01x03 - Twin Peaks of Talent

[bunniefuu]

Gawain is so late.

It's already noon,

but is he still doing the roadwork?

Why did you leave him alone?

Because

Where have you been

wandering about until now?

-It's already noon

-Miss Kiria.

Can I borrow your ball and putter?

Okay, but

Wait. Have I taught you putting?

What are you aiming at without a cup?

A garden like this

isn't good for practicing.

Hey, wait!

That's not how you putt.

Gawain?

What's wrong?

RISING IMPAC

I see. That's what happened.

Miss Kiria,

is hitting a ball far not enough?

Can't I win in golf with just long shots?

No, you can't.

I see.

But it's the same thing

with excellent putts.

You can't win that way either.

What?

I haven't told you yet,

but golf consists

of roughly three categories.

The first is your favorite,

a tee shot with a driver.

It's a dynamic shot to let the ball fly

as far as possible toward the green.

The second is

an approach shot with an iron.

If the ball doesn't reach the green

with the tee shot,

you hit a smaller shot.

And the third is putting with a putter.

It's a finish stroke to roll the ball

on the green into the cup.

To be more precise,

there are more clubs and shots

depending on your purposes and conditions.

But the basics are the three.

Until you master

a driver, an iron, and a putter,

you can't win in golf.

Excellent drives alone won't do,

and the same thing goes

for putting and iron shots.

A 300-yard drive and a 30-centimeter putt

both count as one stroke.

I understand now.

In baseball, even with many home runs,

poor defense and pitching lead to a loss.

In addition to driving,

you need to be good

at putting and iron shots.

Yes.

And it's cool to be good at everything,

but even cooler to have

that one skill nobody can beat.

For that guy, it's putting.

Then driving will be

what I'm better at than anybody else.

Miss Kiria!

Teach me putting and iron shots!

If I can't win in golf,

I can't be a pro and drive against

the top pros in the world!

That's the spirit.

Improve yourself

and take down the guy who beat you!

Yeah!

By the way, who is that guy?

I think his name was Manzumotto

or Menzutotto.

I think it was more swanky.

Okay, never mind.

Let's go practice, then.

Yes!

We are really late!

How long were you doing roadwork,

Mr. Brother-in-law?

You should have gone ahead.

I can't do that.

You don't know where our school is.

What class am I in?

Grade three, class one.

It's the same class as me.

Wow, is this my new school?

Everyone in my hometown

will be blown away.

It's huge.

Mr. Brother-in-law?

Wait, where are you going?

That guy is in the same school.

I found you!

Who are you?

Hey, Furuyama!

What? Tohoku Dialect?!

Gawain?

I lost to you yesterday. I admit it!

But it was a putt competition.

I'm confident

I can beat you with my drive!

So what?

Next time, we'll have a match in golf!

I flung down a challenge to him!

Oh, that person is

in the same school as you.

Yeah, now I remember his name.

Lancelot, a sixth grader.

Lancelot?

Do you know him?

Of course I do.

Lancelot Norman.

He's a prodigy elementary golfer,

winning all tournaments

he participates in,

from local matches

to junior championships.

He always wins?

He must be an amazing player.

When it comes to putting,

he's better than the pros.

-If you face someone like him

-Nope!

That's why I have to practice!

I can't lose to him next time for sure!

Ready? The basics of putting

are about sensing direction and distance.

To learn direction control,

try hitting two ba*ls at once.

They look like testicles Ow!

Excuse me,

why do you place them side by side?

Watch me.

This is a bad example.

Just like now, if the face or the surface

of the club is off even a little,

the two ba*ls won't roll straight.

If you have the club straight

and move it forward,

the two ba*ls will roll

right in the same direction.

Okay.

And then I'll be able

to hit them in the right direction?

Now you got it.

Keep your wrists fixed

and smoothly swing

using your neck as the fulcrum.

I see.

Next is sense of distance.

The key is the width

of the putter's swing.

For example,

if your inner width of both feet

rolls a ball one meter,

then for the outer width it's two meters.

Well, practice makes perfect.

Right!

That was good!

That's your swing width for one meter.

Okay! I'll do it again.

Wow. You're right!

They roll to the same place.

I'll try it again.

What?

Okay, I'll try rolling two meters next!

I used this width before, so

Great! It's two meters!

Wait! How come?

