Japan

Kinki (Kansai), Japan

Hirono Golf Club has played host to all the major Japanese championships and, although it measures a mere 6,925 yards from the back tees, it’s a supreme test of golf.

Chubu, Japan

There are two courses on the Izu Peninsula at the Kawana Resort and the Fuji course is universally considered to be the best.

Kinki (Kansai), Japan

Naruo shares all the traditional aspects of Japan’s older golf clubs. The continuity in tradition here is maintained by the 700 members whose average age is 71.

Kanto, Japan

You’ll need an invite to play here at Tokyo Golf Club but if you are lucky enough to receive one, take it immediately. This is a world-class golf course that is mature way beyond its years.

Kanto, Japan

Yokohama Country Club was founded in 1960 and over the following six years architect Takeo Aiyama designed and built both the East and West 18-hole layouts.

Kinki (Kansai), Japan

Influenced by Hugh Alison, Osamu Ueda designed the course at Ono Golf Club in 1961 and it’s often regarded as the sister course to the fabled Hirono Golf Club. Host to the Japan Open in 1969, Ono is a testy track.

Kanto, Japan

The East course at Kasumigaseki Country Club employs the traditional Japanese dual green system, one for the winter and one for the summer, which takes a bit of getting used if you’re not familiar with this feature.

Kanto, Japan

Yoshiro Hayashi won the Japan Open Golf Championship here at Abiko Golf Club way back in 1950, but the club hosted the Japan Women's Open Golf Championship as recently as 2009.

Kanto, Japan

Oarai is known by knowledgeable golfers as the location of Oarai Golf Club, one of the best golf courses in Japan.

Kyushu, Japan

Koga Golf Club hosted the 62nd Japan Open, won by Australian Craig Parry with a score of two over par for the competition.

Kanto, Japan

Originally designed by Seiichi Inoue and opened for play in 1955, the layout at Nikko Country Club is a lie of the land parkland golf course that wends its way through dense trees that frame many holes.

Kanto, Japan

Ryugasaki Country Club is another high quality parkland golf course from the prolific architect, Seiichi Inoue. Opened for play in 1958, Ryugasaki still has dual winter and summer greens in operation.

Hokkaido, Japan

One of seven golf facilities operated by the same management company in Japan, the course at Hokkaido Classic Golf Club is a Jack Nicklaus Signature design that debuted in 1991.

Kanto, Japan

​Located in the northern foothills of Mount Fuji, Fujizakura Country Club is set at altitude in the heart of the popular resort area of Fuji Five Lakes.

Chugoku, Japan

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).

Kanto, Japan

Built on the site of a former cedar tree farm, an hour’s drive west of downtown Tokyo, the course at Tokyo Classic was more than a decade in the making.

Kanto, Japan

A dual green Seiichi Inoue design from 1954, Takanodai Country Club has played host to the Japan Open on four occasions, most recently in 2011.

Kanto, Japan

A major change to the West course at Kasumigaseki Country Club was made by Taizo Kawata when he converted the traditional Japanese dual greens into conventional putting surfaces...

Hokkaido, Japan

Named after the Cercidiphyllum Japonicum, the elegant Katsura tree, the course at Katsura Golf Club is a 1993 Robert Trent Jones Junior-design and it’s one of the very best layouts to be found near Sapporo city.

Chubu, Japan

The Yuji Kodera-designed course at Karuizawa Golf Club dates back to the Golden Age and it’s located at altitude in one of the nation's most popular summer resorts. You’ll need to befriend a member to play here, however.

Kanto, Japan

Routed across undulating, wooded terrain, Nasu Golf Club measures 6,615 yards from the tips and this must have been a tough course when the Kinya Fujita and Seiichi Inoue-designed Nasu track opened in 1936.

Kanto, Japan

Designed by Shiro Akaboshi in 1954, the course at Hakone Country Club was built with no expense spared, including the importation of thousands of tons of volcanic soil from the Mt Fuji region.

Kyushu, Japan

Phoenix Country Club is located within the Phoenix Seagaia Resort on the Hitotsuba Pacific Coast and Kokichi Ohashi set out the original 18-hole course in 1971.

Chubu, Japan

Taiheiyo Club operates 18 golf courses in Japan and its flagship Gotemba course hosted the World Cup in 2001, an event won by the South African team of Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.

Kanto, Japan

Originally designed by Seiichi Inoue in 1960 with double greens, the West course at Ibaraki Country Club was renovated by Rees Jones creating single green complexes, reopening to acclaim in 2011.

Kinki (Kansai), Japan

The hilly course at Higashi Hirono Golf Club is a 1989 Yukichi Kobayashi creation, which staged the 2012 Panasonic Open, won by the architect’s namesake Masanori Kobayashi.

Kinki (Kansai), Japan

Opened in the late 1980s and designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., the mountain course at Golden Valley Golf Club was one of the first in Japan to employ single greens.

Kinki (Kansai), Japan

The East course at the 36-hole Rokko Kokusai Golf Club is a Fukuichi Kato design from 1975 that was renovated by Nicklaus Design in 1996.

Kanto, Japan

The Umesato course at Chiba Country Club opened for play in 1960, hosting the Japan Open just two years after its inauguration.

Kinki (Kansai), Japan

Designed by Seiichi Inoue and opened in 1965, the 18-hole layout at Ise Country Club is one of three golf courses used for Senior Tour Qualifying by the PGA of Japan.