Taiheiyo Club, Narita Course

This hillside course opened in 1999. The course was created using flat wetlands and grasslands between natural forests, giving the course an aged feel blended into the natural surroundings. Although the course is relatively short, it is strategically designed with creeks, grass bunkers, and sod-layered bunkers that Gary Player has in mind. On the other hand, although the course is challenging, it is enjoyable for all golfers if you play according to your level.

Blessed with soil and terrain ideal for a golf course, and further designed by Gary Player, one of the world's four major title holders, the course has been called “one of the most memorable courses in Japan. Each hole was created using flat wetlands and grasslands that showcase exquisite curvatures between small natural forest strips. There were several sites where the land seemed to be saying, “Please build a hall here from the beginning. There was almost no need to cut down the mountains or move the soil, and we could immediately imagine and design the hall just by standing on the site. I didn't think there were any great sites like this left in Japan,” said the player.

The course features hole after hole with so-called “flavor,” such as creek-encircled holes and 3-meter-deep sod-layered bunkers, which have never been experienced on Japanese courses before.

The 13th hole is one of the most unique holes in the course. This is a challenging hole with a pond running from the teeing ground to the back left side of the green. It is the first entrance to Narita's famous “amen corner”. The green is also surrounded by bunkers on both sides and a lake at the back, so the accuracy of the second shot is required.

The final 18th hole is a slight snake shaped par 5 with OB on the right side of the tee shot, which makes it a difficult hole for slicers. The second shot is gently downhill and requires a precise shot because of the water on the left. The green is a large green that looks like two greens in one, flanked by bunkers. The appearance of the green changes depending on the position of the pin, making it one of the most memorable holes.

The clubhouse was designed by Steve Chidester, an architectural designer from Pebble Beach, U.S.A., and was built in the Georgian style (the style of the British Georgian dynasty), and like the course, it blends in with the surrounding deep woods.