So… can you make a golf video in Japan while playing with complete strangers?

I tried to find out.

And the honest answer is: almost.

I’m originally from Finland, but I’ve lived in Japan for over 15 years. All of my golf life has been here in Japan too, so in that sense golf in Japan is completely normal to me. But filming it, while playing with people I had never met before, was a very different thing.

This was the first proper attempt for my channel, A Round Around Japan.

The idea of the channel is simple enough.

Travel around Japan. Play new golf courses. Eat the clubhouse lunch. Meet local golfers when possible. And show what a real golf day in Japan actually feels like.

For this first round, I booked myself into a tee time using Rakuten GORA’s 1人予約, or solo reservation system. In Japan, golf is usually played in groups, but with 1人予約 you can book as one person and get paired with other golfers.

So, the golf part worked.

The reservation worked.
The local golfers were friendly.
The course was real.
The pressure was also real.

But the video part?

That was a different story.

The audio failed. The camera angles were rough. The ball was not always visible. And because I was trying not to slow down the group or disturb the other players, I only managed to properly capture the front nine.

So this is not a perfect golf video. It is not even the video I originally planned to make.

But in a strange way, maybe that makes it more honest.

This is the first attempt. A foreign golfer, playing solo reservation golf in Japan, paired with local golfers, trying to film the whole thing without really knowing what he is doing yet.

There are topped tee shots.
There is one very unexpected birdie.
There is clubhouse lunch waiting at the end of the front nine.
And there is a lot to improve for the next round.

So the real question was not really, “Can a foreigner book and play solo golf in Japan?”

Yes. You can.

The real question was:

Can I turn that into a watchable YouTube video on the first try?

Let’s say… kind of.

Hole 1 — Reality Arrives Quickly

First swing of the day.

Honestly, all I wanted was to get the ball in play.

And somehow, I actually did. It was a little thin, not exactly a tour-level strike, but it went more or less where I wanted.

Unfortunately, when I got to the ball, I found it sitting on a dry sandy patch. Ball below my feet, hard lie, and not much confidence.

I promptly bladed it over the green.

Normally, that would just be annoying. But here, there was OB only a few yards behind the green, so the ball was gone.

Now I had to hit again, and with “do not go long” fully burned into my brain, I did the natural thing.

I fatted it short of the green.

From there I was left with an awkward little wedge. I tried to pop it up, hit it too hard, and watched it run to the back fringe.

At this point, I was done with being clever. The putter came out.

I got it moving toward the hole, but not as close as I wanted. Then I missed the next putt as well, and finally tapped in for double par.

First hole. First time filming. Four over.

Mentally, I was not in a strong place.

Hole 2 — A Small Miracle

After the emotional damage of the first hole, we moved to a longish downhill par three.

The pin was right at the front, only a few yards onto the green. I really did not want to go long here.

The plan was simple. Hit it straight, land it near the front, and if it came up short, I could probably still putt.

And this one came out really nicely.

Straight at the flag.

It landed just short, but if it had carried maybe one more yard, I think it had a chance to be very, very good.

From there I had a simple putt from the fringe. Nothing fancy, just roll it up there.

I missed by a few inches, tapped in, and after the disaster on the first hole, a par felt like a small miracle.

Hole 3 — The Hidden Hill

After the par on the second, I felt a bit more level again.

The third was another par three, but completely different. Short, but extremely uphill. You could not really see where to land the ball. The only help was the tip of the flag, and you just had to trust that there was a green somewhere up there.

I took 9-iron and tried to hit something high enough to get over the ridge.

And actually, I hit it more or less like I imagined.

Sadly, when I climbed up the hill, I discovered that the course had been hiding another hill behind the first hill.

So instead of being safely on the green, I was awkwardly short again.

From there, I just tried to pop one up toward the flag. This time it came out okay. Close enough that the putt was simple, and I tapped in for bogey.

After the start I had, bogey was perfectly fine.

Hole 4 — The Best Double Bogey I Have Ever Made

The fourth hole was the first long hole, about 530 yards, and from the tee it looked narrow.

I went with 3-iron.

Safe choice. Mature choice. Just put something in play.

And then I topped it like I have never topped a ball before.

Luckily, it bounced off the cart path and somehow stayed in bounds. But yes, this was far from ideal.

The next shot was from long grass, on an uphill lie, with my confidence somewhere underground. I tried to hack it forward, barely caught the ball, and sent it toward the cart path again.

At this point, the local golfers playing with me basically took pity on me.

They told me I could drop up on the ladies’ tee plateau and play from there.

