# PGM Ishioka Golf Club > Japan Golf Tour Golf course in Ibaraki. Book through Play Golf Tokyo: https://www.play-golf-tokyo.com/courses/pgm-ishioka-golf-club ## Facts - **Region:** Ibaraki - **Address:** 1050-1 Seraku, Omitama-shi Ibaraki 311-3401 - **Access:** ~75 min by car from tokyo station - **Type:** parkland - **Holes / par:** 18 / 72 - **Course rating:** 73.4 - **Length:** C-7,071, B-6,569, R-6,081, F-5,524, L-4,888 yards - **Designer:** Jack Nicklaus - **Established:** 1994 - **Official website:** https://www.pacificgolf.co.jp/ishioka/ - **Tags:** Ibaraki, 18 Holes, Parkland, Flat Course, Water Hazards, Championship Course, Japan Golf Tour, Jack Nicklaus Design, Near Tokyo, Caddie Available, Self-Play Carts, PGM Group ## Good to know - **Tees:** Black 7,071 · Blue 6,569 · White 6,081 · Gold 5,524 · Red 4,958 yards - **Carts:** Riding carts with cart navigation - **Caddie:** Optional (caddie or self-play) - **Greens:** Bent, one green per hole - **Dress Code:** Jacket on arrival except May–October; collared shirts, no jeans, T-shirts or sandals - **Restaurant:** Overlooks the first and last holes; Ishioka gozen set, black-pepper pork - **Tournaments:** Acom International (8 consecutive years); Honma Tour World Cup (2015, 2016) - **Practice Range:** 330-yard driving range, putting green and approach area ## About the course Jack Nicklaus spent ten years building PGM Ishioka, and when it was finished he said it was the best golf course he knew of in Japan. That is a considerable claim from a man who has built courses on every continent, and the layout at Omitama backs it up in a way that is not immediately obvious from the first tee. The land is almost perfectly flat, with a maximum elevation change across the whole property of about four metres, and Nicklaus made a virtue of that constraint rather than fighting it. Every green is visible from every tee, which is unusual in Japan and reflects a deliberate philosophy: the player is given all the information and then asked to do something difficult with it. There are no blind shots, no hidden trouble, nothing that punishes a first-time visitor for not knowing the course. What punishes you is the decision-making. The hazards do the work that terrain does elsewhere. Ponds, deep bunkering and the native bush that gives the course its signature character are placed so that the aggressive line and the safe line are genuinely different propositions on almost every hole, and the widely repeated verdict is that a round here requires all fourteen clubs. Wind matters more than it would on a course with hills to break it up, and reading the direction and strength correctly is a large part of scoring well. Five sets of tees stretch the course from 4,888 yards to 7,071, which means the same holes present very different questions to a scratch player and a senior, and the course rating of 73.4 from the back reflects a serious test at full length. Fairway cart access runs year round, conditions permitting, which is a rarity at courses of this standing. ### Ten years in the building on ground with four metres of fall, _where every green is visible from every tee and the difficulty is entirely a matter of choice_ #### A tournament pedigree under two names The course hosted the Acom International on the men's tour for eight consecutive years, a run that established its reputation as one of the sternest tests in the Kanto region. It returned to national attention in 2015 and 2016 as the venue for the HONMA TOURWORLD CUP AT TROPHIA GOLF, named for the premium brand under which the course was then operated. Lee Kyoung-hoon took the inaugural title in 2015; Yuta Ikeda won the following year in a playoff against Song Young-han, a victory that formed part of the season in which he topped the Japan Golf Tour money list. The event moved to Aichi in 2017, but the two Ishioka editions remain the course's most recent moment on the international stage. #### What to expect on the day Bring the ability to shape the ball both ways. The most frequently cited example is a tee shot where a pond sits in the eye line and bunkers run down the right, calling for a fade from the left side, while the return leg of the hole asks for the opposite. This is the pattern throughout: Nicklaus rarely lets a player settle into one preferred shape for long. The practice range is generous by Japanese standards at 18 bays and 330 yards, deep enough to hit driver properly before the round, which on a course this demanding off the tee is worth arriving early for. #### Access and practicalities PGM Ishioka sits in Omitama in central Ibaraki, reached from the Chiyoda-Ishioka interchange on the Joban Expressway, putting it comfortably within a couple of hours of central Tokyo and convenient for anyone combining a round with Tsukuba or the Ibaraki coast. Note that there is a separate Ishioka West Country Club in Kasama, a different club entirely with no connection to this one, so confirm which course a booking refers to. The course is operated by Pacific Golf Management. ## Play here - **Request a tee time:** https://www.play-golf-tokyo.com/courses/pgm-ishioka-golf-club#request (or with an AI assistant through the Play Golf Tokyo MCP server: https://mcp.play-golf-tokyo.com/mcp). Send preferred dates, time of day, format and players; our team books with the club in Japanese and emails the confirmation. - **Open rounds to join:** https://www.play-golf-tokyo.com/community - Green fees are paid at the club on the day.