Asia

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.

South Korea

The course at South Cape Owners Club is a Kyle Phillips design, set out on a dramatic cliff top property, with ocean views available from all eighteen golf holes.

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.

China

Set out across reclaimed land on Chongming Island in the estuary of the mighty Yangtze River, the 2011 Jack Nicklaus-designed Links layout at Lanhai International Golf Resort was completely re-built by Ogilvie, Clayton, Cocking and Mead in 2018 creating Yangtze Dunes.

South Korea

The Club at Nine Bridges is located on Jeju Island, the volcanic island south of South Korea’s continental landmass sometimes referred to as Korea’s Maui.

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.

China

Constructed in a manner unlike anything that’s been built before in China, the Shanqin Bay golf course just might become the benchmark for those still to come... assuming the authorities do not commandeer the fairways.

Vietnam

The Greg Norman-designed golf course at The Bluffs Gran Ho Tram, took all of ten years to come to fruition after it was first earmarked for investment back in 2004...

Central Thailand, Thailand

Formed in 2007 by thirty of Thailand’s wealthiest people, Ayodhya Links is one of the most exclusive golf clubs in Asia. Membership is by invitation so only the great and the good of Thai society mingle in the clubhouse...

Vietnam

The course at Hoiana Shores Golf Club lies within an enormous 2,500-acre site to the south of Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known as The City of Lanterns. Fittingly, the pins on every green are adorned with lanterns instead of flags.

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.

Singapore

Sentosa's Serapong course fulfills Donald Ross' pithy edict: "Make each hole present a different problem. So arrange it that every stroke must be made with full concentration and attention necessary to good golf."

Vietnam

KN Golf Links Cam Ranh is located at the southernmost end of a long and gently curving sandy sweep, interrupted only by a naturally rugged headland where the height of the terrain allows for a number of remarkable viewpoints.

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.

China

Venue for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in 2011, the Blackstone course on Hainan Island covers 350 acres of a rugged landscape that’s dominated by lava rock, lakes and wetlands.

West Malaysia, Malaysia

TPC Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, or KLGCC as it is known, is located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and is one of Malaysia’s most popular golf clubs.

China

Located on the south side of Hainan Island, a mere 60 minutes by high speed train from Haikou, the 36-hole Dunes at Shenzhou Peninsula golf complex was designed by Tom Weiskopf and his associate Phil Smith.

China

For what is ostensibly a resort layout, the Lake golf course at Spring City, Kunming, is a tough test. No hole could be described as easy.

Kanto, Japan

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

South Korea

Anyang Country Club, formerly known as Anyang Benest Golf Club is cut through mature trees, which not only prove a challenge for the crooked driver but also brilliance of seasonal colour.

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.

China

Sheshan International Golf Club is the epitome of Shanghai and it’s an intoxicating blend of Chinese tradition and international modernity.

China

The Jack Nicklaus designed Mountain golf course at Spring City in China kept a little closer to the resort brief and is consequently a more forgiving course compared with Trent Jones Jnr's design slightly lower down the hill.

South Korea

The 18 holes at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea are situated within a modern residential development in the Songdo International Business District.

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.

Vietnam

The Dunes course at Danang Golf Club (now called Norman) opened to critical acclaim in 2010 with its designer, Greg Norman, saying, “You’d be doing a very poor job to make a boring course out of a site like this”.

Java, Indonesia

Opened in 1995, Taman Dayu Golf Club has established itself as one of Indonesia’s best and most private courses and it sits in a resort spanning more than 600 hectares...

South Korea

Woo Jeong Hills Country Club was opened in 1993 and is as close as you can find in Asia to a big, brutish, US tournament golf course.

Vietnam

Officially opened by its designer, 6-time Major winner Sir Nick Faldo, in March of 2013, the Laguna Lang Co golf course is situated on the East Sea coastline...

Vietnam

Developed by Sun Group, a leading Vietnamese investor, the course at Ba Na Hills Golf Club is Luke Donald’s first foray into golf course design.

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.

Vietnam

The Sky Lake Resort & Golf Club facility is managed by IMG and the private Lake course on the west side of the property made its debut in 2012...

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.

Vietnam

The Mountain course at FLC Quy Nhon Beach & Golf Resort is built on a sand-based, pine scrub hillside with with wide playing corridors and ocean views from sixteen holes...

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.

Singapore

The New Tanjong may be slightly overshadowed by its sibling but there’s still no denying the quality of a layout that was completely redesigned by Andrew Johnston and Matt Swanson in 2016.

Riau Islands, Indonesia

Gary Player's excellent Ocean golf course at Ria Bintan offers two distinct playing atmospheres. For the most part the course cuts through the interior native jungle but also it has its seaside holes…

Hong Kong

The North Course at Kau Sai Chau is one of the best public golf courses in the region outside Australia and New Zealand.

