GOLF: Yuda Kogen CC
Written on September 13th, 2024 by Eliot Cochrane
IWATE: Yuda Kogen Country Club
岩手: 湯田高原カントリークラブ
The Course Just Trying to Survive
Nature is a source of awe and beauty and acts as a natural compass for us. We all know the benefits of walking and hiking and as golfers, we can appreciate a nice walk in the woods. It is integral and almost a tradition in our sport. This natural instinct that brings a calming effect to us is possibly why we come back again and again to the golf course.
Nature can be beautiful, and nature can be deadly. Natural disasters are common after natural hazards around the world. Common to North America are tornados, wildfires, floods, and droughts. During these times, countless lives are lost and millions to billions of dollars are lost in the event. For Japan, typhoons, landslides, and blizzards are some hazards that happen and make news. But the biggest natural hazards that have left indelible marks on Japan are earthquakes and tsunamis.
Photo: View of clubhouse from Hole 18 at Yuda Kogen CC.
History Time
Yuda Kogen Country Club was opened on July 17th, 1994 and was a shining beacon to the local area. Hoping to bring more tourism and money to the area, the 18-hole course was designed to be built during the end of the Japanese Economic Bubble of the 1980s into the 1990s. During this time, the Japanese economy had prices for real estate and stock markets going out of control. Assets were greatly inflated in value and people had their salaries double or triple year over year. This leads to the regular person having a more expandable income.
Photo: Two Japanese businessmen looking at stock market data in the 1980’s.
This is when leisure sports started to boom in Japan. Golf of course took center stage around Japan, many courses were built to capitalize upon it, including Yuda Kogen Country Club. Built in the mountains of, at the time, Yuda, it was a beautiful course that had a large and beautiful clubhouse that overlooked the trees leading up to the mountains on all sides.
Club Setbacks
Upon completion of the Yuda Kogen Country Club, the membership fee was about 700,000円, roughly about $7,000, so it was a great spot for those who had money to burn, and the area was filled with places to stay for those who came from far away. But Yuda Kogen CC was opened during the downturn of the Japanese Economic Bubble. Membership was low, and the income model had to be altered. The membership fee stayed the same, but visitors were free to arrange a tee time at a one-time exorbitant price. Even this was not enough as year after year things were cut back. These financial setbacks kept pushing Yuda further and further back.
Then came 2011…
Photo: Tsunami reaches Miyako City during the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Source: Mainichi Shinbun
The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake happened on March 11th, 2011. The devastation of the golf course resulted in its sale to the current owner. A magnitude 9.0 earthquake was recorded in the Pacific Ocean. The earthquake caused a massive tsunami that the world saw on TV. Large waves crashed into towns, cities, and lives and then retreated out to sea with all it destroyed along with it. The coastline was devastated, livelihoods were crushed, and lives were taken. Even inland the damage was severe. Many places were without electricity for days or weeks, all while snow was still snowing in some areas.
Photo: Current condition of the old clubhouse. The current Yuda Kogen Country Club clubhouse is on the far right.
The earthquake shook the building so much that the main clubhouse became unusable. Cracks in the foundation and structural pillars meant it needed to be rebuilt from the ground up. The owners had to sell to the current owners and the former caddy shack was reconstructed to serve as the clubhouse. The remains of the original clubhouse remain as the club still uses the first floor of the lobby and entrance to store a portion of the golf carts during strong weather.
Clubhouse
The current clubhouse used to be the caddy shack. Now it has been turned into the clubhouse and is easy to navigate. The first floor has the reception, dining area, and bathroom. On the second floor are locker rooms separated by gender. It is small but functional to check in and get started.
Pre-Round
Practice Greens
There are two practice greens on the golf course. The first is located behind the old clubhouse next to the tee ground on #1 and is a slope to flat green on one side. The other is located behind the current clubhouse right above the tee on #10 and is a sloping green but mimicking a two-tier green.
Photo: Practice green next to the old clubhouse leading to Hole #1.
Setting up expectations for the rest of the course, the practice greens are not in the best condition. The putting green next to the Hole #1 tee ground is nearly all dead. Whether from the sun, lack of water, or water shedding, the green is nearly all gone. The practice green above Hole #10 is mostly intact with a few patches around the edges that are dead.
On the other hand, the practice green leading to Hole #10 is largely in good condition. The only dead spots being a few on the lower part of the two-tier green towards the fringe.
Photo: Practice green beside the new clubhouse leading to Hole #10.
Don’t expect too much.
The Course
Course Statistics |
Tee Grounds
Tee grounds are a little bumpy all over the course. There are a few areas where there is no grass and instead lies a turf mat to help keep dirt and new seed in place. For the most part though, any situation other than a par 3 will be no problem.
Photo: Tee ground on Hole #8 (Par 3) at Yuda Jogen CC.
Former competition tees have been demolished and are to be used to clean up the back and regular tees. Before this there were some waves within most tee boxes due to heavy rains and earthquakes just generally moving the earth. Tee boxes have a great placement to not feel at a disadvantage. Even the front tees are appropriately placed giving the course a rounded feel regardless of which tee you play from.
Fairways
This is where it starts to become a hit-or-miss scenario. There are a few fairways, especially the higher elevated fairways, that are nice and firm and are usually open for carts to drive on. Other fairways are perpetually pooling water and killing grass in areas. And lastly, there are the areas where it’s a pick of the draw to see if you will land in mud or on a firm fairway.
Photo: Hole 17 (Par 5) at Yuda Kogen CC.
