Three nines in the hills of southern Boso

Nanso Hills Country Club, which opened in May 1977 as Angel Country Club, lies in Futtsu on the Boso Peninsula in southern Chiba and is now run by PGM. Designed by Yaji Akaboshi, it has 27 holes, par 108, split into East, Central and West nines. The terrain rolls, but the fairways are wide and the layout is enjoyable: the East nine is shorter, with birdie chances and the odd risk of a big number, the Central nine is longer and tougher, and the West blends a bit of both.

A relaxed self-play round, with a lodge for the night after.

Golf here is self-play in riding carts on bent greens. The club also has its own lodge with 17 rooms, so you can make a two-day golf trip of it without leaving the property. Getting there is part of the fun. The club bus meets trains at JR Kazusa-Minato Station on the Uchibo Line (reserve by noon the day before) and also runs from Kanaya Port, where the Tokyo Bay Ferry arrives from Kurihama on the Miura Peninsula. Drivers come in via the Tateyama Expressway's Tomitsu-Chuo interchange. Nearby, Mt. Nokogiri's cliff-carved Buddha and the fresh seafood of the Kanaya waterfront make an easy add-on.