Course Rankings
The best golf courses in Japan
Courtesy of Kawana Hotel
Golf courses in Japan contain many dualities. From an architectural perspective there is a balance between Eastern and Western influences. Many of the country’s most esteemed courses were designed and built in the 1930s by a Brit, Charles Alison, who was a partner of the great H.S. Colt. In fact, the top three courses in this survey were all created by Alison, including Hirono, touted as the Pine Valley of Japan.
But the country also produced homegrown architects of distinction like Komei Ohtani, who built the fourth-ranked course, Tokyo Golf Club, in 1939, Ueda Osamu (Osaka Golf Club), Kinya Fujita and Shiro Akaboshi (Kasumigaseki’s West Course) and Takeo Aiyama, who built Yokohama Country Club, subsequently remodeled by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. In fact, many of Japan’s best courses have been remodeled by Western architects, like the firm of Mackenzie and Ebert at Hirono and Tom Fazio at Kasumigaseki’s East Course, host of the 2021 Summer Olympics.
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One more duality these designers often must address is the longstanding Japanese tradition of maintaining two separate greens on each hole, one planted with a warm season grass, the other with a cold season grass. Some courses have since combined the greens into one, while other clubs like Tokyo Golf Club and Kawaguchiko Country Club continue to use two.
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Editor's Note: Our Best Courses in Japan ranking is part of Golf Digest's rollout of the Best Courses in Every Country. Check back over the next few weeks for more of our rankings of the best golf around the world.
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Taku Miyamoto
The Taizo Kawata-designed Narita Golf Club opened in 1988 in Chiba, Japan. Host of the 2017 Japan Airlines Championship on the PGA Tour, the club is known for wide driving areas, pristine conditions, tree-lined backdrops and undulating fairways. The front nine is highlighted by the 567-yard par-5 third featuring a long water hazard running the right side of the hole as well as significant undulation on the fairway as a flat lie is rarely seen. The back nine is more open for driving than the front and features the challenging par-4 finishing hole with a forced carry of 240-yards over a hazard and bunker from the back tee. Located over an hour from Tokyo, Narita Golf Club provides golfers with a luxury experience throughout their round.
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Courtesy of the club
Abiko Golf Club opened in 1930 and was designed by Rokuro Akaboshi and has since been renovated by Brian Silva and Kai Goalby in 2012. The 2012 renovation focused on changing the course from the traditional two-green layout to a single-green layout focusing on opening angles and approach shots. Located in Chiba, Japan the property is situated between Teganuma Pond and the Tone River creating rising elevation changes, steep undulations, and dense native trees around the course. The front nine is known for stark changes in elevation, highlighted by the par-5 sixth which plays over two ravines and forces players to calculate risk-reward situations from the dissected fairway. The back nine at Abiko Golf Club was used for farming during World War II and as a result features less undulation than the front. The standout hole on the back-nine is the par-3 13th playing over a ravine and pond while also being protected by intimidating bunkering short of the green.
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Courtesy of the club
Located at the northern base of Mt. Fuji, Kawaguchiko Country Club is home to 27 holes of premier golf. The courses, designed by Robert Von Hagge, opened in 1977 and feature subtle sloping fairways and undulating greens utilizing natural contours. The three nines at Kawaguchiko are named East, West and South with the South and the East being the most famous for their imaginative layout and mountain views. The standout holes include the par-4 sixth on the East course playing directly toward Mt. Fuji and displaying a unique Y-shaped split between the A and B greens. Similar on the West is the green complex on the par-5 seventh, also built into a Y-shaped split and playing as the longest hole on the property framed by Mt. Fuji as the backdrop. Rounding out the featured holes is the par-5 second on the South course playing 518 yards, the hole doglegs toward the mountain, and players are encouraged to aim at the lone pine in the middle of the fairway. Located in a national park the aura of tranquility is infectious at Kawaguchiko Country Club as even the practice range is framed by a breathtaking view of the mountain.
