Business Traveller (Asia-Pacific)
LAKEWOOD GOLF CLUB
WHERE 75km southwest of Tokyo (72 minutes by train with 15 minutes by bus).
WHY With its 50th birthday approaching in 2019, Lakewood is one of the most popular golf day trips from Tokyo. Visitors love the course, the facilities, meals in the clubhouses and the dramatic setting between Mount Fuji and Mount Hakone. In spring on the West Course – the more challenging of the two – the opening tee shot onto a fairway lined with cherry blossoms is nothing short of dazzling. The course rewards intelligence over power, with changes in elevation and abundant water features; the most dramatic is the four-tier waterfall at the signature 4th. The East is marginally more spectacular. The 1st sets the tone with a lake to the left and bunkering on both sides of a relatively generous fairway, followed by a blind dogleg approach shot. The course asks tactical questions as it meanders through the forest, culminating in a nail-biting risk-reward decision over water to a three-tiered green at the par 5 18th.
PRICE Weekdays ¥25,150 (US$237), Saturday ¥40,150 (US$378), Sunday/ holidays ¥37,150 (US$350); green fees include caddie and buggy.
HOURS 7am to sunset.
MAX HANDICAP 36, certificate not required. FACILITIES West Course: 18 holes, 6,554 yards par 72. East Course: 18 holes, 6,524 yards par 72. 19-stall covered driving range (7am-10.45am), practice bunker, bent grass putting greens.
FOOD AND LEISURE The main West clubhouse has guest locker rooms with onsen and massage chairs. Breakfast/lunch is served in the Cafe, while Dinac, on the second floor, offers an international menu. Kohantei, the clubhouse for the East course, serves seasonal food at its restaurants. CONTACT 169 Kuroiwa, Oiso, Naka, Kanagawa 259-0105, +81 4 637 2115, lake-wood.co.jp.