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| The whole fairway is tilted from
left to right, so if a tee-shot over the pond lands on the right side of the fairway,
you will hit the second shot is tough because trees will interfere with your shot
to the green. You could hit a low ball under the trees but the deep bunker in
front of the green will likely catch the ball. |
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The fairway between the two bunkers
in front of the green is extremely narrow and both sides of the elongated green
are guarded by bunkers. |
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A downhill, slightly dogleg to
the left. You can hit longer due to the steeper downhill slope when you hit the
left side of the fairway. The second shot is over a steep hollow which used to
be a river until the 1940s to a green which is small and elevated with many guarding
bunkers, so an accurate shot is required. |
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The tee shot is a little downhill
and the second shot is uphill. There is an OB line close to the left edge of the
narrow fairway, so you want to hit the right side of the fairway. However when
you hit to the right, the downhill rolling fairway sloping from left to right
will bring your ball near the right edge of the fairway where the big trees in
front of you will make it difficult to aim for the green on the second shot. You
need to be brave enough to drive to the left side of the fairway on this hole.
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| A slight dogleg to the right
with beautiful trees on the far left side of the fairway. There is an OB on the
right. The long, sloping green has deep bunkers in front of it and at the back,
so you need to hit the approach shot with a precise & high ball biting the
green. To hit a shot to the pin from the bunker behind the green is very tough,
so you should never be long of the green. The best route is to hit to the right
of the fairway close to the OB line on the second shot, the only place the bunkers
front and back are not in play. |
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| From
the tee, it is a slight downhill, dogleg to the left, par 4. You need to hit a
long ball on the right side of the fairway; otherwise, the trees on the right
side of the fairway will hamper your second shot. |
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| A long downhill par 4 with an
excellent view from the tee. The second shot is over a deep hollow which used
to be a river many years ago. You had better carry over the wide bunker 50 – 60
yards from the center of the green, and then you can have an easy approach shot
to the pin from flat lie even if you don’t hit the green in regulation. If you
are short of the flat area, even if only slightly, the next approach shot will
be difficult because the ball will roll back down to the bottom of the steep slope
or will be caught in a bunker where the long bunker shot is needed. This hole
was selected as one of the best 500 holes in the world by US Golf Magazine in
2000. |
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The green is elevated, small and
surrounded by bunkers, some of them 10 feet (3 meters) deep! You need to be careful
to avoid those bunkers. |
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| A
very beautiful par 3 over a valley. The green slopes to the front and again there
are bunkers on all four sides of the green. You can’t hit the green in regulations
unless your short shot is not only the right distance but also very accurate.
If you slice it too much, the ball will roll down the valley on the right side
of the fairway, which leads to the OB. |
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| It
might be hard to use a driver because the right side of the fairway is extremely
narrow due to hanging trees. The second shot is downhill and you should avoid
hitting on the right of the green because it slopes steeply and a deep bunker
awaits the ball. This hole is unique because it looks like the trees surround
the green. |
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Because it is uphill, it plays
about 40 yards longer than the distance. The location of the fairway and greenside
bunkers is excellent. |
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| Visitors need introductions from
members to play on weekdays. On Saturdays you need to be accompanied by a member
and are not allowed to play on Sundays. It seems that various competitions are
set on Sundays and members want to enjoy its club life. The clubhouse is a classic
and very relaxing. |
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The course is awarded the 36th place out of 2400 courses
in 2002’s Japanese golf course rankings by the Japan Golf Classic Magazine.
More impressive is that US Golf Magazine ranked it the 100th best course
in the world in 2005. The other selected courses in Asia and Oceania
are Royal
Melbourne GC (10th), Kingston
Heath GC (Australia, 20th), Cape Kidnappers (New Zealand, 27th),
New South Wales GC (Australia,
34th), Hirono GC (Japan, 35th),
Barnbougle
Dunes (Australia, 49th), Royal Adelaide GC (Australia, 54th), Kauri
Cliffs GC (New Zealand, 58th), Kawana
GC – Fuji Course (Japan, 80th), Tokyo
GC (94th) and The Club at Nine Bridges (Korea 95th).
The
Naruo GC has a great “personality”, with lots of fully-grown old trees over years
giving you a great feeling of its tradition. But the only demerit is to see the
wire nets at the tees to prevent drives from landing in the number of houses.
But it is not the club’s nor designer’s responsibility at all because there were
no houses around the course 80 years ago when it was built. Almost
all Japanese courses adapt par 72, par 36 for the front 9 and par 36 for the back
9 but there are many poorly designed 72 because unfortunately the designer occasionally
needs to be forced to make the holes 72 on a difficult terrain. Although this
course is par 70, it stands out with great layout.I think that it is natural to
have par 68 or par 74 if the natural followed. There are many cases of poor layouts
if owners of the gold courses stick too much to Par 72. I bought
a “Naruo” pudding as a souvenir for my family and it was very delicious.
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1st Par 4 386 yards (2)