Rolling fairways and bunkers with bite

Oita Sunny Hill Golf Club lies in Hasama, in the city of Yufu, between Oita city and the hot-spring town of Yufuin. Opened in 1975 and designed by Robert Murashima, it is an 18-hole, par-72 course stretching to 6,916 yards from the back tees and now run by Accordia Golf. The whole layout has a gentle, rolling swell to it, and it uses the natural terrain to create a strategic test: the course plays long, and well-placed side and cross bunkers demand both distance and accuracy.

Long, strategic and quietly demanding, in the hills between Oita and Yufuin.

Riding carts with GPS navigation make it an easy self-play round, and rental clubs are available for travelers. The location is ideal for a golf-and-onsen trip: about 25 minutes from Oita city and around 30 minutes from the Yufuin interchange, so you can tee off in the morning and spend the evening in Yufuin, with its galleries, cafés and views of Mt. Yufu, or in Beppu, Japan's most famous hot-spring town. Autumn brings crisp, clear days in the hills, a fine time to combine golf with the region's onsen and local food.