This cliff-hanging course is long haul for U.S. golfers — but worth the effort

GOLF’s latest ranking of Top 100 Courses in the World features plenty of familiar names, from Augusta National and Pine Valley to Cypress Point and Pebble Beach. But tucked amid those icons are lesser-known layouts with compelling designs and rich histories of their own. In this ongoing series, we’ll introduce you to them.

In 1930, English architect Charles Alison stepped ashore in Tokyo from the steamer Asama Maru for a three-month visit. In that brief time, he ignited Japan’s golfing soul. Alison left his signature on four prominent courses around Tokyo — Tokyo Golf Club, Hirono, Naruo, and Kasumigaseki.

But his true masterpiece unfurls two hours south of the capital: the Fuji Course at Kawana, draped across storm-sculpted cliffs that mirror Big Sur’s savage beauty, with sacred Mount Fuji itself rising above the clouds and visible throughout the course.

Of the many fine holes, two stand out for their mix of natural beauty and strategy.

The 7th, a mere 393-yard par 4, tumbles toward a pulpit green kissed by dappled light reflected off the ocean. From the tee, the hole seduces with the promise of driving the putting surface, yet Alison’s deep bunkers slash the fairway in two, demanding a decision: the generous right side grants a straightforward approach, albeit from a severely sloped lie; the more daring angle up the left rewards with a level lie but a delicate pitch over flashed bunkers.

The 15th, a 480-yard par-5, plunges from a sky-high tee to a fairway that abuts towering bluffs along the Pacific. Wind and slope make eagle a possibility, but bunkers right push play left toward the cliffs. The rippled fairway climbs to a narrow, two-tiered green, where par is a strong score.

Kawana must be played to be fully appreciated. And that’s the thing: anyone can. Unlike most of Japan’s top courses, Kawana is accessible to the public. It’s part of a resort. Its sibling Oshima Course (measuring a modest 5,711 yards) shares similar strategic demands on a smaller scale and serves as an ideal warm-up or twilight companion to the Fuji, making for an all world 36-hole adventure.

Noel Freeman is a course rater for GOLF and Golf.com.

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