Thread: 100 Most Difficult Course in Japan - How Many Have You Played

I came across a list of the 100 most difficult courses in Japan.

http://www.golf-in-japan.com/rate_high.php

I have played at Dai-Hakone and Miho Golf Club.

Dai-Hakone was great, wonderful location and wonderful course, but very expensive. The area is famous for its fog, so certain times of the year, you are hitting into a cloud - now that's tough.

Miho Golf is a bit closer to Tokyo than Windsor off the Kanetsu and simply a great course. Greens are very difficult to read. Has a great practice range.

Looking forward to trying more of these courses.

Here are the top ten:


1. Kyu-Karuizawa G.C. Nagano 79.9
2. The Royal Ocean Ibaraki 78.2
3. Karuizawa 72 Golf East Course Nagano 76.0
4. Bay Stage C.C. Ibaraki 75.8
5. Golden Valley G.C. Hyogo 75.5
6. Hokkaido C.C. Onuma Course Hokkaido 75.0
7. Kuzuha Public Golf Course Osaka 74.9
8. Kashimanomori C.C. Ibaraki 74.7
9. Fukuoka Century G.C. Fukuoka 74.7
10. Satsuki G.C. Sano Course Tochigi 74.6
22. Dai-Hakone C.C. Kanagawa 74.1
26. Miho G.C. Ibaraki 74.0

Haven't played any yet.....

Interestingly only about 5 or 6 of these 100 are in Kanto - you really got to travel to play a hard course!

I haven't played any of these, though I've thought about playing Royal Ocean as it's not too far away. I started to look some of these up on Gora and it seems Bay Stage is very lowly rated lately due to an infestation of wild boars that has torn up the property! That'll increase the difficulty!

Looking through some of the courses I've played - I don't understand the course ratings as related to difficulty. The highest difficulty course I've played in Chiba was Sakuranosato, and it's nowhere near as difficult IMO as Shibayama or Genjiyama, for example. I guess the ratings are more of an interesting conversation point than a real gauge of difficulty.

I played Eagle Point (#45 / 73.8) in Ibaraki last summer. It is absolutely gorgeous and quite close to Tokyo. Not a blade of grass was out of place. It was perfectly manicured and oddly not busy even on a Saturday. I suspect the membership fees might have something to do with that. I knew when we pulled up and two guys in suits helped unload the car and two huge dogs (one white and one black) sat nearby watching that it was going to be a different experience.

I played Bay Stage about 4 years ago. It was close to a 3 hour trip by car, from Tokyo. The difficulty of the course was lost a bit in some great ocean views as you climbed to the top of some of the holes. What I do remember was that in March it only cost 5000 yen.

Cheers

How come Brick and Wood is not on there - all the golfjin members who have played there say it is really hard.

Miho is ok, but I thought Tsurumai in Chiba was more difficult. I wonder what the criteria is?

I still think WP is tough.....

I would have thought Oak Village would be up there too.

Here is the system:

http://www.jga.or.jp/jga/html/handic...se_rating.html

(yardage / 210 yards) + 39.76 +/- degree of difficulty (7 environmental factors) +/- calibrated coefficient (10 design factors)

It's based on positions off the tees a scratch player would normally expect to be playing from, and a host of other variables after that. It's quite comprehensive and thought out, not something random.

We don't know if the ratings listed on the Golf-in-Japan site are all correct or if the correct course rating was used. I checked a few websites and some did not have a course rating.

I have played four of these courses.

3. Karuizawa 72 - I played here once a long time ago. Frankly, I don't remember it very well. I probably played badly, which makes me want to forget the experience.

26. Miho - I love this place, and have a membership. Anyone who would like to play just let me know. Always happy to bring guests. The course requires you to put the ball in the right spot off the tee, and demands sharp iron play. Greens have lots of contour and can be difficult.

45. Eagle Point - A lot of people give this place rave reviews. Yes, its beautifully maintained, and there are very few people who play there due to the limited memberships and the hideously high cost. Why then did they send out the only 6 groups playing that day one after another? Mind boggling. We waited for ten minutes on every hole. Hello 6 hour $400 round. Never again.

82. Segovia - Quirky Desmond Muirhead design. Fun, but it may not appeal to everyone.

Surprised at this list.
Kansai based so know of Golden Valley (don't you just love the name?) as being a tough course. Lots of water in just the wrong places.
Surprised at Kuzuha being on there. This is a public course not far from where I live next to the Yodogawa river so is very flat and quite wide. Played here maybe 15 times. Greens are korai so can be tricky but even I managed to shoot a 75 here ..... once. Usually windy so on very windy days can be more challenging. Still find it hard to believe that it ranked at number 7.

I second Brick and Wood being slipperier than alcohol in the 30's.............unless you were one of the Kennedy's of course.

It's got tough rewarding holes but what makes it harder are the undulating fairways. I found myself sitting pretty on a couple of holes for par or better only to end up with a double boogie. This is around the time I wished cart girls were around to get my vodka and soda on.