This May, four out of every 10 Koreans who traveled abroad chose Japan. As a weak yen, short flight times, and reasonable costs converged, Japan has emerged as the top destination, overtaking Southeast Asia and China. One figure spotted this market shift ahead of others and made a bold bet by successively acquiring Japanese golf courses. He is Cho Sung-joon, CEO of Show Golf, who founded the online golf reservation platform "XGOLF" in the early 2000s to drive the popularization of golf, and in 2021 succeeded with "Show Golf," a driving range at Gimpo Airport that added upbeat music and club-style lighting. Here is his story of embarking on a journey to build a global golf resort chain.
Cho recently met with the Seoul Economic Daily at the Show Golf Gimpo Airport branch in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. "Following the Satsuma and Akamizu golf courses we have acquired and are now operating, we plan to acquire at least three more golf courses and resorts in Osaka, Kyushu and elsewhere within five years, building a chain of at least five locations in total," he said. "Based on our ability to send Korean customers and our service competitiveness, we will transplant the DNA of K-golf service into the Japanese golf market and grow into Asia's top golf brand."
Cho turned his eyes to overseas markets, especially Japan's golf course market, because of the structural limitations and opaque growth prospects of the domestic golf industry that he felt firsthand over more than 20 years in golf-related businesses. Korea's golf market enjoyed an unprecedented boom thanks to the COVID-19 windfall, but has declined sharply since the pandemic waned. As the unreasonable pricing structure, including excessively high green fees and caddie fees, remained unchanged, golfers have turned away. "After more than 20 years in the golf industry, I can see the flow of market changes," Cho said. "I could no longer guarantee that we could turn a profit on reservation platforms and offline driving ranges alone. So I thought it was time for change, and I found a new growth engine in golf course operations."
His judgment is that Japan, unlike Korea, has relatively low golf course acquisition costs and tax burdens, and holds high potential. "Except near Tokyo, regional golf courses in Japan are suffering from management difficulties due to severe aging and declining visitor numbers, so they are very active in attracting Korean customers," Cho explained. "I became convinced that combining Korean golfers' demand for overseas trips with Show Golf's ability to send customers would give us a good chance." Regarding risks raised by some, such as strained Korea-Japan relations or natural disasters, he said, "Local risks such as earthquakes are sufficiently controllable, and thanks to the geographical advantage of being close to Korea, the growth potential of Japanese golf courses is still large."
Bold Bet on Japanese Golf Courses Beyond Domestic Success
Cho took his first step into overseas business at the end of 2023 by acquiring the prestigious "Satsuma Golf Resort" in Kagoshima, which had been owned and operated by Japan's Daiwa Securities Group. At the time, Japan's golf industry was mired in a long-term slump due to severe aging and declining visitor numbers. Satsuma Golf Resort, too, had been suffering from massive chronic deficits every year. Financial experts and industry insiders around him all tried to dissuade Cho, calling it a reckless and risky investment. "At first I also considered acquiring a Korean golf course, but the acquisition was not easy because of the unreasonable sale price," he said. "I think that if I had not turned my eyes to Japanese golf courses, which are relatively cheaper than in Korea, defying the objections around me, running the company itself might have been difficult."
The acquisition process was not smooth. "Usually in sale negotiations, the buyer holds the upper hand, but with Japanese golf courses it was the seller who held the upper hand and the buyer who was subordinate," Cho said, describing the atmosphere at the time. "The owner said, 'We don't have to sell the golf course, so we want someone who will really run it well,' and demanded four demanding presentations, and did not even allow prior due diligence." Cho looked at the inside rather than the surface. Then the answer came. "Satsuma Golf Resort is an old resort that opened in 1991 and was like a gathering place for local people. The owner was looking for a new owner who would carry on the local community's culture that had continued for over 30 years. I understood their feelings, and when I promised 'contribution to the local community,' I was able to succeed in the acquisition." After acquiring Satsuma Golf Resort, Show Golf has continued community-focused management, holding kimchi-making events with local residents, sponsoring local orphanages and hospitals, and opening its hot springs and swimming pools free of charge to local residents in summer.
Innovating Japanese Golf Courses With 'K-Service DNA'
Cho's strategy was proven in numbers. Just one year after Show Golf's acquisition, in 2024, Satsuma Golf Resort's revenue surged a full 41% year-on-year and operating profit jumped 100%. According to an official June 2024 report by the Japan Golf Course Association, it ranked first in revenue and visitor growth rates among 198 golf courses in the Kyushu region. Even Japan's leading economic daily, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, reported on the case twice, evaluating it as an exceptional achievement. This growth trend continued, with last year's revenue also growing 28% year-on-year.
The secret to the growth was a management efficiency strategy that transplanted "Korean-style service DNA" instead of tearing down the chronic customs of Japanese golf courses. He changed local staff's suit-oriented attire to casual wear, and digitized the system with simple check-in using the XGOLF app instead of analog handwritten check-in. In particular, he boldly abolished Japan's unique single-round operation, under which players were obligated to stay and eat for more than an hour after completing a nine-hole round, and introduced Korea's efficient one- and two-round rotation system. On top of this, when he provided the quick response culture and one-stop service that Koreans like, not only Korean travelers but even young local Japanese golfers who craved change began to be enthusiastic. "At first, elderly Japanese golfers found it a bit unfamiliar, but now they are showing positive reactions," Cho said. "In addition, placing a Korean chef locally and putting K-food such as dolsot bibimbap and dak-hanmari at the forefront has won favor with both locals and Koreans." He added with a smile, "These days, more Japanese customers are visiting the golf course to taste the Korean food sold at Satsuma Golf Resort."
Chain Expansion to Global Golf Company
Using Satsuma's success as a springboard, Show Golf additionally acquired the Akamizu Golf Resort in Kumamoto Prefecture last November. Akamizu CC is a 27-hole golf course that hosted the "Bridgestone Aso Open," an official Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) event hosted by Japan's Bridgestone from 1976 to 1993. There was also a critical crisis at the point when the acquisition would be completed by paying the balance after passing through several contract stages. "At the time of acquisition, a world-class semiconductor company was using part of the Akamizu resort as staff housing, and that company attempted a snatch-away contract by offering double the deposit we had offered," Cho revealed. "Fortunately, the owner set a condition that 'if you pay the balance within a week, we will sign the contract,' so we hastily raised the funds, paid the balance, and completed the acquisition."
Show Golf quickly introduced the management strategy already proven at Satsuma Golf Resort to the Akamizu Golf Resort. When it discarded strategies with large side effects and selectively introduced only services that had worked well, the effect appeared even more steeply. From last December to this June, over the seven months after the acquisition, revenue rose about 2.3-fold compared with the same period before the acquisition. Watching Akamizu Golf Resort, his second acquisition in Japan, quickly establish itself and grow, Cho found a success formula. It is securing economies of scale and operational efficiency through chain expansion. "The more chains a resort business has, the much easier operations become, such as personnel rotation and offsetting deficits," Cho said.
