10th hole par 3 143 yards
The start to the back nine is a short par 3 that plays slightly uphill and is surrounded by bunkers.
The green surface slopes away from the edges so only a shot played to the central part of the green will hold and not roll off into the deepish bunkers protecting it.
10th hole
10th green from behind showing the mist against the hills
The 11th is where the course changes quite dramatically and the next few holes are wide open after playing through what is somewhat like a botanical garden.
The 11th is 619 yard par 5 that has no bunkers until you get to the green and is framed by palm trees on both sides of the fairway that is quite narrow and gets narrower the further you get down the hole.
11th hole from drive zone par 5 619 yards
The green and green setting is the heroes of this hole with the green set back against the light house. The green is over 40 yards deep with a significant step that runs across the green half way up the green.
11th hole approach
The 12th hole is one of my favourite holes at Kawana along with the 1st, 7th and 15th. The tee shot plays uphill to a dog leg left 404 yard par 4. The hole is wide open off the tee with a single tree in the middle of the fairway on the dogleg. The best angle to come into the green is form the right half of the fairway right of the tree.
12th hole from the tee par 4 404yards
The shot to the green is to another elevated green with a deep bunker protecting the front. The shot from the left half of the fairway can be blocked off slightly be the left hand tree line and also has an angle to the shallowest part of the green.
12th hole approach
12th green front bunker
12th hole from behind green
I have no doubt the views along the coastline from the 12th hole would be spectacular and would add to the enjoyment that you experience while playing Kawana.
The 13th hole is another good mid range par 4 of 395 yards playing slightly uphill and doglegs to the left. Well positioned fairway bunkers on the left centre of the fairway which takes 203 yards to carry from the back tee with another 20 yards to reach the fairway on this line. Play right of the trap and the fairway bends at the point where you can run out of fairway easily if the ball stays straight.
13th hole as seen from just short of left centre fairway bunker
The approach to the green is dominated by a magnificent cherry blossom tree on the left of the green and a large bunker on the left side that is well below the surface of the green. The front right hand bunker also hides half of the putting surface so visually the target is quite small.
13th green from left hand side bunker
13th green – left hand bunker
Over drinks with Masa on the previous evening he was keen for us to look out for the original tees for the 14th hole that plays across the 13th fairway. When we were in the middle of the 13th Masa was on the 14th tee and was waving his arms around pointing to what were obviously tees at some point of time in the hillside and the current 14th tee certainly looks like an afterthought.
More can be read about 14 at Kawana in the interview with Masa Nishijima in the interview section from August 2007.
The 14th is a dogleg right par 4 of 416 yards with the dog leg bending about 250 yards from the tee, into the breeze we were both left with blind second shots from the middle of the fairway and in my case a 5 iron. Again there are 2 significant trees that frame this hole, the first on the hill near the right hand fairway trap and the second in the middle of the fairway 100 yards from the green.
Approach to the 14th green par 4 416 yards
The green sits up slightly from the surrounding area and again is out in the open. It drops away from all side, in particular the left hand side and over the back of the green.
14th Green
The 15th is one of the most visually stunning holes you will come across. A par 5 of 470 yards playing along the ocean edge with the tee about 35 yards above the fairway level. The real puzzlement I had was that the back tees have been taken away from near the top of the “cliffs” to the right and removing the “bend” out of the hole and the visual treat that you experience standing on the normal tee.
15th hole par 5 470 yards
The photo is taken from the normal tee, the back tee is located to the right of the trees on the right of the photo. There is plenty of fairway to play to but the ever present trees and ocean to the left make it appear far narrower than it is.
The day we played the ocean was load and was a presence all the way along the whole, i certainly believe the opportunity to remove some of the tree line along the left to open up the view could only enhance a wonderful hole.
The second shot is uphill to a wide shallow green with a tier than runs the direction of the hole from front to back. Not a long hole by any stretch but one of my favourites in Japan.
15th hole from behind the green
At all of the course we played we came across long tough par 3’s and the 16th at Kawana fits the bill. 185 yards up hill to a green that drops away severely on the front and right sides it certainly plays a lot harder than most holes of 185 length.
The green sits 10 yards above tee level so getting the height into your shot to stop on the green is a real challenge.
16th hole par 3 185 yards
A small green adds to the challenge with bunkers over the back, and on both sides that are below green surface that assist players in stopping their balls from running to far down the slope.
16th hole from behind green
The 17th is another hole of mid range length of 410 yards that plays well uphill making it play closer to 450 – 460 yards. The green is again 30 yards above the tee.
A large bunker on the left that takes a 220 shot to cover it and reach the fairway to give you best angle into the green.
The green is also raised from the area around it and very well protected with bunkers.
17th hole from the tee par 4 410 yards
The photo show significant movement in the terrain of the hole with the easier play down the right side leaving a shot from the lowest portion of the hole.
17th hole from left hand fairway bunker
17th hole from greenside short bunker
The green is a kidney shaped green on the angle with the surface area quite shallow from front to back. The majority of players will approach this green with a long iron / wood which makes it a very challenging hole.
18th hole form tee par 4 366 yards
The finishing hole is an excellent short par 4 where the fairway narrows the further you travel, the fairway bunkers that frame the hole are really not in play with the right hand bunkers protecting the player from the deeper rough and trees. From these bunkers you have to hit a good fade to be able to hit the green.
The green is again elevated and is again quite shallow in depth providing a target that a good shot needs to be played to. As with the majority of greens the sides fall away and are covered with good length rough.
18th hole from mid fairway
We are about 2 hours south of Tokyo in the middle of rural Japan and the building on the right of the green just happens to be an “Italian Restaurant”, classic!
The green is protected by bunkers that are again below the green surface providing challenging recovery shots.
18th green from short left
18th hole front bunker
Kawana is a most enjoyable place to stay and play golf and if the facility was in the US it would be extremely busy. As with previous trips to Japan is saw very few Westerners during the week I was there.
If Kawana was promoted through the golf media as a user friendly facility to visit and play golf it I have no doubt patronage would be up substantially from overseas visitors.
We were told that nobody spoke English other than Tatsuo Kato. We had no problems at any time getting our point across with very limited Japanese as we found that over half the people we interacted with had some English.
The resort is an excellent hotel and they could not have done any more to make us feel comfortable.
I will advise you, avoid the pickled squid. Greg had it form dinner and I have never seen anything so gross. Whenever we told anyone he had pickled squid they just laughed.
Kawana Hotel
A number of years ago the company running Kawana went broke and they were taking over. During the changeover they did a stocktake and found the original Allison drawings in a safe. These are now on display in the Golf Clubhouse and make a nice addition to the feel.
Kawana Fuji Original Drawings
Kawana Hotel Guests Lounge
Walkway to Golf Club House
Following 24 hours of good steady rain the course stood up very well and was exceptionally playable, the contours of the land and the routing through the landscape is exceptional. The elevation changes are used to dramatic effect and with the use of bunkers cut into drop aways at the side of greens makes for dramatic effect.
I do hope you have enjoyed this and I will return later in the week with Kasumigaseki.