Java, Indonesia

The Bumi Serpong Damai course at Damai Indah Golf Club in Tangerang was Jack Nicklaus’s inaugural Indonesia design project and the course opened for play in 1992.

Vietnam

FLC Quy Nhon Beach & Golf Resort offers visiting golfers a fabulous 36-hole experience, with two courses fashioned amidst a thrilling landscape of pine forest and dunes...

China

The West course at the Dunes at Shenzhou Peninsula opened first in 2010, two years ahead of the East, and both were constructed such that a composite course can easily be configured for future tournament play.

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).

Philippines

Tom Weiskopf was the man entrusted to transform an area of scrubland into one of the best golfing layouts in the country. The Country Club was subsequently a host venue for the 2005 South East Asian games.

South Korea

Built by the Hyosung Group, one of Korea’s largest industrial conglomerates, the three 9-hole circuits at Wellington Country Club are named after the Greek mythological creatures of the Griffin, Phoenix and Wyvern.

China

The Jian Lake Blue Bay golf course, located on Hainan Island and fashioned by Mark Hollinger of JMP Golf Design, debuted in 2012, seven years after its older sibling opened on the Chinese mainland at Shaoxing.

South Korea

In a feat of major engineering expertise, three quarters of a million cubic metres of rock was blasted to create the three nines at the very hilly, 425-acre, Whistling Rock property...

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.

China

The private Jack Nicklaus Signature course at Shanghai Links Golf & Country Club is laid out within a large residential site close to where the mighty Yangtze River empties into the East China Sea.

Java, Indonesia

The West and South nines comprise the premier 18-hole configuration at the 27-hole Royale Jakarta Golf Club. Lee Westwood claimed the Indonesian Masters title here in 2011 and 2012.

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.

Philippines

Sta. Elena Golf & Country Club is the happy combination of lush tropical environment and the intellectual and physical rigours of a Trent Jones course.

Nepal

The Himalayan Golf Course was designed and constructed by Major Ram Garung, a former officer with the Brigade of Gurkhas in the British Army, over a five-year period in the 1990s.

South Korea

Built for Hanwha Group, one of Korea’s biggest engineering and construction companies, the course at Jade Palace Golf Club was designed by Harley Kruse from the Greg Norman Design team, opening in 2004.

Vietnam

Unveiled in 2018, the 19-hole Kings course is the latest addition in BRG Kings Island Golf Resort’s burgeoning golfing portfolio. Designed by Jack Nicklaus II, the wooded front side is juxtaposed by a water-laden back nine.

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...

Java, Indonesia

Venue for the World Cup of Golf in 1983, the testing 18-hole layout at Pondok Indah Golf Course is a strategic Robert Trent Jones Jnr design.

West Malaysia, Malaysia

The Palm course at Saujana Golf & Country Club is a stern test of patience. Skew-whiff hitting is a sure recipe for a miserable day out in the unrelenting tropical heat.

Nepal

If you are lucky enough to visit Nepal and play here at Gokarna Forest, keep a look out for the mischievous monkeys as you wander through the forest...

Philippines

Kevin Ramsey of Golfplan designed the seaside course at Anvaya Cove Golf Club which is routed in two distinct 9-hole circuits, named “Mountain” and “Seaside”.

Central Thailand, Thailand

Amata Spring Country Club was the venue for the Royal Trophy between 2006 and 2010 when the European professional team won three of the four events against their eight-man opponents from Asia.

China

The course at Weihai Point Golf Resort is laid out on top of a narrow peninsula that juts out one and a half miles into the Yellow Sea…

Central Thailand, Thailand

Alpine Golf Club is a lush paradise within the rustic surrounds and in some ways more resembles a botanical garden specialising in the exhibition of palms.

Java, Indonesia

Set out on hilly terrain, the eighteen fairways at Rancamaya Golf & Country Club are routed around a number of interconnected lakes with golfers forced to play blind shots on several holes.

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.

West Malaysia, Malaysia

The Mines Resort & Golf Club just outside Kuala Lumpur was once the largest open-cast tin mine in the world and the topography is dominated by the lake...

South Korea

The same design team that laid out the original Nine Bridges golf course on Jeju Island fashioned Haesley Nine Bridges...

China

Located next to Shanghai Pudong International Airport, on the estuary where the mighty Yangtze River empties into the South China Sea, Dongzhuang Beach Golf Club presents its members with two contrasting 18-hole layouts.

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.

