NPR On Dip In Japan's Number Of Golfers, Cultural Changes

NPR's Elise Hu looks at golf in Japan following the recent high profile round between Donald Trump and Shinzo Abe. Even with the Olympics coming in 2020, Hu explains how private clubs are dying, a few courses have even abandoned, the business culture is changing and young people see golf as "your dad's" sport.

The full report is embedded below, but the key lines...

Back in the 1980s, when golf was booming, Japanese clubs regularly required a deposit of $400,000 or more for a membership, according to industry analysts at Rakuten, the Japanese Internet giant.

The deposit was supposed to be returned after a decade. But when the Japanese economy went bust after 1989, many private golf courses were unable to honor their commitment. Since then, dozens of courses have been bought out; others have been redeveloped, and some have closed down entirely.

"They're just abandoned," says Tomita Shoko, who covers the golf industry for the Tokyo Kezai, Japan's oldest business magazine.