Hirono's Quartet of par 3's

[Noel Freeman]

These pictures are from February so that is why you have that wonderful shade of brown.  Obviously the Colt/Alison supremacy with par 3s is known to afficianados so I thought I would post pictures of the 5th,7th,13th and 17th from my time in Japan.  The interesting thing about Hirono's one shotters is that they all require carry of some sort which makes them resemble the prototypical Colt Plateau nature that you find in England.  Then again Fowler had a similar ethos which one can find at the Berkshire or Eastward Ho!.  I've included some old pictures of the holes from a Tom MacWood piece on this site as well.

The 5th is known as Fiord or Fjord but is a wee 160 yard shot (7 iron) over a finger of a water inlet to plateaued-almost pushed up green site.. If you miss the green, you will find the sand or at least roll down enough that your 2nd shot (which is almost Rye like (the 2nd shot to the par 3s is the hardest!) in that you can't see the flag's bottom).








The 7th is about 175 yards or so if my memory serves.. I believe I hit a 6 iron.. The famous Devil's divot is the obstacle to surmount.  Again, missing the green will give you a Rye like shot especially from the gulch (the Devil's divot) where the Korai grass eats up even a lob wedge.  Unfortunately the bunkering is not what it once (grassed in, making the hazard less imposing)..







#13 is somewhat famous in recent Hirono history b/c a past president put a bunker in the green, yes in the green.. But it has been removed.  Again, you must carry the water here, it isnt a long hole, maybe around 150 yards or so..The fall offs right and left are steeper than they appear in the picture and you can roll off into the water.





#17 plays over the lake at an angle and is a stout 230 yard shot.. It plays to a raised green flanked by hungry bunkers.  The green is steeply pitched back to front.  There is a landing area short that would allow a run up shot if the Japanese kept the course firm and fast.  One thing I can say is this hole had some visual distortion to my eye.. It looked 20-30yards longer than it is--probably the effect of the water ending 130 yards out or so...

[Jeff_Mingay]

Interesting photos, Noel. Especially the historical comparison.

Happy holidays,

[Geoffrey Childs]

Noel

Thanks for this rare view of a great course. You are a lucky globetrotting lad.

I think Mr. Kavanaugh need to take his company international as those paved cartpaths could use a better job of asphalt.

[John_Cullum]

We need to put an Over/Under on Noel's frequent flyer account.

[Dave Bourgeois]

Noel,

Thanks for the pics.  I like how the first two holes appear to me to be floating out in space.  Very interesting indeed.  I think I am uncomfortabe just thinking about the shot.

[Ron Farris]

Great photos Noel.

I played there years ago with Isamu Sekiguchi, a member and golf course designer.

Last week while cleaning out my office a revisited the book depicting Hirono.  Do they still offer the book at the course?  The pictures are great to look at, but the writing is relatively hard to read.

Thanks for the post.