South at Oakmont Golf Club

Oakmont Golf Club's South Course sits in Yamabe, in the mountainous Nara Prefecture of Japan's Kansai region. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, the course reflects his characteristic approach to strategic design, with an emphasis on risk-reward decision-making and demanding shot values. The terrain in this part of Nara provides natural elevation changes and wooded corridors that shape the routing and frame individual holes.

Nicklaus designed several courses in Japan during the peak of golf development in the country, and his work there typically incorporates American design principles adapted to Japanese topography and climate. The South Course at Oakmont Golf Club features the large, contoured greens and strategic bunkering common to Nicklaus layouts, asking players to consider angles of approach and green complexes that reward precision. The setting among the hills and forests of Nara offers a secluded atmosphere distinct from urban golf environments.

The course serves a membership that reflects the tradition of private club golf in Japan, where attention to course conditioning and hospitality are priorities. While not widely known on international rankings, the South Course represents the presence of prominent American design in Japan's golf landscape during an era of significant course construction.