Yomiuri Country Club - West Course

Yomiuri Country Club's West Course sits in the hills above Nishinomiya in Hyogo Prefecture, part of the greater Osaka-Kobe metropolitan corridor. The course was designed through a collaborative effort by Osamu Ueda, Nagato Yoichi, and Norio Suzuki, reflecting the Japanese approach of combining multiple design perspectives on a single project. The routing takes advantage of the natural hillside terrain characteristic of courses in this region, where elevation changes and mountain backdrops shape the playing experience. The West Course is one of multiple layouts at Yomiuri Country Club, which follows the common Japanese model of large multi-course facilities serving urban membership bases. The design works within the topographical constraints of the site, incorporating slopes and valleys that require strategic club selection and course management. The layout reflects mid-to-late twentieth-century Japanese course architecture, balancing playability for members with enough challenge to test accomplished players. Yomiuri Country Club operates within the traditional Japanese private club structure, where corporate memberships and established social networks form the membership base. The club provides the full range of amenities expected at Japanese country clubs, including extensive practice facilities and clubhouse dining. The West Course serves as one component of a larger golfing complex designed to accommodate high rounds-per-year utilization typical of courses serving Japan's densely populated urban regions.