Takanodai Country Club

Course Data

Location	Chiba, Japan
Yardage	7102 yards　Par 72
Course Rating	73.5
Playing Date	26 Nov. 2003
Desingner	Seiichi Inoue
Opened	1954
Caddy	Yes
Golf Cart	No

Rating

Overall Rating

4.70

Course Layout	5
Difficulty Level	5
Greens Conditions	5
Fairways Conditions	4
Landscaping & Views	4
Level of Satisfaction	5

18th green and the clubhouse

This is a flat woodland course with a relaxing atmosphere. Each hole is completely separated by old pines and cedars. Playing on courses with few dogleg holes, few sloped fairways and no water hazards can be monotonous. However, you will never get bored of playing here thanks to the great layout and many well-designed holes. The course also features effectively placed bunkers. Going over the greens should be avoided because many are elevated and sloped, from the back to the front. There are almost no tricky holes and you will be rewarded for good shots. There are many routes to attack the pin in order to avoid the bunkers or rough, so you need to exercise good course management according to your abilities; otherwise, the course designer might beat you.

2nd　 Par 4 404 yards

2nd Par 4 404 yards (2)

2nd Par 4 404 yards (1)

An interesting layout, having two fairways to attack this hole. The left fairway is narrower than the right but a bunker does not come into play for your second shot. The right side of the fairway is a bit wider than the left but the second shot should be accurate because it is over the bunker in front of the green.

3rd Par 3 185 yards

3rd Par 3 185 yards

The green is small. The left side of the green is well guarded by bunkers. If the pin is on the left side and you hit to the pin, the bunkers could catch your ball. The right side of the green is 15 yards deep, so you had better hit to the center of the green.

4th Par 5 535 yard

4th Par 5 535 yards (2)

4th Par 5 535 yards (1)

A slight dogleg to the left. Left of the fairway is OB. The fairway slopes slightly downhill about 270 yards from the tee. When you hit the second shot, a big tree on the right side of the fairway, 100 yards front of the green is very much in play. Because the fairway slopes steeply from right to left, the best route is to hit the right edge of the fairway but there is a risk that the tree might interfere with your shot.

5ht Par 4 412 yards

5ht Par 4 412 yards (2)

5ht Par 4 412 yards (1)

A slight dogleg to the right with a tight fairway. You need to hit the tee shot to the left side in order to avoid the trees overhanging the right side of the fairway on the second shot. The green is beautiful. Not only is it guarded by bunkers on both sides but if you hit over the green, the ball will roll down the slope, 3 yards at the back of the green, which makes saving par very difficult.

7th Par 3 206 yards

A great par 3. The landscaping of the green is more artistic than the 5th. Old pine trees surround extremely elevated green, so it floats like a platform stage. This is an excellent par 3 that impresses as well as stresses you much more than almost all par 3 island greens.

13th Par 4 171 yards

13th Par 4 171 yards

The green is small, just 20 yards deep and wide, and sloped from the back to the front. There is a 6 feet (1.8meters) deep bunker at the back so you should avoid hitting over the green.

14th Par 5 607 yards

14th Par 5 607 yards (2)

14th Par 5 607 yards (1)

A long par 5. The bunkers on the right side of the fairway are in play from the tee.

16th Par 4 431 yards

16th Par 4 431 yards (2)

16th Par 4 431 yards (1)

The fairway is tight and trees on the left side of the fairway might crowd your tee shot. The second shot is about 5 yards uphill. Although there are no bunkers around green, which is rare for this course, the green blends well with the surrounding beautiful scenery.

19th hole

It takes only 40 minutes from Central Tokyo by car or by train. Need to be accompanied by a member. I have played at this course three times. I am impressed by the employees’ welcoming attitude every time. A cold potage soup is really delicious at the restaurant.

The course was awarded 12th place out of 2400 courses in 2002’s Japanese golf course rankings sponsored by Japan Golf Classic Magazine. The other great courses in Japan designed by Siichi Inoue are Oarai CC, Ryugasaki CC, Outone CC, Kasumigaseki CC – West Course, Katsuragi GC, Ibusuki GC, and Ibaragi CC - West Course, Sappro GC - Wattsu Course, etc. Within top 100 Japanese golf course rankings, Siichi Inoue has the largest number, 17. Second is Robert Trent Jones Jr, (10), third is Jack Nicklaus (7), and fourth is Osamu Ueda (6).