Your ba*ls haven't

rolled off the course at all.

It's not as easy as it sounds

to keep the face square with the ball.

It's easier to hit the ball square

compared to a driver.

"Compared to a driver"?

When the driver hits the ball,

you can barely see the center of the face.

Compared to that,

it's like the putter is not even moving.

"The center of the face"?

Can you see the core

at the moment of impact?

Yup.

It's like the middle of the face

and the ball light up.

A club head speed of a tee shot

is over 40 meters per second.

His dynamic vision is incredible!

In the putting match with Lancelot,

I was able to hit straight.

But the ball

didn't roll into the cup at all.

It's because of undulation.

Undu?

This is where I played with Lancelot.

Then use one ball this time

and hit it toward that cup.

Okay!

Oh, it'll roll in

What?

See? The ball turns by itself!

Stoop down and look at the ground.

The ground tilts to the left!

Precisely. Undulation is

the rise and dip of the ground.

Pass me your putter.

It's going off to the right!

I see now.

That's right.

If the ground slopes down left,

then hitting right

will make it curve into the hole.

In putting, you need

a sense of distance and direction,

plus being able to predict

how the undulation will carry the ball.

All right. I'm gonna try.

It turned!

Keep going in

It didn't.

Why?

The uphill slope k*lled its momentum.

It means you hit the ball too softly.

What? How do we calculate that?

It's impossible to calculate.

You keep hitting to gain experience

to get a feel for the direction and force.

That's the only way.

Lancelot hit it in the cup

with one shot from over ten meters away.

I need to at least be able

to make it in from this close!

Experience

Hey, Gawain.

A small junior golf tournament will be

held next week at a golf course I know.

Would you like to have a go at it?

Golf tournament? Of course, I'm in!

Definitely! I'd love to!

Lancelot should be at the tournament too.

He's aiming to win.

That's what I want!

I'll never let him win!

Well, okay.

Now that that's decided,

we'll really start practicing tomorrow.

And before that

Woo-hoo!

Are these all mine?

Yes, they are

your new set of clubs and bag.

I ordered them while you were at school.

There are clubs for kids,

but you can use the adults'

since you've been using mine.

So cool! Thank you, Miss Kiria!

Mr. Brother-in-law is childish, right?

You can thank your grandfather.

"Teach my grandson golf," he said.

I bought this

with the money he entrusted to me.

Grandpa,

I'll do my best!

And these

These are gifts from me.

I made them for you.

Wow! So cute!

Okay, from now on, your name is Taro!

Your name is Hanako.

Just you wait, Lancelot!

I'm gonna beat you

this time for sure!

Wow! It's huge!

Is this a real golf course?

Yes.

If you're participating in the tournament,

you should experience a real course.

That flag you see way down there

is the green.

That area marks the cup.

This is the starting point

of the first hole.

The course consists

of a total of 18 holes.

As many as 18 holes?

The first hole.

P-A-R 5, 480 yards

It reads "par."

Par 5, 480 yards.

Par?

A standard number of strokes.

Based on the distance to the green,

holes are divided

into short, middle, and long.

Three strokes for short,

four strokes for middle,

and five strokes

is the standard for the long holes.

The standard number is called "par."

So this sign means,

since the green is 480 yards away,

golfers are supposed to finish this hole

in five strokes.

Right.

If you hole the ball one stroke under par,

it's called a "birdie."

Two strokes under par is "eagle."

And one stroke over par is called "bogey."

Gush, par, and panties? What was it again?

Anyway, whoever gets the ball

in the cup 18 times

with the fewest number of strokes

is the winner.

Okay, I got it!

Hey, Miss Kiria, enough talking.

I can't wait to hit the ball!

Okay, sure.

You can hit.

All right!

Let's do this, Taro!

310 yards.

Your distance has increased again.

What's going on with you?

Now for my second shot.

It's easy to reach the hole

with five shots.

Hold on!

Are you gonna use the driver again?

Listen.

This hole is 480 yards,

and you hit the ball 310 yards.

What is left?

Well, let's see.

One hundred seventy yards!

And what will happen if you hit it

300 yards with your driver again?

Oh, I see.

This is where we use irons.

A club for hitting

approach shots to the green.

Wow! There are a lot!

May I choose one?

Whichever one you like.

Yeah!

