ニューセントアンドリュースGCジャパン

The name alone tells part of the story. New St Andrews Golf Club Japan — known locally as ニューセントアンドリュース — was conceived in the early 1970s as an ambitious tribute to the home of golf, designed by Jack Nicklaus and Desmond Muirhead. It opened in 1973 in the hills of Tochigi Prefecture, and for a time it was considered one of the most prestigious and distinctive courses in Japan, drawing considerable attention for bringing a Western design philosophy — wide fairways, strategic bunkering, a links-inspired sensibility — to the Japanese landscape. Muirhead's eccentric creative vision is evident throughout.

Ohtawara sits in northern Tochigi, a region better known for its mountains, hot springs, and the shrine complex at Nikkō than for golf. The surrounding terrain gives the course genuine elevation change and seasonal drama, with cool summers and vivid autumn foliage that transform the playing experience depending on when you visit.

For golfers curious about Japan's postwar golf boom and the international architects who shaped it, this course carries real historical weight. Playing here is as much an encounter with a particular moment in golf history as it is a round of golf.