A Pete Dye canvas in the hills of Kani

Tucked into the wooded hills of Kukuri in Kani, southern Gifu, Kogaya Cherry Creek Country Club opened on 25 May 1993 to a design by Pete Dye and his son Perry Dye. The 18-hole, par-72 layout stretches to 6,631 yards and wears the Dye signatures well: broad bunkers, railroad-tie bunkering, sculpted mounds and large, rolling bentgrass greens. Now operated by Accordia Golf (it was known as Kogaya OGM Cherry Creek until 2019), it is a course built for hospitality — keep the ball on the fairway and real trouble is rare, so it suits mixed groups and less experienced players as well as low handicappers.

Dye drama on the eye, but a gentle welcome on the scorecard.

GPS carts, a 200-yard practice range with short-game areas, rental clubs and a bath make it an easy day out. The course is around 6 km from Kani-Mitake IC on the Tokai-Kanjo Expressway and roughly half an hour from JR Tajimi Station, putting it within comfortable reach of Nagoya. Tajimi is famous for its Mino-ware pottery, and the castle town of Inuyama and the cormorant fishing on the Kiso and Nagara rivers are close enough to turn the round into a weekend in the heart of Japan.