WOW!! That’s about all I can say.

The Token Tado CC is fantastic. It’s an expansive layout built amongst the hills, with gentle rolling slopes and undulating greens. A good short game, combined with a hot putter, will be the key to scoring well around the Token Tado course.

What’s grabbed me even more than the course itself is the setup of the event. Put it this way… the Japan Tour is amazing! It’s such a thrill. I feel like I have the opportunity of a life time.

Token Homemate Cup: Live Scoring

Press Centre

T61 Nathan UEBERGANG (even) 74 70 78

Results

Novil Cup Website

FINAL ROUND

Oh well. My short game left me and my mental game followed 😕 . I’m now off to Nagoya for the first event of the Japan Tour season. I’ve never been so excited about playing a golf tournament, so it’s time to reenergize and get ready for it.

SECOND ROUND

I tested the new driver on the first hole today and it went good all day. I had it going as I was -5 through 16 but a bogey, double finish really pulled me back into the field. It made life a lot easier having a driver today.

It’s nice to make my first cut over here but I’ve played terrible considering this is a course that suits me down to the ground.

FIRST ROUND

It’s fair to say I rarely have a boring day on the golf course… and today was no exception.

This course, the J Classic GC, is one of the most open courses you will ever see. It’s a long course too, measuring about 7150 yards, so It’s a no brainer to use your driver on every hole. The game plan really is that simple. Long drives are a big advantage on this golf course.

I teed of the 10th today and made a steady start. On the 14th tee I hit my drive, bent down to pick up my tee and sure enough my driver decided to snap at the hosel. Talk about at the wrong time. On the one course where I could launch the driver to my hearts content, I didn’t have one! To make it worse, the next longest club I had in my bag was a 17* hybrid that I use to hit high-high spinning approach shots. So I had to play the rest of the round using my hybrid off the tee. On some courses that may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise, but at the J Classic GC you really do need the driver. In the end I was pleased to leave the course with the score I made.

I brought one driver on this trip because some of the tour vans next week at the first Japan Tour event have some drivers ready for me to try. Surely I could have made it through just one week with the driver I had. Obviously not :-).

Thankfully the Titleist guys here have been really helpful. They sourced out a couple of X-flex shafts from a club fitter in central Tokushima then drove an hour to get there and build up a new driver to spec. I’ll give it a quick test in the morning and we should be right to go for the second round. Their support could be all the difference tomorrow. The par 5’s must be chewed up on this course to play well.

Welcome to Japan!

At the top of the page you will now see the link for my 2009 Schedule. It’s a schedule I’m really excited about and looking forward to.

My 2009 season will be based around the Japan Tour events I have a start in from Tour School. With my current ranking I can expect to get starts in 11 of the first 14 events of the season.These are my number one proiority and the events I will do my best to prepare for.

I will also be playing in a number of Challenge Tour events which have dates that fit nicely in with the Japan Tour. The Challenge Tour is Japan’s secondary tour. They are a bit like our Von Nida tour events in Australia. Prize money for the Challenge Tour is a lot less than the Japan Tour and the events are usually run over two days. They should be a great way to get some competitive golf in between Japan Tour events.

So from now and until early April, when the first event is on in Japan, I will be combining a few events around Australia with as much practice and training I can get in while at home during the off weeks.

Also, you may have noticed I have one extra event in Feb, the Asian Tour International in Thailand which is the first event on the Asian Tour’s schedule. The Japan Tour is alloted 15 spots in this event so I put in an entry form and ended up getting a start. It’s a great opportunity to get the season off with a bang.

…might find Australian female koalas very attractive!?!

24T (final rank = 29) Nathan Uebergang (-9) 74 69 71 66 70 73 = 423

(6 round event. 4 round cut was made at 90 plus ties)
Results

FINAL ROUND:
YEEEE-HAAA!!! I now have a full Japanese Tour Card. This is so cool. I am one of the happiest men alive 🙂 The emotions are running wild.

4TH ROUND:
Now we’re talking. The putts certainly started dropping. 8 birdies and a double. It’s a great feeling to know I’m now a member of the 2009 Japan Tour. Now it’s a question of how many tournament starts I can earn for next season.

3RD ROUND:
I’m pretty pleased with the end result today. I was 4 over after 4 holes today, but I stuck to my game plan and managed to get five shots back. My play of the day came on the 380yard 11th, where I drove it just short of the green and pitched in from 35m for eagle.

Sometimes attitude is the difference between losing it or keeping it together on a bad day.

OUR TIME IN JAPAN:
Originally, one of my closest friends Chris Stewart had offered to caddy for me here at final stage. He made it to Japan, but unfortunately needed to head home to Korea after one day due to a stomach illness. It just wasn’t worth him risking his health by staying over here. So I’ve now got a “house caddy” this week.

Anyway, here was a little funny from our time in Japan:

When Chris Stewart and I were going through customs on our way into Tokyo, the lady asked Chris, “why do you come to Japan?”
“My friend’s going golfing and I’m watching.”
“What? your friend’s doing his girlfriend and you’re watching??”

….. lost in translation.

I’d like to make a big thanks to Kym Wickstein and his team at the Bank of Queensland, Springfield, for their support towards my efforts at the Japanese Tour School. Without their support I would not of had this great opportunity to qualify on the Japan Tour. Trying to qualify for overseas tours is not easy and it makes me feel great knowing I have such strong support back home.

So, thanks Kym.

The Japan Tour School Final Stage is being held at Central Golf Club, December 3-8. There are two golf course at Central being used, the East and West Course.

The Final Stage is six rounds. After four rounds the field is cut down to 90 players +ties. The players that make the final cut will earn Japan Tour Membership. It is important to finish very high up the list to ensure you get plenty of starts on the Tour. So finishing top 40 after the six rounds is a must.

Overall both the East and West courses are very boring. This is due to the repetitiveness of the green designs. They are all very circular and slope back to front. As the greens dry out during the week it will be very important to leave the ball below the hole on all approach shots.

The weather in Japan is now very cold, so the course will be playing long. This works right into my favour.

The event tees off Dec 3.

20 Nathan Uebergang (+3) 76 74 69 72

Results

Yeeeeaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!
Woooooooo!!!
Through to final stage.

My bud, Paul Donahoo, got through as well.

Talk about nerve racking. I was sweating bullets…. What fun!!

28 players have advanced through to the Final Stage from Shizu Hills.

One red eye flight later and we arrived in Tokyo. Thank goodness I managed to get an awesome exit row seat with heaps of legroom. It helps sooo much.

It took a lot longer getting out to Shizu Hills than Paul and I had anticipated but we still managed to get out early enough to play a few holes and see the course today. It is a long and spacious course. Certainly to our liking.

There was one quirky green that caught our eye. It contained a bunker in the middle of it 😯 Sorry I don’t have any photos yet, but I do endevour to get some.