Report from Kawana by Noel Freeman

[Ran Morrissett]

I received this email last night from Noel Freeman, who is in Tokyo on business but took the train two hours south to the resort of Kawana.

Ran,

Okay, Kawana...I played it in 95 degree heat with 100% humidity and rain threatening, so I didnt see Mt. Fuji..I must have sweated out about 10 lbs..

Let me say this, it is like they transported parts of Sunningdale New and Swinley out to Japan...The fairway bunkering is the best part of the course..The tips were unfortunately closed (they play 6650yds) and
we played the back tees which were 6200yds but played about 6300...so okay on distance.

The first hole is great..410yds, steep elevation change downhill, right to the ocean..A fairway bunker beckons 190yds
out, 210 from the tips..The fairway bunkering schemes here resembled the bunkering we saw at Sunningdale and Swinley..To hit into them was death..I stayed out of them all.. The front 9 is much more wooded than the back but you have plenty of room to drive the ball but angles are key and what you would love is the bunkering tests you to ideally place
your tee shots to have angles into the greens..The greens are all well
protected by steep flashed bunkering and run up shots are difficult..the korai grass rough grabs and twists your club worse than the worst bermuda grass and you can hook or slice from what looks like a decent
lie despite a good hit.  The greens at Kawana are strange..There is a 2 green system there with tiny, I mean tiny sub greens that get some of the play in the summer to take the pressure off of the main greens...We were lucky, only one sub green was in play..to play them would have
taken much away from the experience..The green undulations are not severe on the course and I only saw 2 or 3 greens with great complexes (show you my pics when I see you)

Many were flattish but putting on Korai grass is horrible..The ball skids, it doesnt roll and the grain is twice as hard to putt on than the worst bermuda...your speed is easy to judge and you do not have to worry about rolling one 10ft past the hole but you can have a good looking putt hit a patch of
korai that is growing  irregularly and it sends your putt off line despite the right read...

Front 9, has 5 great holes...

The first...Second..ocean is to your right..again, fairway bunker at
210yd out..sharp dogleg left.. 3rd hole..420yd par 5..how is that great you say...well there are 3 fairway bunkers at 190, 210, and 240 yds out from the tee right as it doglegs right..steep uphill on your second shot and trees guard the
right to the 240yd fairway bunker..the hole plays in my estimation about 490yds from the mid tees, 530 from tips..I challenged the 240 yd bunker which is really your only shot to get home in 2 but misjudged and hit
the tree near it and had  to hit a wedge and 4iron to get home.. 4th Hole 480yd par 5 but steeply downhill if you can hit your tee shot
300 yds and catch a big downslope, leaves you a wedge and good shot at eagle..I hit a 240yd drive..you have a thin narrow driving area that opens up..with OB right..then hit a big 4 iron and missed the green but
got up and down for birdie..very well protected green 5th Hole..180yd, big elevation change par 3..plays about 150yds but we had a stiff wind...tee to green drops 40 feet..

7th hole..short 330yd par 4 with narrow landing area and lots of fairway bunkers to boot..a great short hole...that makes you want to bring out the driver as it is slightly downhill but that can mean a
6..ob right and left..

The back 9 is heathland style..wide open..little in the way of trees...10th hole short par 3..played with sub green..so took something away..

11th hole is long..618 tips, 570 mid tees..doglegs left to a lighthouse..pretty featureless ground..plays a little downhill but you can spray you drive all over the place on this hole..pretty cool green
though..big time two tier but the korai grass is so graspy, my ball settle mid tier between them..how about that.

14th hole is a good dogleg right which challenges you off the tee as it is blind..makes you want to go right but there is a tree there to be careful with and if you go more to the center than a huge pit awaits you...

15th hole..signature..elevated tee shot with ocean left..you are about 100 feet above the ocean..dog legs left..challenges you to carry about 230 yds over forest or go out to the right when a plethora of fairway
bunkers and poor 2nd shot angle await..Apporach is clean but green has
two tiers and is sunken..you only see mid flagstick and the green is long length wise but very narrow width wise...best green on the course..

16th uphill par 3 that is crowned and well protected..4 is a good score..190yds..
17th..finishing hole when they have tournaments here..big mound about
220yds out that obsures a huge bunker...guess what position A is right
to the right of the mound and you have to flirt with it..

Overall, Kawana is a fabulous experience..you get an hour lunch..you
must take..the women caddies with the helmuts are a hoot too..we played
including lunch in 5hrs which is pretty good for Japan...I would say the course is definitely under Swinley and if you dont consider the Korai grass a negative about even with Sunningdale New..The greens were better there but the holes more memorable at Kawana..so a 7-8 is an appropriate
rating...There is a lot of Colt on this course...that Alison brought with him..  