Very kind of them.

Unfortunately, kindness does not fix golf swings.

I was completely flustered and topped the third shot as well.

The only small silver lining was that, after all of this, I was finally on the fairway.

So I tried to reset. Take a breath. Make a normal swing.

And finally, I hit a smooth 5-iron nicely down the fairway.

Even the camera seemed shocked by the shot, because it fell over.

That left me about 235 yards to the green.

And then, out of nowhere, I hit one of the best long shots I have ever hit.

A 3-iron over the bunker, pin high, just to the right side of the green.

After the way the hole started, my feelings were mixed. Mostly disbelief.

From there, things were finally under control. I chipped it close, made the 10-footer, and somehow walked away with double bogey.

Honestly, that might be the best double bogey I have ever made.

Hole 5 — The Theme Continues

By this point, a theme was starting to appear.

Unfortunately, the theme was topping tee shots.

Once again, I topped the ball off the tee. Once again, it only just stayed in bounds.

Not exactly the kind of consistency I was looking for.

But the strange thing was, after the bad tee shot, I actually managed to calm down.

For the second shot, I collected myself and flushed an iron down the left side of the fairway. This opened up the green nicely, and suddenly the hole looked very playable again.

From there, it was simple golf.

Pitch it onto the green. Two putts. Walk away with bogey.

Honestly, completely fine.

I would just prefer if the “simple golf” part started from the tee ground.

Hole 6 — Small Mistakes Add Up

Another tee shot, another top.

But this time, the ball actually found the fairway.

As topped shots go, this was one of the better ones.

Unfortunately, I pushed the second shot out to the right, leaving myself a very unpleasant little chip. Dry sandy lie, downhill slope, and not much room for error.

So naturally, I thinned it over the green.

Then I did the one thing you really should not do.

I had a downhill putt coming back, and instead of being careful, I hit it too hard.

It went over the green again.

The walk of shame.

Third time was the charm. I finally eased one down to a few feet and made the putt.

Nothing was a full disaster by itself, but golf does not need a full disaster. It is perfectly happy to take a few small mistakes and turn them into a double bogey.

Hole 7 — Ego Leaves the Building

Finally, a decent tee shot.

Of course, by this point I was only hitting 8-iron off the tee.

All of my ego had officially left the building.

But the ball stayed online, found a decent spot, and I had a nice approach from just over 100 yards.

For once, it felt like the hole was under control.

Then I was reminded that control is mostly an illusion.

The lie was fine, but sloping, and what was supposed to be a soft gap wedge turned into more of a proper punchy smash. It flew the green by about 10 yards.

Coming back, I hit it a little too hard again. But from just off the green, I managed to use the putter and roll it right next to the hole.

The local golfers gave me the bogey.

Not terrible.

But still… golf is hard.

Hole 8 — The Big Dog Appears

I had not hit driver once the whole round.

Then we arrived at a drivable par four.

The local golfers I was playing with seemed to figure that I might not have the accuracy, but maybe I could hit the big dog a decent distance.

So naturally, they wanted to see it.

Or maybe chuckle at the lost ball. Both are possible.

Out came the driver.

I aimed for a cut, made a proper swing, and this one actually came out nicely.

It started where I wanted, moved a little right, landed softly, and finished right on the fringe.

So now I had a putt from off the green.

For eagle.

The putt was not perfect, but it was a decent lag, and it left a simple short one.

I eased it in.

Birdie on a drivable par four.

We take those every single time.

Hole 9 — Lunch Is Waiting

Final hole of the front nine.

The last obstacle between me and clubhouse lunch.

Naturally, this was the moment to get serious.

I took 4-iron off the tee and finally hit exactly the kind of shot I had been trying to hit all morning.

A piercing little fade, straight down the fairway.

Now I had a partial wedge into a slightly elevated green. The angle was good, the lie was good, and for once there was no immediate crisis.

The shot came out a little short and slightly offline, but it was okay.

From there, it was an easy lag putt, tap-in par, and the front nine was done.

This is how golf is supposed to be.

Now, off to lunch.

Afterword

Thank you so much for watching, or reading, if you somehow made it this far.

This was my first time trying to film a round, edit a golf video, record voiceover, and put everything together.

And yes, the result is definitely rough.

Part of me wanted to hide the video and pretend it never happened.

But I decided to publish it anyway.

Not because it is perfect, because it definitely is not. But because it is the first step.

This is where the channel starts.

The filming can get better.
The audio can get better.
The editing can get better.
The golf… hopefully can get better.

It can only get better from here.