Project Notes
Founded in 1930, when Shiro and Rokuro Akaboshi made full use of the contours between Teganuma Pond and the Tone River, Abiko flourished as a golf club until the onset of World War II, when fairways were turned over to farming. An air defense position was erected on the pa-3 13th hole. Not until several years after the war was the course rebuilt, though it was suitably refurbished in time to host the 1950 Japan Open Golf Championship, won by Yoshiro Hayashi. During the 1960s, a young Isao Aoki learned the game here.
In 2012, Brian Silva was retained to re-emphasize and underline this Golden Age pedigree. Every bunker and putting surface was rebuilt and recontoured. The American also guided the club’s delicate move away from the traditional dual-green arrangement. The results: Abiko Golf Club won GOLF Magazine’s Best International Renovation award in 2013. LINKS magazine ranked it the 7th best course in Japan in 2022. The year before, Golfweek listed it among the top 10 designs in all of Asia. [Many thanks to the club and photographer Taku Miyamoto for these images.]
