GOLF: Royal Century Golf Club
Written on July 2nd , 2024 by Eliot Cochrane
AKITA: Royal Century Golf Club
秋田県 - ロイヤルセンチュリーゴルフクラブ
Tranquility and Challenge
Nestled in the mountains of Daisen in Akita Prefecture lies a golf course with a certain flair from another country and another generation. Separated from the cities and above the rice fields lies a course that doesn’t feel very Japanese, except for the menu at lunch. While it may be polarizing in an economy that is steadily getting more and more difficult for a newer generation to start playing golf, Royal Century Golf Club maintains as best it can to have prime service and provide a great experience.
Described with a focus on strategically challenging Par 4’s, distance alone is not going to reward the player. This course touts rewarding players who boldly challenge the course while punishing players who back down, trying to create a challenging tension by combining golf’s aspects of sport and game to present a course that feels rewarding for those who step up to the challenge.
Clubhouse
Photo: Clubhouse in the distance at Royal Century GC.
Upon entering the grounds and approaching the clubhouse, it tries to be very clear in the separation between the golf course and the entrance. With an entrance looking fit for a ski chalet or a Bond villain, the course staff will take any bags from the vehicle and prepare it on the cart to be ready at any time. With cobbled stones just in front, it does provide a different atmosphere. Especially when before entering the building there is a sign stating collared shirts and respectable pants/shorts are a must. I was the only person checking in that wasn’t in a button-down shirt (I got away with a polo shirt).
Upon going through the gateway, there is a long tunnel leading to a central room with a circular seating area. On the perimeter are different parts of the building from the locker rooms to the pro shop with a set of stairs leading to the dining room. Lining the walls are picturesque golf-themed watercolor painting reprints (unfortunately, none of them are based on RCGC).
Photo: Panoramic view of the center of the clubhouse at Royal Century GC.
The locker rooms are spotless, and the lockers themselves are exceptionally wide. Keys attached to the scorecard holder are a simple but effective way to keep belongings locked as many places are replacing keys with electronic systems. Although, this isn’t very popular as most of the time players will be carrying their scorecard anyway and the expenses to change to electronic locks can be high. Anything that is purchased on the grounds will be charged to the scorecard holder and locker number. Once the round is finished, there is an onsen for cleaning up.
Once players are ready to go and practice, there is another long tunnel opposite the entrance that leads to the practice putting green. Reminiscent of an American football team or basketball team coming onto the field or court, the tunnel is long and littered with golf joke-themed pictures along the way. Unfortunately, they are reprints too. Just before exiting, there are drinks and ice cream available for purchase.
Photo: Tunnel leading from the clubhouse to the starting area at Royal Century Golf Club.
Outside in the starting area are all the carts and bags with the staff whipping them onto the carts and bringing them around. In each of the carts is also a customary bottle of cold tea for the especially hot day. Complete with plastic cups to reuse, this was a very welcome touch. I didn’t feel the need to purchase any extra drinks. Aside from that, it was like any other golf cart. But that big Thermos bottle of cold tea isn’t something I’ll forget easily. That’s good service, and it gets refilled during lunch.
Pre-Round
Before walking onto the practice green, it’s always necessary to make a stop at the caddy window for a crisp scorecard, a fresh ball marker, and for this course, a brand new metal pitchfork! I’ve seen tons of courses that have branded plastic pitchforks, but this is the first course that I have seen that has branded metal pitchforks. I still have my trusty plastic pitchfork that I will use until it breaks, but the novelty of a metal pitchfork that was free is still going to be something that won’t be easily forgotten. Branded metal pitchforks are not that common and these are open for the taking. I still haven’t used it yet, so it might be the cheapest of the cheap. Update Sep. 10th: After 2 months of use, the free pitchfork is still going strong with no bending at all!
Photo: Royal Century Golf Club scorecard and (free) pitchfork.
As for the usual practice area, there is a putting green and also a range to warm up the longer clubs. Unfortunately, I didn’t know about the range until after I was done when I saw the signs on the way back to the clubhouse.
The main practice piece is the practice green. There is only one green with a small hill on one side to help practice breaking putts and pace up or down slopes. The grass on the greens was pretty homogenous all the way from the practice green to the 18th.
Photo: Practice green and starting area at Royal Century Golf Club.
The Course
Course Statistics |
Photo: Course layout for 18 holes at Royal Century Golf Club. Source: Royal Century Golf Club
Tee Grounds
The tee grounds throughout the round were appropriately designed for the back tees. Unfortunately, though, many of the forward tees were at a significant disadvantage due to elevation changes in a country where the average age of golfers is significantly higher than in other countries. For many short-distance players, the tees can present a challenge within themselves and may feel limiting. Also, some tee locations, while being significantly forward, also did not have any of the mystique that the back tees did.
Photo: Hole 14 tee ground at Royal Century Golf Club.
Aside from the layout, the tee boxes were also not as green and covered in grass as would be expected for such a price tag to play. Also, many of the tee boxes did not have sand available for those that do take a divot, especially on Par 3’s.
Fairways
This is where the course really shines. The fairways were spectacular. Of course, there were past divots, but aside from that, the fairways were smooth, cut cleanly, and at a perfect height for the amateur golfer. None of the areas were cut extremely short or left extremely long due to imperfections in the terrain.
