Sagamihara Golf Club

The verdict

Sagamihara Golf Club sits on hilly, tree lined terrain in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, an easy run from central Tokyo and one of the most decorated tournament addresses in the Kanto region. The club runs to 36 holes, an East and a West, and the East has long been the championship course.

What earns Sagamihara its standing is its record. The East course, designed by Yuji Kodera and opened in 1955, has staged the Japan Open Championship three times, most recently in 2007, along with other national events, putting it in rare company among inland clubs near the capital. It is classic Japanese parkland golf: generous corridors framed by mature pines, firm and quick conditioning, and large, well guarded greens that reward a controlled approach. The West, opened in 1960 and playing to par 72, gives a visiting group a strong second eighteen on the same property. Sagamihara is private, so access needs arranging, but for golfers who care about where the game's biggest days have been played in Japan, it is a marquee round.

The holes worth the trip

The East is the round visitors come for, and it plays the way a national open venue should: demanding off the tee, where the pines pinch the driving lines, and exacting into greens that have been set up to identify the best ball strikers in Japan. From the members markers it is a comfortable test, but stretched to its tournament length it asks for length, shape and nerve in equal measure.

The greens are the defining feature, generous in size but firm and subtly contoured, so the premium is on distance control and on finishing below the hole. Sagamihara is a course that rewards the player who plots a route rather than the one who simply attacks, which is exactly why it has held up under championship pressure across five decades.

The West, a par 72 opened in 1960, makes a fine complementary round and turns Sagamihara into a genuine 36 hole day. Conditioning across both courses is to the high Japanese standard, and the sense of occasion on the East, where the country's best have competed for the Japan Open, gives every round here a lift.

Where to stay nearby

Most visiting golfers base themselves in central Tokyo or in Yokohama, both offering excellent hotels and straightforward road access to the club and to the other great courses of the Kanto region. A Yokohama base puts the bay, the dining and the waterfront close at hand, while Tokyo gives the widest range of lodging and the simplest links to the airports.

For a golf focused trip, Sagamihara sits naturally on an itinerary of the leading inland courses around the capital, paired with rounds at the region's other championship venues.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near Sagamihara Golf Club.