South Korea

Gary Roger Baird with David Dale of Golfplan laid out Pine Beach Golf Links along a rocky cliff top. Some have described it as Asia’s version of Pebble Beach and the par three 15th bears a striking resemblance to Cypress Point’s 16th.

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.

South Korea

Billionaire Lee Myung-hee commissioned Tom Fazio II to design the course at the ultra-exclusive Trinity Club near Seoul, which opened for play in 2012.

Taiwan

The 27-hole complex at Ta Shee Golf & Country Club was renovated by Robert Trent Jones Jnr at the end of the 1990s when he addressed drainage issues by installing new drain lines and sand capping the fairways.

Brunei

The tiny sultanate of Brunei is home to one of the most surprising and opulent courses in all of Asia. Designed by Jack Nicklaus the Empire course was the venue for the inaugural Brunei Open...

Northern India, India

The DLF Golf & Country Club now has 27 holes at its disposal, the 18-hole Gary Player course and a 9-hole Arnold Palmer course, which still retains its floodlighting for those seeking a night time golfing experience.

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.

South Korea

La Vie est Belle Country Club (life is beautiful in French) is known as “the Korean themed club” since its grand opening in 2015 and it's situated in the hilly, mountainous area of Chuncheon, one hour’s drive away from Seoul.

Central Thailand, Thailand

The Old course at Siam Country Club was redesigned by Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley, reopening for play in 2007. A trio of holes regarded as the “Amen Corner” of Thai golf feature between the 15 and 17.

China

Set to the northwest of Beijing, the 54-hole Reignwood Pine Valley Golf Club is China’s first invitation-only club and the Golden Bear layout is one of the Nicklaus-designed courses available to an exclusive membership.

Hong Kong

Reworked by the Thomson-Perrett design company in 2006, the 18 holes at Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club are laid out in two very contrasting sets of nine holes that now offer a true championship test of golf.

Northern India, India

Delhi golf course, or the Lodhi, as it is known locally, is brimming with reminders of bygone times predating the Moghul Empire. Amongst the ruined tombs are two golf courses which occupy some 220 acres.

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.

West Malaysia, Malaysia

Created by Australian Ross Watson in the late 1990s, the course at Kota Permai Golf & Country Club has hosted a number of top professional competitions, including the Volvo Masters of Malaysia and the 2008 Malaysian Open.

Myanmar (Burma)

The course at Myotha National Golf Club was fashioned by Brian Curley in 2018 on a truly grand scale. This 8,000-yard goliath is at the centre of a 1,700-acre industrial park complex to the south of Mandalay and it’s packed with dramatic elevation changes.

Philippines

The Masters course at Manila Southwoods Golf & Country Club is a high-octane version of a Nicklaus course for the tropics and it is a hugely enjoyable day out...

South Korea

Pinx Golf Club boasts breathtaking scenery and the overall course conjures up visions of a watercolor painting.

Sri Lanka

Victoria Golf and Country Resort took shape at the end of the 1990s and it’s situated around 45 minutes driving time from the royal and ancient city of Kandy...

Taiwan

Formed in 1918, Taiwan Golf & Country Club is the oldest golfing society in the country and the course is located within dense woodland on the estuary of the Danshui River.

Central Thailand, Thailand

The Thai course architect Pirapon Namatra laid out the course at Pineapple Valley Golf Club in Hua Hin. Many consider the views from the short par three 15th tee across the ocean to Sing Toh island to be worth the green fee alone.

South Korea

First opened in 2010, Blackstone is one of the most exclusive golf clubs in South Korea. It’s located in Icheon, to the east of Kyung Gi province, around a 90-minute drive from downtown Seoul...

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.

Philippines

The 192-yard 16th is regarded as the signature hole at Sherwood Hills and this par three plays slightly uphill to a green that falls away on the left into a nest of deep bunkers.

South Korea

The 27-hole Sagewood Yeosu Gyungdo Golf Resort boasts a marine theme park and 100 condominiums with swimming pools at a rental cost that won’t break the bank.

Southern Thailand, Thailand

The Canyon course at Phuket’s Blue Canyon Country Club is one of Asia’s more exacting golfing examinations. It is not possible to play poorly here and score well.

Java, Indonesia

The Old Course at Jagorawi Golf & Country Club was the first of two 18-hole Thomson, Wolveridge & Perret designs completed for the club and was built under the supervision of Ronald Fream.

South Korea

The East and South nines at the 27-hole Blackstone Golf Resort may well comprise the best 18-hole configuration at the golf complex but the public North nine has some admirers.

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.

Central Thailand, Thailand

The Thai Country Club just outside of Bangkok was a very new course when it hosted the Asian Honda Classic in 1997. Almost to script, Tiger Woods won the tournament by 10 shots setting a course record of 64 on the way.