Location: Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan | Ranking: #55 — The Global Golfer Top 100
Type: Forest Parkland | Designer: Charles Alison (1932)
Editor’s Note: Hirono is Japan’s finest golf course and one of the 20 greatest in the world — yet its extreme privacy makes it almost impenetrable to the visiting golfer. Charles Alison’s design through the Rokko forest near Kobe is his Japanese masterpiece: deep cross-bunkers, strategic doglegs and green complexes of extraordinary subtlety. Tom Watson called it one of the finest courses he had ever played. Pursue access through Japanese corporate relationships. The effort defines commitment.
Access & Course Information
- Access: Japanese members and their corporate guests only. | Par / Yardage: 72 / 6,925 yards | Rating / Slope: 75.2 / 142 | Airport: Kobe (UKB) — 30 mins; Osaka Kansai (KIX) — 45 mins.
Championship Scorecard
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | OUT |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 |
| Yards | 402 | 528 | 418 | 172 | 416 | 412 | 210 | 496 | 438 | 3,492 |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | IN | TOTAL |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Yards | 440 | 388 | 172 | 536 | 430 | 408 | 178 | 528 | 445 | 3,525 | 6,925 |
Par 4Par 3Par 5
Key Notes & 19th Hole
- Alison’s Bunkers: The “Alison bunker” — a deep, steeply faced cross-hazard designed specifically to punish the short second shot — was refined here more than anywhere in his portfolio. The depth is deliberate: escape alone costs a stroke.
- Kobe: One of Japan’s most cosmopolitan cities — outstanding beef (Kobe beef is mandatory), the Kitano foreign settlement district and the Rokko mountain cable car. Kobe hotels via Expedia →