Hokkaido Classic Golf Club

Course Date

Location	Hokkaido, Japan
Yardage	7059 yards　Par 72
Course Rating	73.7
Playing Date	Aug 2004 & July 2012
Designer	Jack Niclaus
Opened	1991
Caddy	Yes
Golf Cart	No

Rating

Overall Rating	5.15
Course Layout	5
Difficulty Level	4
Greens Conditions	5
Fairways Conditions	6
Landscaping & Views	5
Level of Satisfaction	6

A view from the clubhouses

This is a flat woodland course in which trees harmonize nicely with gentle slopes. Lakes and creeks make the course even more beautiful by drawing exquisite silhouette. It is rich in varieties, such as holes with trees, lakes and/or bunkers.Each hole is very unique. The fairway is well maintained, almost like a soft carpet. Since the fairways are relatively generous and there were many holes you can drive hard, I did not feel it was as difficult as the course rate of 73.7. However, it is still obviously a challenging course.

Scorecard

1st　Par 4　438 yards

1st　Par 4　438 yards (1)

A slight dogleg to the right. Trees line up on both sides of the fairway and make you feel the hole is narrower. The green is guarded by deep bunkers on the right and in the front and a hollow on the left.

4th　Par 4　430 yards

4th　Par 4　430 yards (2)

4th　Par 4　430 yards (1)

A slight dogleg to the right, difficult par 4. A carry of 260 yards is needed to clear the bunker on the right hand side of the fairway. The bunker on the left side of the green comes into play on your second shot.

5th　Par 5　525 yards

A straight par 5. It is possible to hit the green in 2 with a tail wind. The second shot is over the lake. The second shot should be hit onto the wide part of the fairway to the right to avoid a series of bunkers, 100 yards long, on the left.

5th hole seen from the green

5th　Par 5　525 yards (2)

5th　Par 5　525 yards (1)

9th　Par 4　357 yards

9th　Par 4　357 yards (2)

9th　Par 4　357 yards (1)

A short, gentle downhill par 4. The fairway is narrow and trees of both sides of the fairway look like hanging over, so the tee shot is difficult. The green is wide and a deep bunker in front of the green is in play. This bunker stands in your way like a wall, and is deep and long, therefore a good technique is required to just escape from there.

10th　Par 5　525 yards

10th　Par 5　525 yards (1)

A par 5 with a unique layout. This hole is divided into 3 parts by creeks meandering through the fairway. Two fairways are prepared off the tee and the creek is running through the center of the right-and-left fairways. To hit the green in 2, driving onto the left fairway across the creek is easier to aim the green on the next shot. If you lay up on the second shot, driving onto the right fairway is safer. The highly undulated green is surrounded by bunkers and a lake, so an accurate approach shot is required.

10th hole seen from the green

10th　Par 5　525 yards (3)

10th　Par 5　525 yards (2)

14th　Par 4　385 yards

A beautiful par 4 with a gentle dogleg to the left. The left side of the fairway and the front side of the green border a lake. The green is wide. This is not a long hole but need to be careful.

14th　Par 4　385 yards (3)

14th　Par 4　385 yards (2)

14th　Par 4　385 yards (1)

16th　Par 5　552 yards

16th　Par 5　552 yards (2)

16th　Par 5　552 yards (1)

A slight left dogleg. A strategic par 5. There’s a lake on the left, which is 270 yards off the tee. The second shot needs to clear the lake.

17th　Par 3　163 yards

17th green seen from right front

17th　Par 3　163 yards (1)

This is a comparatively short par 3 but isn’t an easy hole at all. A lake guards in the front, but also the left and back of the green. To make things more complicated, there are bunkers in front of and back of the green. Accuracy with exact yardages is required on this hole.

18th　Par 4　448 yards

18th　Par 4　448 yards (2)

18th　Par 4　448 yards (1)

A long, straight par 4. The second shot needs to clear a lake. A chip shot off the green will be difficult.

19th hole

It takes 20 minutes drive from Chitose Airport. It has sauna facility. Visitors can book the tee-time trough Internet golf agencies.

appearance of restaurant

restaurant

bath

The course was awarded 8th place in 2002’s Japanese golf course rankings sponsored by Japan Golf Classic Magazine. The other courses in Japan designed by Jack Nicklaus are Ishioka GC, Rokko Kokusai GC, New St. Andrews GC Japan, Hibikinomori CC, Japan Memorial GC, St. Creek GC, The Tradition GC and Oakmont GC. 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).