Kumamoto Chuo Country Club

About the club

Another of native architect Osamu Ueda's designs from the 1960s, the course at Kumamoto Chuo Country Club has an impressive length of 6648 meters, as becomes immediately clear on the 549-yard par 5 opening hole. In fact, most of the length is in the front nine, which can feel a bit tedious, though play is enlivened by driving-distance bunkers and elevated greens. Thus the par 3 3rd features a vigorous sand defense, while at the 7th care must be taken to avoid a bunker squatting before the green; the stretch is rounded off by a pair of challenging par 4s. The back nine eases up a bit, since the holes are less lengthy, as well as being more memorable for the strategy and surroundings. Among major events hosted by Kumamoto Chuo was the Japan Senior Open in 2007, which sixty-five-year-old Isao Aoki clinched by a single stroke for a final score of—65.