As for the shaping of complexity, they have been tamed back over the years. Former bunkers are now just rounded-out banks and various trees have been greatly trimmed back or removed. Most of the holes have a slight bowl shape to help the ball stay in the fairway, but a severely offline ball will not return to the fairway but instead stay in the rough.
Rough
The rough is also hit or miss depending on the moisture content of the ground beneath it. The more dry spots have quite surprisingly low-cut rough, almost perfect for an amateur because it feels like teeing the ball up again. This is pretty common in Japan and is always a little mind-boggling to not feel like a slight penalty but as an amateur, I appreciate it very much.
Photo: Rough and fairway of Hole #13 at Yuda Kogen CC.
Then you have the swamps that the club doesn’t want to ruin by running the machines over. These are where the water run-off is pretty poor and pools up. With the club not wanting to ruin the ground beneath it, the grass gets to the length of a grip at times.
Bunkers
Bunkers do not get enough love from the grounds crew at many golf courses. Yuda Kogen CC takes it to a whole new level. This year they recently put in new sand, but it is filled with rocks and pebbles. I’m sure that most golfers know the horror of hitting a rock between your club and the golf ball.
Photo: Greenside bunker on Hole 10 at Yuda Kogen CC.
In addition to the poor homogeneity, the bunkers are also not spread easily. Of course, rainstorm after rainstorm, the sand will eventually travel to the lowest point within the bunker, but in most of the bunkers, the center was 8〜10cm deep of nice sand while anything towards the edges has 2〜4cm with a majority of rocks scattered towards the outside.
It’s not uncommon for some casual players to just take their ball out of the bunker and place it behind the bunker along the same theoretical straight line to the pin. Of course, within their own group rules.
Greens
The greens are a real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde parallel. Within the original story by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll discovers a way to split his personality between bad and good. Yuda Kogen CC almost has a similar feeling with their greens.
Photo: Green on Hole 10 at Yuda Kogen CC.
Somehow they managed to make their green on the OUT course almost nearly dead. While the IN course is nearly all vibrant and only minor damage on the fringes. It is frustrating but for the price and the known financial problems the course has had, it can’t be helped that those are the conditions of the greens.
Marking
The marking was pretty standard with yardage markers with clear banding that are measured to the green center. The tee markers were also easy to see as most tee grounds were approached directly from the back on the cart path. As well as additional yardages to hazards on the course were also displayed such as an additional sign stating 150 yards to the water hazard in front of the green. Signs like these were helpful in club assessment when the rangefinder was in the cart.
Lunch Break
The dining area is in the pre-fab building where the reception is. Before entering the dining area, there is an automated machine similar to a vending machine with all the choices for lunch. There are 10 different options to choose from that range from ramen, curry, and meal sets to appetizers for those who like a light lunch.
In addition, the course also has special days when lunch is included in the price and there is a set menu to choose from. These are often publicized on their website and also for events that include multiple carts to be reserved.
Post-Round
Unfortunately, there is nothing special post round at Yuda Kogen CC. While most places in Japan have a nice place to get changed at take a bath, Yuda Kogen CC only has locker rooms for changing but often those go unused as many people opt to go to a local onsen in the area.
The local onsens in the Yuda area of Nishiwaga are quite spectacular. There are quite a few to choose from but some of the extraordinary ones are listed below.
Sunayukko (砂ゆっこ)
*Photo: Entrance of Sunayukko Source: Google Maps
This is not the typical bath experience. Here, visitors will change into a yukata and then proceed into a much larger room that is filled with hot sand. Here the staff will have visitors lay down face-up with a towel to act as a pillow. From there the staff cover the visitors in hot sand. The pressure of the sand is similar to that of a weighted blanket and the heat from the sand makes the sweating never stop.
After a prescribed time by the staff, they will ask you to sit up and move into the next room which is a typical onsen to remove the sand and also clean yourself like a normal bath.
Photo: Old photo of customers in the sand bath at Sunayukko. Photo: Nishiwaga.biz
As with all onsens, the onsen touts that the hot sand bath is good for feeling lighter and improving blood circulation.
Hot Yuda Onsen (ほっとゆだ)
Photo: Entrance to the Hotto Yuda Onsen (left) and the train station (right).
This is a smaller bath that has been renovated within the last 5 years. It is quite famous for being one of the last remaining onsens that is attached to a train station. Many years ago this was much more common as the station was a meeting and waiting point.
Photo: The three baths at Hotto Yuda Onsen ranging from hot (left), regular (middle), warm (right).
The Hot Yuda onsen is a nice little small place that has no frills. There are no outdoor baths and the water is typically hotter than others in the area. Within the men’s, women’s, and family baths, there are three temperatures to choose from. Very hot, hot, and mild. The mild bath is also shallow, so it is great for lying down.
Overall Experience
The area of Nishiwaga provides a great backdrop all year round. The mountains perfectly frame the holes to offer spectacular views. But it’s hard to get around the fact that this course is slowly but surely dying. Each year the greens get worse and worse and there are no signs of maintenance work to repair the greens or drainage problems on many of the fairways.
Photo: View from tee ground of Hole #18 at Yuda Kogen CC.
If anything, this is a one-time course to visit. The course has been beat up and been through the wringer. Through financial hardships and then a powerful earthquake, it’s amazing that this course is still standing. Don’t come expecting the most beautiful greens, pristine fairways, and an immaculate clubhouse. This is one to visit before it possibly goes under in the future and possibly becomes a solar farm.
Positives
- No-frills golf
- Great green placement and shapes
- Reasonable price
Negatives
- Dead greens
- Poor tee ground green coverage
- Poor watershed management
- Nothing gives a premium feeling
