Hirono Golf Club was founded in 1932 and an Englishman called Charles Alison, who was responsible for the design of many of Japan’s great courses, laid it out. This intensely private Japanese members club is located about fifteen miles northwest of the city of Kobe, which is Japan’s most important seaport. Sadly, Kobe hit the news headlines in 1995 for the wrong reasons after an earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, devastated the area of Hyogo killing more than 5,000 people.

Natural disasters tend to place golf clubs and courses into perspective but Hirono is the most important golf course in Japan and it’s the yardstick for which all other golf courses across the whole of Asia are measured. Charles Alison and Harry Colt fashioned some of Britain’s greatest golf courses and Alison used all of his knowledge and design skill to create the magical Hirono, which would not look out of place along England’s Surrey/Berkshire sand belt.