Since learning how to play golf back in 1999, I’ve been made aware of the very interesting fact that my grandpa, Army Maj. Harold C. Sheffield, was the designer of the Kyoto Golf Club’s Kamigamo Course in Kita-ward Kyoto. Now, I’ve never met my grandpa, he died about 6 years before I was born, which is a shame because he was a military officer with artistic
prowess who spoke fluent Japanese and had a fondness for the city of Kyoto… You know, I’m really starting to think Plato was onto something here.
But I digress, the point is, despite knowing dad’s dad was the Military Governor of Kyoto post WWII and designed one of the most beautiful golf courses in Japan, I’d never been able to make contact with the current Kyoto Golf Course crew to touch base. You can’t just barge in to someone’s in-box or waltz into the front door of an exclusive private establishment and just say “Hey I’m related to the guy who built this place, wanna chat?”

Not to mention there are plenty of Japanese who don’t like Americans to this day, and vice versa. I had no idea what I’d be walking into, so I figured it would be best to approach in the most professional manner
possible. Well during this trip, the stars aligned, as a friend of mine had a contact in Japan who was able to reach out professionally from one company to another in requesting a meeting. An agent by the name of Kaz Yoshida did us a HUGE favor and
successfully landed a meeting time. As the date approached, I was trying to hire an interpreter, but Gion Matsuri must’ve sapped the stock because of the 20 I contacted, none were able to make this meeting. I did my best to prepare notes with my own limited Japanese and some digital translations, but figured it shouldn’t be a big deal since this was just a meet’n greet between myself and the course manager, Mr. Fujita.

That’s when the e-mails began piling up from Kaz: The owners would be there on a certain date and time that we would adjust to meet, some of the biggest course members were also planning attendance, and the Kyoto Shimbun (newspaper) would be sending a writer and photographer to do an article.

Now when this whole thing started, I had no idea if these guys in Kyoto shared the same opinions as that one Japanese-American living in Hawaii back in the 1980’s who accused my parents of being war profiteers when they saw the things gifted to my grandpa, so I was prepared for anything from “Welcome!” to “BE GONE, AMERICAN DEVILS!!” What I was NOT prepared for was the overwhelming outpouring of excitement and outright affection shown by the Adachi brothers, both grandson’s of Sadaichi Adachi, the contractor hired by my grandfather, and seemingly everyone there at the Kyoto Golf Club!

While driving around the course, I was not only agog at the incredible artistry of the design, but also felt incredibly overwhelmed as I seemed to be having a wonderful conversation with a classy gentleman I’d never met in person who was simultaneously trolling my golf handicap into oblivion.

All I could think of is how much I wished my dad could be there to really give the group the answers they were looking for about my grandpa. If they treated me like a rock-star during this visit, I can only imagine how happy everyone will be to meet dad next year when he’s able to make it out to Kyoto. Perhaps we’ll even get to play a round! I wouldn’t mind losing a few sleeves of balls to my grandpa’s mischievous architectural expertise.