Golf: Japan Course
For alternate box art, see thegame's gallery.
Developer	HAL Laboratory
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Family Computer Disk System
Release date	February 21, 1987[1]
Language(s)	Japanese
Genre	Sports (golf)
Mode(s)	1–2 players
Format	FDS: Disk Card
Input	Famicom: Famicom Controller
Serial code(s)	FSC-GFJE

Golf: Japan Course is a Japan-exclusive golf game released for theFamily Computer Disk System on February 21, 1987. It starsMario andLuigi and is considered the earliest entry in theMario Golf series. It is similar in gameplay to the earlierGolf, though with polished mechanics. The holes in the game are fictional. The game received a companion title a few months later known asGolf: U.S. Course, which also had fictional holes and improves even further on the mechanics. As with most FDS games, side A of the disk is reserved for menus and saving scores, while side B is used for the gameplay.

Gameplay[edit]

Mario on the first hole

The gameplay is similar to that of the originalGolf, though new features are added to improve the immersion and quality-of-life. There is now a distinction between fairways and rough grass, and trees now act as solid obstacles rather than simply an indicator of out-of-bounds areas; the out-of-bounds areas now have a clear boundary surrounding densely-packed forest instead. There are four levels for rough grass and three for sand bunkers, with each making the ball more difficult to hit far. The player can now swing in any direction regardless of whether they are on the green or not. The greens themselves can now push the ball in multiple directions rather than only a single direction at a time, and each hole may appear in one of three positions on each green. The player can move away from the ball to do a practice swing by pressing, or view the current score sheet by pressing. To change clubs, the player now needs to hold down and press up or down; pressing left or right while doing that switches between one of three swing speeds. The middle "2" speed is closest to what the swing speed inGolf is, while the default "1" is slower and "3" is faster.

• 

  Speed 1

• 

  Speed 2

• 

  Speed 3

Luigi and COMP1

There are four game modes, which can be chosen between by pressing left and right or at the top option of the main menu:

• Mario Stroke Play: Mario plays by himself.
• 2 Player Stroke Play: Mario and Luigi play alongside each other.
• Mario Match Play (not available in the gold editions): Mario plays against the computer opponent, called "COMP1," which is a palette swap of the brothers. He wears black overalls and hat over a brown shirt and shoes.
• 2 Player Match Play: Mario and Luigi play against each other.

There are four slots to save scores (represented by balloons, the strings being cut by a crab when overwriting) with blank slots recorded as 900.

Clubs[edit]

The draws listed are as they are on the tee or fairway with no wind resistance. The four levels of rough grass and three levels of bunker sand all detract varying amounts from it. Swinging at a higher speed usually increases it, but runs a greater risk of losing control on the ball's curve.

Contest and alternate editions[edit]

The blue disk

The game comes on a blue disk, meaning it is compatible with the Disk Fax, a device found in public places across Japan such as department stores. These machines would send the player's saved games and high score information toNintendo. Nintendo held a contest centered around this game, and winners received one of two special versions of this game that came on a gold disk.^[2] Both versions are harder, replacing the course with new, more challenging holes. Around 80,000 contestants submitted their Mario Stroke Play scores with the national winner beating the rest with his cumulative score of 87.^[3][4] Contestants who had the same score were ranked by when their submission was received.

Around 5,000 runners-up and raffle winners received the Professional Course gold disk (white sticker), which came in a Diskun case. The redesigned title screen removes "Family Computer" at the top and adds「入賞」(nyūshō, "prize-winning") at the bottom.^[5] It is mildly more difficult.

The top 100 contestants received the Champions' Course gold disk (yellow sticker), which came in a luxury case along with a gold plaque with the winner's name and rank inscribed. On the game's title screen are the contestant's name and rank, making each disk unique.^[6] The Champions' Course is much more difficult^[7] and one of the rarest games Nintendo ever made.

Maps[edit]

Each hole can appear in three locations, which is picked depending on how many strokes were made in the previous holes; this number does not change the hole in any regular interval, ie, per each swing, but instead uses more complex measures to determine it. In some holes, mainly in the Prize Card variants, all water on the map is randomly replaced with sand, which is determined at the game's beginning.

