Subtropical forest and the blue of Nago Bay

Kanehide Kise Country Club sits in Kise on the west coast of northern Okinawa, about five minutes from the Kyoda interchange of the Okinawa Expressway. Opened in October 2001 and designed by Michio Izumi, it pairs two nines into an 18-hole, par-72 round that stretches to 7,177 yards from the championship tees, all on Seashore Paspalum turf. YAMBARU is the shadowy one, threading long doglegs through the Kise forest past valleys and a towering rock wall; UMIKAJI is open and expansive, looking straight out to the sea from its first tee, with ponds, rolling greens and a seventh hole that runs along Nago Bay.

One nine hides in the jungle, the other plays to the ocean breeze.

The wind is the constant companion here: the par-3 fifth on UMIKAJI, its green ringed by water near The Ritz-Carlton, Okinawa, rarely plays the same twice, and the downhill eighth is framed by subtropical plants with a stream and waterfall alongside. After the round, the Kise no Yu hot-spring bath and sauna are open even to non-golfing companions, the restaurant serves Okinawan dishes and deck-terrace barbecue, and golfers can stay right in the clubhouse lodge. The Busena and Nago resort coast is on the doorstep, making Kise an easy anchor for a beach-and-golf stay in northern Okinawa; drive up from Naha via the expressway rather than the often congested Route 58.