Asia

Japan

Chugoku

The city of Shimonoseki is located in the southwest corner of Japan in the Yamaguchi Prefecture and it’s known as the nation’s “Fugu Capital,” due to the number of pufferfish processed annually by its licensed fugu chefs. The course lies half an hour’s drive north of the city, with holes set out on a property overlooking the Kanmon Straits.

The layout plays to a total length of 6,944 yards and it uses two sets of greens, as is the tradition in Japan. Although it occupies a tract of land by the water’s edge, the course is distinctly parkland in nature, its fairways routed around a mature pine plantation.

Founded in 1956, the club has twice hosted the Japan Open. The first occasion was in 1991, when Tsuneyuki Nakajima won the event, the 36th of his 48 victories on the Japan Golf Tour. The second Open at Shimonoseki was claimed by New Zealander David Smail with an aggregate score of 271 in 2002.

Shimonoseki

Founded in 1956, the course at Shimonoseki Golf Club was designed by Osamu Ueda and proudly played host to the Japan Open in 1991 (won by Tsuneyuki Nakajima) and 2002 (won by David Smail).

Set in the westernmost region of Honshū, the course at Kinojo Golf Club is a 1992 Robert Trent Jones Jr. creation. The club hosted US Open sectional qualifying in 2015 and the course has staged the KSB Open on the Japan Golf Tour three times between 1994 and 1996.

Kinojo

First time visitors to Hiroshima Country Club must head east from downtown Hiroshima in search of the club’s two 18-hole layouts. The Hachihonmatsu course is nearest, a 45-minute drive away, with the Saijo course located 10 kilometres further on.

Hiroshima (Hachihonmatsu)

In the foothills of Mount Daisen – where the sporting pursuits of mountain climbing in summer and skiing in winter are more popular than golf – the fairways at Daisen Golf Club were hewn from heavily forested terrain by Osamu Ueda in 1970.

Daisen

In the foothills of Mount Daisen – where the sporting pursuits of mountain climbing in summer and skiing in winter are more popular than golf – the fairways at Daisen Golf Club were hewn from heavily forested terrain by Osamu​ Ueda in 1970.

The Chugoku region is situated in the southwest corner of Honshu, the largest of Japan’s islands, and it’s bounded to the north by the Sea of Japan, with the Seto Inland Sea running along its southern coastline.

Around seven and a half million people live within Chugoku’s five prefectures, the largest of which is Hiroshima. The Hiroshima prefecture is home to two UNESCO World Heritage sites: The Genbaku Dome, a memorial to the tens of thousands killed by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima city on 6 August 1945 and The Itsukushima Shrine, a 16th century Shinto shrine where the iconic torii gate appears to float on water at high tide.