Each of the holes had a very clear separation from the fairway and the rough. Unfortunately, there was no second cut between the fairway and the rough, but the quality of the fairway itself more than made up for this fact.
Rough
The following weekend was the club tournament for the members who wanted to take part in the club qualifier for the yearly club championship at the end of the month. For this, the grass was particularly longer than usual for a course in Japan. Japan tends to have relatively short rough compared to other countries as standard. Though this course tends to have rather banked sides. Sometimes these banks lead back to the fairway while other times lead straight to danger.
Photo: Rough leading to a water hazard on Hole 18 at Royal Century Golf Club.
The grass was quite thick for amateurs and could have been significantly more intimidating than usual for the average Japanese golfer. As a foreigner who is quite active, I found this rough to be quite easy to glide a club through. More often than not, this produced fliers which made distance control an important decision when choosing clubs.
Bunker
As this is a more premium course, the bunkers are properly prepared. The edges of the bunkers are relatively clear and cut well, most likely with the club championship qualifier being that weekend. Each of the bunker shapes is also pleasing to the eye but often in tricky positions for those with shorter club distances.
Photo: Greenside bunker at the Royal Century Golf Club.
The sand within the bunkers was quite different from what I was expecting. Oftentimes, many areas will get sand that is as bright as they can find. Many other courses go for the sand that is typically found on the televised tournaments. Yet, the Royal Century Golf Club has sand that is larger granules and also speckled with black sand. It’s smooth like fine sand, but the larger granules prevent the club from possibly sticking. It’s great for amateurs who might not be as willing to open the face of the club and show the bunker some bounce. Not only that, but it was a new type of sand for me, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Greens
The greens had definitely seen better days. Many of the edges of the green were plucked and switched with parts of the center of the green to keep coverage of the green. Without any plug switches, the grass would be a little bit sparse. On top of that, the pitch marks were plentiful with no one repairing them and dead patches on almost every green.
To make things even worse, parts of the green were fully dead. These areas were from excessive water pooling and sudden heating of any pooled water. A variety of reasons could be as to why, but I don’t want to speculate the situation. These dead patches are most likely left over from the previous season as it was a problem at many clubs around Tohoku.
Photo: Fairway leading to green on Hole 15 at Royal Century Golf Club.
The size of the greens themselves was quite comparable to greens at other large clubs and the green speed matched the practice greens comparably. The undulations, elevation changes, and overall ball rolling shape were easy to read and predict. Not to say that the greens were easy, but that they weren’t trying to play tricks with any vision trickery like some other courses might do.
Marking
Be prepared for no distance markers. All other signage is appropriate and easy to see and understand. Out of bounds, hazards, and penalty areas are all clearly marked. Everything is OK, except for yardage relation to the hole in the middle of the course. To put it clearly, there were no yardage markers aside from the tee to hole yardage sign on the tee ground.
This was greatly infuriating as I had to be reliant on my rangefinder. On the market, there are many other great devices to find distance to the pin and other hazards, but many of those devices are aimed at a North American or European market and do not have lesser-known courses in Asia mapped. Be prepared with a rangefinder and an extra battery (just in case, batteries die at the worst times…).
Lunch Break
After the first 9 holes, there is a mandatory lunch break. After clearing shoe soles of dirt and debris as well as the basic cleaning with a wet and dry cloth, feel free to head to the dining room. Inside, groups will be seated by a waiter or waitress with water soon on the way.
The menu isn’t as extensive as high-end restaurants because they are serving a smaller market, but the menu at Royal Century GC was more than enough to satisfy anyone. With foods ranging from hot to cold and vegetable-heavy to meat-heavy foods, they have enough choices to give fuel for the next 9 holes.
Photo: Pork-kimchi meal set served in the dining area at Royal Century Golf Club.
The service was excellent, and the time from food orders to being served on the table was surprisingly fast. This, matched with their ample lunch break schedule of about 45 minutes, meant there is a lot of time to eat, drink, and talk amongst the group. Upon returning to the cart, the complimentary tea will be refilled and any used cups taken and replaced with clean cups in a plastic sleeve.
Now it’s time for the next 9 holes.
Post-Round
After the round, upon returning the cart to the clubhouse, check and claim belongings and also check that all golf clubs are accounted for and not forgotten somewhere on the course. After checking, players may return to the clubhouse for a post-round onsen bath.
The bath is free, and towels are free to use but not take home. Many people will bring a change of clothes, but wearing the same clothes, it is OK too. Here players may use the onsen just as though it were a regular onsen. Be courteous and clean when using the onsen bath.
Overall Experience
The Royal Century Golf Club is a step above other places but also falls behind in others. The service is great, amenities are fantastic, and the course layout and design are great. But poor maintenance over the years in places like the tee grounds and greens leave some of the most important areas left to be desired. The core experience is the course itself, and sometimes it left a bad taste in my mouth from lack of grass on some tee boxes and dead spots located on some greens with plug holes surrounding some greens so as to rehabilitate the green.
But overall, I was pleasantly surprised and had an overall great experience. Don’t forget to bring a rangefinder and also a nice set of clothes to wear to the course! With the right friends, any of the shortcomings will be soon forgotten.
Photo: Cart Path leading to Hole 10 at Royal Century Golf Club.
