Phoenix Country Club

Phoenix:  Located on the southern Hitotsuba coast of Japan's southernmost Island of Kyushu, Phoenix Country Club is a 27 hole complex. The layout was designed by the Japanese team of Gohkichi and Sadakichi Ohashi and opened in 1971.  It is one of several resorts in  Miyazaki City and annually hosts in November the prestigious Dunlop Phoenix Tournament on the International Tour.  The course has twice been selected by Golf Magazine as one of the World's best 100 and has been rated by Golf Digest as one of the best 25 courses in Japan. As presented here the tournament layout combines the central nine, Takachiho, with the Sumiyoshi nine, which makes for the lengthiest 18 hole traversal of the three nines. Although near the coast, there is no contact with the ocean.  Some 200 years ago the Japanese planted a massive grove of black pines as a windbreak from the ocean winds.  It is these revered craggy pines twisted into contorted shapes by the wind that the give the course its unique character.  Indeed the trees are so sacred that they are often left in the fairway as strategic obstacles for the player.  The trees in the fairways though, are not the major cause of frustration on this course.  Rather it is the thick stands of trees that separate the holes and encroach upon the narrow driving avenues to the fairways. The layout incorporates a 2-green concept.  Each hole has an alternate green, one planted in bent grass and the other in a special strain of Bermuda. This is one course where the age old advice, "Keep it in the short stuff", is no mere cliché. Stray from the fairways into the trees here and the golfer may have to hit away from the hole just to get it back in play, if he or she can hit it at all.  The ocean winds are no help either.  Judging shots through the swirling breezes is more than just a challenge, especially if one lofts the ball above the tree-line. Otherwise, to the uninitiated player, the course might seem rather tame and  a bit monotonous. Premature judgment would be unfair. Phoenix is a course that, like Japanese culture, reveals its subtleties and nuances gradually. It is a course of great character and mysterious strategic possibilities. The Course hosts Japan's annual Dunlop Championship in the fall.

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Artists' Golf is a conceptual work of art Copyright 1995 - 2008 by David B. Lewis and all original paintings, drawings and art works are Copyright by David B. Lewis. All rights reserved.  Maps of existing courses are original artistic interpretations and impressions from a variety of sources and are not intended to be accurate renderings or representations of the actual courses.  They indicate my interest and study and are intended purely for the pleasure and information of the viewers and are not for sale or profit.