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Courtesy of the club
The Taiheiyo Club brand runs 18 courses across Japan with its flagship course being the Gotemba, located 50 minutes from Mount Fuji in Shizuoka, Japan. The Gotemba Course was designed by Kato Shunsuke in 1977 and was later remodeled by Rees Jones and Bryce Swanson with help from Hideki Matsuyama in 2018. The course incorporates 17 of the original greens with new bunkering and tees following the 2018 remodel, resulting in a course with undulating tree-lined fairways, challenging greens and breathtaking views of Mount Fuji. The standout hole on the front nine is the difficult to reach par-5 third with a snaking fairway and green protected by large bunkers. The back nine features the long 228-yard par-3 17th with a forced carry over water and undulating green. Host of the 2001 World Cup of Golf, the Gotemba Course is one of the premier golf destinations in Japan.
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The East and West Courses at Yokohama Country Club were designed by Takeo Aiyama and Hideo Takemura in 1960. More recently the East Course was renovated by Kentaro Sato in 2000 and in 2016 two holes were re-done by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw (during their renovation of the West Course). The East side is characterized by deep bunkering, sloping greens and tight, tree-lined fairways. The front nine features the difficult par-4 fourth with a double-dogleg fairway protected tightly by trees. The back nine is highlighted by the two Coore and Crenshaw holes, with 17 playing as a long par 4 over water with a tight fairway, and 18 as a reachable par 5 with steep bunkering in front of the green. Forty minutes south of Tokyo, Yokohama Country Club is worth the trip to the countryside for one of the best 36-hole facilities in Japan.
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The West Course at Kasumigaseki Country Club opened in 1932 as a complement to the East Course, which debuted three years prior. The course was originally designed by Seiichi Inoune before being renovated by Taizou Kawata in 2000 and then again in 2016 by Tom and Logan Fazio. The course features immaculate greens, subtly sloping fairways and strategically placed water hazards requiring accuracy in order to score. The front nine is known for the challenging 440-yard par-4 ninth with hazards and deep bunkering on both sides of the fairway. The back nine is more challenging than the front and features the reachable par-5 13th with water running the right side of the hole and dissecting the layup zone, as well as the island-style green on the par-3 16th. Located just under an hour from Tokyo, Kasumigaseki Country Club offers pristine conditions and phenomenal golf.
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The Osaka Golf Club opened in 1937 and was originally designed by Osamu Ueda. The course has since undergone a rich yet up-and-down history as the property was given by mandate to the Japanese military during World War II before the club reopened for good in 1960. The club is located an hour outside of Osaka and sits on a pine-tree lined property overlooking the Osaka Bay. The track is characterized by tight holes, steep undulations and breathtaking views of the ocean. The front side features four greens overlooking the sea, highlighted by the par-4 seventh playing over a tree-lined canyon and then to a steep segmented fairway with a downhill three-pointed green. The back nine is known for the par-3 14th, which is flanked the entire length of the hole by the ocean and forcing players to carry their tee shot over a steep ravine. The Osaka Golf Club beautifully balances quality golf with a stunning environment.
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The Jack Nicklaus-designed course at the Tokyo Classic Club opened in 2014 with the goal of being the only true country club in Japan offering full amenities including the only horseback-trekking course in the country. The club is located an hour outside of Tokyo and is built on a former cedar tree farm with an emphasis on co-existing with the natural environment that surrounds it. The course features dense tree-lined zoysia fairways as well as bentgrass greens with subtle breaks. Tokyo Classic Club is known for the short par-4 second with a drivable forward tee and intimidating bunkering, as well as the difficult par-4 11th with a green protected by a grove of overhanging cedars. The course plays as a true Nicklaus design as strategic ball positing is necessary for scoring.
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Phoenix Country Club was designed by Goukichi Oshashi in 1971 and offers 27 holes of stunning golf. The club is home to the Sumiyoshi, Takachicho and Nichinan nines, with the Sumiyoshi and Takachicho making up the 18-hole championship layout. The club is known for dense groves of pine trees that overhang and challenge approaches, as well as subtle undulations on fairways and greens. The club has recently partnered with Troon Golf to focus on remodeling bunkers after C.H. Allison’s design philosophy. The standout hole on the Sumiyoshi layout is the par-3 second, featuring a forced carry over water as well as a single pine blocking access to portions of the putting surface. The Takachicho course features the par-3 sixth, often one of the windiest holes on the property due to its proximity to the ocean—the hole also requires a carry over water to a small green. The aura of tranquility at Phoenix Country Club is evident throughout the playing experience as the club is located near the water in Miyazaki, Japan and features a breathtaking Japanese cedar interior in the clubhouse.
