I can only imagine the distress Shunsuke Kato felt when he was commissioned to design Taiheiyo Clubs Sagami course. The land surrounding the clubhouse is so mountainous that only someone with a creative mind could fashion a golf course from it. The amount of earth that required moving during construction to create tees, plateaued fairways and greens must have been extraordinary. As talented as Mr Kato was there is still a large amount of quirkiness in the Sagami layout that was inevitable considering the lands undulation. However, as unusual as some of the holes are the course is absolutely worthwhile playing. Not because it's the best course in Japan but for its eccentricity .

Taiheiyo Clubs Sagami course is positioned high above the town of Sagamihara which is about 75 kilometres south-west of Tokyo. Part of the Kanagawa prefecture, Sagamihara can be reached from Tokyo in under an hour by car. It is also accessible by train from the Taiheiyo Gotemba courses as its in a similar neighbourhood.

When you wander out of the clubhouse and look across the first tee you quickly realise the elevation of the Taiheiyo property. The view down across the Sagamihara township and the surrounding landscape is quite spectacular. The first hole is an innocuous Par 5 that provides no indication of the peaks, valleys and quirkiness that awaits. The second hole is a better representation of the courses elevation as it plunges steeply downhill to the greens below. The highlight of the front 9 is the downhill 7th hole with its stepped fairways and three story spiral contraption allowing buggies to travel towards the 8th tee. I must make mention of the 3rd hole which is my favourite. Its a reachable par 5 with a gentle dogleg to the right. The shot into the green is the best looking approach on the golf course and although a fence runs entirely down of the right side of the hole, I think its an elegant looking hole.

The back nine is much of the same and has some wonderful views of the surrounding countryside as well as views of the town below. The layout is only 6,800 yards from the back tee but does play considerably shorter because some of the holes are so downhill. Taiheiyo Sagami has the typical Japanese design feature of two greens on each hole and although the greens are small and round they are some of the fastest greens I have played, especially from above the hole. The contours of the putting surfaces and figuring out the correct irons into the greens makes the course a lot of fun.

If you are looking for a perfect golf course in pristine condition then Sagami might not be for you. However, if you want to play something authentically Japanese, with great food, brilliant views, reasonable green fees and some bizarre and memorable sights then its absolutely the right choice.

 Getting there

From Shinjuku station the Odakyu line runs an express train which leaves about every 20 minutes and arrives at Shibusawa Station just over an hour later. The Taiheiyo Club bus leaves the south exit of Shibusawa station at 7.45am and 8.45am each day and arrives at the clubhouse 15 minutes later.

After golf the club bus leaves the clubhouse at 3.30, 4.30 and 5.30pm back to Shibusawa Station.

Private transport can be organised and its worth considering as it takes less than an hour to reach the clubhouse from Tokyo and return.