Tokyo

“Golf has been played continuously here since 1953 and four post-war Japan Opens have been staged,” writes James Spence in his book The Finest Golf Courses of Asia & Australasia, “the first in 1954 and the most recent in 2001 where the winning score was 277, a mere 7 under the tournament par of 71. Even though Tokyo Golf Club is not a long course by modern standards, it protects its par well. If you are fortunate enough to be invited to play here, it will serve you well to remember this.”

Komyo Ohtani who studied in England laid out the course in 1940. Ohtani was an admirer of London’s brilliant sand belt courses and he brought a sprinkling of Surrey to Tokyo Golf Club. Two sets of greens for each hole is common at Japanese golf clubs, one is generally in play during the summer and the other is generally a winter green, seeded with a more hardy strain of grass. Tokyo Golf Club employs this dual green system. “This permits variation in length and difficulty of the holes with some cost to the visual impact of the holes at the margin.” Writes James Spence, but he goes on to say that Tokyo “is a delight to play but the back nine has a little more feature and more pronounced bunkering than the front.”

In The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses Volume 5, Masa Nishijima wrote: “The opening holes of Tokyo GC are especially memorable; the first hole is one of the best starting holes and best short par-4s in the world. At the 2nd, the diagonal line of bunkers produces a beautiful landscape, and the Asaka green has been restored by Hanse from Alison's original drawing.

At the par-5 5th, Hanse restored the fairway bunkers made by Ohtani before the war. This is now a fine strategic par-5 with a creek in front of the green. However, one change I regret was at the Chichubu green of the par-3 8th. I loved this green before. It was a masterpiece of Ohtani and Inoue. It was a bonnet type close to crowned green. Hanse lowered the elevation of the green and lowered its difficulty.

The par-3 12th hole is noteworthy in its structure for the two green system: the two green and two tee boxes cross routes, making two scenarios of a single green in each. This is the start of the course's best stretch of holes. The cardinal hole at Prestwick was the inspiration for Ohtani's par-5 13th while the 14th mimics Alison's original finishing hole of the Asaka course, and also the 6th at Hirono. When the tee shot carries a high mound there is a huge Sahara bunker between the green and the landing area.

Gil Hanse's most recent work was to restore an alternate left-hand route to Ohtani's par-5 15th. Due to the evolution of golf equipment, the route on the left had been planted over with trees to avoid the possibility of danger on the adjacent 18th fairway. Hanse challenged this and restored the idea of Ohtani neatly."

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.

Click here to read an interview with Gil Hanse by Tokyo Golf Club committee member, Mr Ito.