Japan Course[edit]

Outward nine

Hole 1
	365y
	HDCP 10
	Par 4

Hole 2
	401y
	HDCP 4
	Par 4

Hole 3
	590y
	HDCP 6
	Par 4

Hole 4
	223y
	HDCP 16
	Par 3

Hole 5
	410y
	HDCP 12
	Par 4

Hole 6
	181y
	HDCP 18
	Par 3

Hole 7
	589y
	HDCP 14
	Par 5

Hole 8
	342y
	HDCP 18
	Par 4

Hole 9
	441y
	HDCP 2
	Par 4

Inward nine

Hole 10
	350y
	HDCP 9
	Par 4

Hole 11
	401y
	HDCP 17
	Par 4

Hole 12
	564y
	HDCP 15
	Par 5

Hole 13
	131y
	HDCP 13
	Par 3

Hole 14
	414y
	HDCP 3
	Par 4

Hole 15
	412y
	HDCP 11
	Par 4

Hole 16
	198y
	HDCP 7
	Par 3

Hole 17
	434y
	HDCP 5
	Par 4

Hole 18
	661y
	HDCP 1
	Par 5

Professional Course[edit]

Outward nine

Hole 1
	403y
	HDCP 13
	Par 4

Hole 2
	388y
	HDCP 7
	Par 4

Hole 3
	198y
	HDCP 9
	Par 3

Hole 4
	524y
	HDCP 5
	Par 5

Hole 5
	355y
	HDCP 17
	Par 4

Hole 6
	398y
	HDCP 11
	Par 4

Hole 7
	180y
	HDCP 15
	Par 3

Hole 8
	609y
	HDCP 1
	Par 5

Hole 9
	430y
	HDCP 3
	Par 4

Inward nine

Hole 10
	119y
	HDCP 16
	Par 3

Hole 11
	518y
	HDCP 6
	Par 5

Hole 12
	403y
	HDCP 8
	Par 4

Hole 13
	383y
	HDCP 12
	Par 4

Hole 14
	348y
	HDCP 14
	Par 4

Hole 15
	394y
	HDCP 4
	Par 4

Hole 16
	356y
	HDCP 18
	Par 4

Hole 17
	185y
	HDCP 10
	Par 3

Hole 18
	534y
	HDCP 2
	Par 5

Champions' Course[edit]

Outward nine

Inward nine

Menus[edit]

Most of the game's menus relate to the contest, and vary depending on whether the disk had been registered with a high-ranking score.

Menu	Description
Service data	The service data screen. It appears inJapan Course as the middle option on the main menu, and is not present in the prize card versions. If the disk was registered with a high enough score, it would be replaced with a special screen showing the top ranks and highlighting the owner's placement.
Name registration	The name registration screen. It appears inJapan Course as the bottom option on the main menu, and is not present in the prize card versions. It is used to label the data with the player's name so they can be properly credited for their score.
High scores	The high scores screen. Aside from appearing after a full 18 holes are finished, it can be reached by pressing from the name registration menu. It appears as the bottom option on the main menu in the prize card versions. Pressing from it takes the player to the score sheet.
Personal statistics	The personal statistics screen. It can be reached by pressing from the high scores screen, but only if entered from name registration menu - pressing select from here returns to the name registration. It appears as the middle option on the main menu in the prize card versions.

Staff[edit]

Main article:List of Golf: Japan Course staff

References in later games[edit]

• Wii Sports Resort: the golf holes are reused in this game, similar to howWii Sports used holes from the originalGolf.

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Golf: Japan Course.

• 

  Mario

• 

  Mario

• 

  Princess Peach kissing Mario

Names in other languages[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official site

• Japan-only games
• Family Computer Disk System games
• Games
• 1987 games
• Sports games
• Mario Golf series
• HAL Laboratory games

• Articles with inadequate lost media documentation
• Articles with lost media sections
• Articles with sections that need more images
• Articles with unsourced foreign names