Three Lakes at Three Lakes Country Club

Three Lakes Country Club sits in Inabe, a city in northern Mie Prefecture near the border with Gifu. The course was designed by Peter Thomson, the five-time Open Championship winner who became one of Australia's most prolific golf course architects in Asia during the latter decades of the twentieth century. Thomson's design philosophy typically emphasized strategic routing that worked with natural landforms rather than imposing heavily manufactured features, an approach he refined across dozens of projects in Japan, where he became particularly active from the 1970s onward.

The Inabe area occupies gently rolling terrain between the Yoro Mountains to the west and the Nobi Plain to the east, a transitional landscape that provides natural movement for golf holes without severe elevation changes. Thomson's work in Japan often featured thoughtful bunkering, strategic green complexes, and routing that encouraged players to consider angles and positioning rather than relying solely on distance. Courses bearing his name in the region tend to balance playability for members with enough challenge to reward careful course management.

Three Lakes serves a membership drawn from both Mie Prefecture and neighboring areas, including parts of Nagoya's extended metropolitan region. The club operates within the traditional Japanese country club model, where golf is complemented by clubhouse amenities and dining that reflect regional hospitality. Thomson's legacy in Japanese golf architecture remains significant, with his designs representing a bridge between classic strategic principles and the specific demands of the Japanese golf market during its expansion era.