Yokohama Country Club-West

Yokohama Country Club was founded in 1960 and over the following six years architect Takeo Aiyama designed and built both the East and West 18-hole layouts. The West course hosted the 1978 Japan Open, which was one of the first professional events won by Seve Ballesteros, and the 2018 edition of the same event was held on a composite course at the club.

The West underwent a major renovation in 2014/15 by Coore & Crenshaw, with design associate Toby Cobb acting as construction manager on the project. The upgrade involved reconstructing and raising the height of every tee and fairway, with additional spoil brought in by civil contractors from other construction projects in the local area. The old double greens on every hole were also replaced with single greens and sub air systems were installed to cool the bent grass putting surfaces during the summer.

Furthermore, the old par five 18th was converted into a new par four 8th and par three 9th and the former 13th and 14th were combined to form a new 4th hole. Holes 17 and 18 on the East were also renovated because they were used as the 1st and 2nd holes during the Japan Open, avoiding potential problems caused by spectators using a tunnel to access holes 2 and 3 on the West when the tournament was on.

An interesting little par three 19th was also built on the West during the renovation to allow players to settle bets when matches are still tied after a regulation round over the 18-hole layout. Of course, for those golfers who just want to get back to the clubhouse after finishing their game, it makes the walk back a little more fun if they choose to play this short hole on their way to the locker room.