The routing is brillant bringing in sharp elevation changes without making it a hard walk..this also brings in wind changes off the ocean..

I have more details from the notes I took for a full write up..this is just a sketch..

See you next week at Inniscrone..

Noel

[Ran Morrissett]

Noel,

The Alison greens that I've seen like at Milwaukee CC are A LOT more interesting and varied than the ones that you describe.

I assume that Alison's original green contours have more or less been eradicated over time at Kawana (either intentionally or through poor maintenance practices)?

Would you say that Kawana's #58 spot in GOLF's latest world rankings seems too high given its greens? Or does the bunkering and its seaside location make up for the flat-ish greens?

Cheers,

[NAF]

Ran,

why don't you judge for yourself when I show you the pics on Thurs. From the tips, which I could not play the fairway bunkering makes it a heck of a test.  One caveat, I dont know if the greens have been changed since Doak visited in the Confidential guide but with the exception of the 2 greens I took shots of, I was not impressed...Doak mentioned they needed redoing in the book..The bunkering and routing are easily worth of Kawana's ranking..perhaps bent or even regular bermuda grass would have made the undulations more playable..but can you imagine putting on the mats they put out a driving ranges..that is korai grass..same sound as well..Still visually it is a stunning course and it does belong in the top 100 considering some of the course around it..I was told by people who have played both that it is preferable to Hirono despite most people putting that course up higher..I did see some top dressing on the greens that made them appear smaller than they originally were..Furthermore, the sub greens there are just an eyesore..

The one problem I had at Kawana is no one speaks english well and you can't ask questions..There is no course guide as well, sorry couldnt get you one..

[Ran Morrissett]

Noel,

If a golfer flew into Tokyo, how much of

a) a headache is it and

b) what are the expenses involved in US $

for getting to/staying at the Kawana Resort for three days (assume the person is unaccompanied by someone fluent in Japanese)?

Cheers,

[Mr. Stanley]

Noel,

When will you be taking a vacation from your golf and be back in the office generating revenue. Given the market, our shareholders are quite anxious.  Also, make sure you submit your expenses from Japan on the pink slip that I left on your desk.

[NAF]

Ran,

much to Mr. Stanley's chagrin, I did this on the weekend on my personal acct, so Morgan Stanley can rest easy...

To get to Kawana...

Narita Express to Tokyo Station ($30)
Bullet train to Ito Station (1hr) and then local train to Atami Station (30 minutes) $40 all in..
Cab Ride to Kawana (20 minutes)$15

Kawana Accomodations $275 per night
Golf approx $200 per round..
Caddies are another $50

Basically, you really want to have to do it..It is a big deal, most people I spoke to reacted as if I went to Pebble..The hotel in no sense of the word measures up to the Lodge at Pebble..If the lodge is a 10, Kawana Hotel is a 5..

Is it a headache..I was with 2 friends who spoke japanese, lets just say without them I wonder how I would have got there..Is it doable yes, but this isnt Pebble Beach..I wouldnt make the trip unless you were on an extended tour of Japan..plus it is going to get real expensive to go there and a lot of hassle without a translator..

Did I love the golf at Kawana? Oh yeah but I would rather fly back to London and play Sunningdale and Swinley and save my money for a trip to Oz...

[Ran Morrissett]

Did you even get a whiff of a chance to go play Hirono? Is anyone at MS a member there? I guess it would be similarly expensive for a member to have you to Hirono (i.e. around $250-300 US for the round and caddy)?

I really wonder which course is better between the two - the 5/6 pictures that I've seen of the Hirono property do look very promising.

Before going, did you ever find much by Alison regarding his work over there?

The real killer in even contemplating a Japanese trip is trying to find Naruo GC - for my money, that is the hardest course for an American to get to in GOLF's world top 100.

Cheers,

[NAF]

Ran, have a friend who lives over there from Kobe who has some access to Hirono but since it is 4hrs away from Tokyo and he is not of the GCA ilk, not worth pressing him to get to play there..

Let me say the property at Kawana is first rate..how they hacked that course out of that topography..very steep cliffs/hills is amazing..

Unfortunately, I do not know much about Charles Alison other that the blips in Doak's book..But I recognized a lot of similarities at Kawana with the Colt courses I saw in the U.K...hopefully the pics I show you will validate that..

None of my Japanese friends had access to Naruo, they said it is near impossible to get on..