do in practice!

Kawakami: Today, in order to overcome my fear of bunkers, I practiced drawing a line in front of the ball and aiming to hit it. Of course, you can't draw a line in a real game, but after hitting 20 to 30 balls, I think I got the hang of "slamming down on the ball from above, rather than scooping it up."

It still feels strange to me that Yamauchi is hitting the ball with the club suspended in mid-air. Ota-san also had trouble with the bunkers, so I guess it's just a matter of practice and getting used to it...

Kawakami Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building The swing on the rooftop even has a bunker, so please come and practice!

Yamauchi: I learned so much today. I wish I had learned this before my first round!

Even experienced NEXT players were impressed. What did they gain from the "9-hole private lesson"?