Unlike the first shot off the tee,

now you are going

to hit the ball on the ground.

Go!

What?

It's out of bounds.

You have to hit it again.

It costs you a one-shot penalty.

Your next one will be your fourth.

Oh no.

Did I hit it too hard?

Compare the irons closely.

Yes, this one is "5," and that one is "7."

The numbers are all different.

The lower the number on an iron,

the farther it can hit the ball.

You need to pick the right club

based on the remaining distance.

Then what number should I pick? Tell me!

-One more penalty for you!

-What?

You must not ask other players for advice!

-You got two strokes!

-No way!

There are rules like that,

so be careful during the game.

And the adviser also receives a penalty.

Oh no.

The 7-iron was exactly right.

Okay!

Next is putting.

What about undulation?

Oh.

It's bumpy.

Oh! Not good!

All right!

You did it in six strokes.

It's a par 5, so you're one stroke over.

That means

-Panty?

-It's bogey!

Yeah, right.

He's getting used to the irons

and the putter.

At this rate, he can handle the match.

Yay! I could complete

two holes in a row with one putt.

-You're getting the hang of it.

-Yup!

Speaking of putting,

I have an interesting story.

As a pro, when you're in good shape,

you can kind of see the line to the hole.

My friend, a female golfer

who was called a putting genius, says

that even on the most complex green,

she can see the lines

shining clearly in gold.

Wow!

Good afternoon.

Visiting Ms. Kajury as usual?

Yes.

I'm coming in.

Lancelot?

The flowers

Was someone here?

Yeah. Kurumi brought them for me.

Don't they smell nice?

I see.

She told me Kiria finally got

her first boyfriend at 21.

Wow.

That's good news.

It is.

He's a foreign elementary school student

with chestnut hair.

Really?

Kiria is getting more and more competent.

At this rate, I'm sure Kiria will

You should get the prize money.

Lancelot?

Kiria Nishino made it this far

because she was inspired by you.

Everyone is waiting for your return.

Let's play together again!

Yeah.

But still, surgery is

By the way,

you've got a tournament next week, right?

Good luck.

Please be prepared, Lancelot.

The chance of surgery healing

your sister's eyes is less than 30%.

If it fails, she'll be blind forever.

However, the more we put off the decision,

the less chance she has,

and eventually, it will be too late.

The first tournament is unpredictable.

But Gawain has a huge advantage.

It's like the middle of the face

and the ball light up.

If it's true, that's an amazing talent.

No one

will be able to stand in my way.

As long as I can see the Shining Road.

A FEW DAYS LATER

THE 12TH

IZUMI NO TSURUGI JUNIOR CUP

Wow, so many people are gathering here.

Don't get cold feet.

Well, I'll be going, then.

Gawain!

Hey, Mukaida! You came!

Wow, I'm so happy.

I was nervous, so

Do your best.

It's unusual to see you, Kiria.

Hi, sir.

You don't normally come

to the Junior's tournaments.

It's because my boyfriend

is playing here today.

Huh?

Lancelot will win

by a big margin this time too.

No one will be able

to catch up to his level.

I don't know.

A kid like that may show up.

Hey, Tohoku Dialect and

Dear Mukaida.

Oh, you guys.

You're not practicing putting?

We're good enough

that we don't need practice.

What about you?

You're the loser

who couldn't even sink it in 30 shots.

I will save the fruits of my labor

for the tournament.

What?

Kajury,

I'm going to win for sure.

We will now hold

the 12th Izumi no Tsurugi Junior Cup.

Start at 9:06 a.m., Group One.

Makoto Niiyama.

Tadashi Furuyama.

-Yes!

-Yes!

Great! We're in the same group!

Who is the unfortunate last guy?

Yumiko Koizumi.

Yes.

Wow! It's a girl. That's nice! Wonderful!

It's not an official game,

so it's coed! Lucky us!

Hey, Mukaida,

how do they decide the group members?

Oh, the committees decide unilaterally.

Then I might not be able

to compete with Lancelot?

Start at 9:13 a.m., Group Two.

Takeo Mukaida.

Oh, yes!

Lancelot Norman.

Yes.

I'm jealous.

Mukaida, can I take your place?

I wish I could do that.

I don't want to be with the captain.

Gawain Nanaumi.

-Yes!

-That's great!

Yeah!

Lancelot,

now it's time to compete.