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OLYMPIC GOLF
Kasumigaseki CC is one of Japan’s most highly respected
golf clubs, with the championship East course having been
designed by English architect Hugh Alison on his legendary
trip to Japan in the 1920s. Tom Fazio, ASGCA, says:
“Kasumigaseki approached us several years ago, before being
awarded the Olympics, about the possibility of partnering with
the club to oversee improvements to the East course. The club’s
desire was to ensure the long-term legacy of the East course
as a championship
course and excellent test
of golf. My son, Logan
Fazio, is president of the
company now and is in
charge of new project
review and analysis
and overall design
oversight in the field. I
don’t move forward with new projects unless he is on board.
Logan made several exploratory visits to KCC to meet with
the club representatives and conduct a detailed review of the
East course in light of the club’s goals for the renovation. Based
on that, Logan decided we would take on the challenge and
I fully supported his decision. Being awarded the Olympics
shortly after that only served to reinforce the club’s agenda with
regard to the East course and we proceeded quickly with the
improvement plans.
“The club wished to replace the current two-green system
with a single green per hole, as it had recently done with its
West course, and also asked us to prepare a comprehensive
review of the design and strategic elements of the course with
regard to tee locations and yardages, bunker and hazard
placement, green angles, and the like. In addition, while
incorporating those design elements, the club also took the
opportunity to improve the course drainage characteristics,
install a new irrigation system and plant new turfgrass
throughout. It has truly been a wide-ranging renovation. At
the same time, we have been mindful of the excellent original
routing of the course and the renovated holes still occupy the
same or very similar play corridors.
“We were initially unsure how the construction would be
executed given that we don’t know the local contractors
involved. To add a layer of certainty to the process, Logan put
together a team of specialists (project management, shapers)
to augment and
complement
the efforts of
the skilled local
contractors
tasked with
implementing
the design work.
We couldn’t be
happier with the quality of the construction. It is as good as
or better than any golf course we have been part of, and the
professionalism and work ethic of everyone on the project is
second to none. We couldn’t ask for more.
“Many of the course improvements would have been made
regardless of whether the Olympics would be played there.
We have worked with the International Golf Federation,
the Japan Golf Association and other entities to review the
logistics and setup of such an event as part of our planning
process. The course is compact and very walkable, so
patrons attending the Olympics should have great visibility
of the golfers and will be able to easily see all of the
course. I have no doubts at all that the soon-to-be-completed
improvements at KCC will serve the members well for
generations to come and the East course will very capably
serve as an excellent test of golf for the world’s best players in
2020. It has been a true honor to partner with KCC on this
exciting and important project, my first in Asia.”
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By Design
The professionalism and
work ethic of everyone on the
project is second to none. We
couldn’t ask for more
Polishing a classic
Tom Fazio, ASGCA, describes a wide-ranging renovation that will serve members and test the world’s best
Photo: Kasumigaseki CC