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The Takeo Aiyama-designed West Course at Yokohama Country Club opened in 1960 and was later remodeled by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in 2015. The 2015 remodel focused on adding elevation to tees and fairways, as well as remodeling bunkers to make the existing natural undulations more dramatic. The course is known for wide fairways framed by dense clusters of pine trees, sprawling undulations, and classic Coore and Crenshaw bunkering. The front nine is highlighted by the downhill par-4 fourth protected by a hidden pond on the right side as well as a stand alone tree in the center of the fairway. The back-nine features the intimidating par-3 12th playing over a water hazard to a raised green surrounded by bunkers on each side. The West course at Yokohama Country Club beautifully balances the original use of natural valleys and ridges with the stunning remodeling by Coore and Crenshaw.
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The East Course at Kasumigaseki Country Club was originally designed by Kinya Fujita and Shiro Akaboshi in 1929 before C.H. Allison made adjustments the following year. The club also commissioned Tom and Logan Fazio to renovate the East and West courses in 2016 in preparation for the 2021 Olympic Games. The various renovations have resulted in deep and expansive bunkering, large undulating greens and a balanced mix of tree-lined fairways as well as open driving areas. The standout hole on the front nine is the 521-yard par-4 ninth with trees lining both sides of the fairway as well as a challenging three pointed green protected by two kidney-shaped bunkers. The back nine is home to the two water hazards on the golf course, with one protecting the par-3 10th along with deep bunkers, and the other protecting the front-right side of the 500-yard par-4 finishing hole.
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Michael Wolf/@BamaBearcat
It is a common misbelief that Toyko Golf Club was designed by C.H. Alison, the talented Englishman who visited Japan in the early 1930s and transformed the country’s golf architecture with such courses as Hirono and Kawana Hotel. Alison did design a course for Tokyo in 1932, but its land was requisitioned by the Imperial Army in the lead-up to WWII. The club moved to a new layout designed by Japanese architect Komei Ohtani in 1939, while Alison’s course became potato fields. That didn’t keep golf architect Gil Hanse, who has done extensive remodeling of Tokyo G.C. over the past 15 years, to fashion features that reflect Alison’s, not Ohtani’s, philosophy of design.
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Taku Miyamoto
The most mountainous of the Japanese courses ranked on our World 100 Greatest, Naruo reminds many Americans of courses found on the Monterey Peninsula, with hilly fairways slashed by gulleys that run to the sea lined by dense Monterey-like pines. Originally designed in 1920 by brothers Harry, Bert and Joseph Crane, it was rebunkered by C.H. Alison during his 1930s tour of the country. With that dramatic deep bunkering, Naruo looks both lovely and lethal. Only the flattish greens, many on hilltop locations, seem out of place.
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Courtesy of Kawana Hotel
C.H. Alison's 1936 design for Japan's first golf resort has long been dubbed the "Pebble Beach of Japan," but the layout is far more mountainous. That's evident from the opening hole, which drops down a tumbling fairway framed by twisted pines to a green with Sagami Bay as its backdrop. The sea also backdrops the steep downhill fourth, seventh, 10th, 11th, 14th and 15th holes. Unlike at No. 26 Hirono, Alison's bunkering here is subdued.
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Michael Wolf/@BamaBearcat
This is undoubtedly the finest design of globetrotting C.H. Alison, longtime partner of H.S. Colt. He laid out Hirono in the early 1930s in a hilly pine forest slashed by gulleys, clearing wide corridors and positioning greens on the crests of ridges. What makes Hirono special was Alison's spectacular bunkering, which ranged from diagonal cross bunkers, fearsome carry bunkers and strings of ragged-edged ones. Soon after completion, writers were calling Hirono the Pine Valley of Japan. The restorative work by Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert has sharpened the teeth of Alison’s bunkering and restored the lost tees of the par-3 13th, making the hole play once again at an angle to the fronting lake rather than directly across it.
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