Hillside golf beneath the peaks of northern Miyazaki

Cherry Golf Kitakata Course sits on a calm hillside in Kitakata, on the inland edge of Nobeoka in northern Miyazaki Prefecture. Opened in October 1989, the 18-hole, par-72 layout stretches to just over 6,900 yards from the championship tees. Its gentle undulations play more level than the hilly site suggests, and every hole has two greens, Gokase and Ose, one bent and one Korai, so the course changes character depending on which set is in play. The club itself describes it as a serious course that asks for both boldness and finesse.

Two sets of greens mean two different rounds, with Mt. Hayahi watching over both.

Golfers look out toward Mt. Hayahi between shots, and the clubhouse has a restaurant, a lobby for relaxing and a large bath for afterwards. The course is a natural stop on a trip into the mountains of northern Kyushu: the gorge town of Takachiho, with its shrines and basalt cliffs, is around 40 minutes away by car, and Nobeoka city and its coast are close by. Drivers reach the course from Mai-no IC on the Kyushu Chuo Expressway. Without a car, a taxi from JR Nobeoka Station takes about 20 minutes, and Miyazaki city is roughly 70 minutes to the south.