Yamejoyo: hill golf in the heart of tea country

Yamejoyo Golf Club sits in the green hills of Joyo in Yame, southern Fukuoka Prefecture, a quiet corner of Kyushu best known for its prized green tea. Opened in 1992, the 18-hole, par-72 layout is spread across some 1.3 million square metres of rolling hillside, and the club describes it as a varied course with real strategy hidden in each of its holes. Riding carts carry you between the ups and downs, and the routing rewards players who think their way around rather than simply swinging hard.

The Minō mountains rise to the northwest, and on a clear day Mt. Unzen floats on the southern horizon.

Much of the pleasure here is the scenery: the Minō range to one side, the broad Chikugo Plain below and, in good weather, the distant volcanic outline of Unzen across the Ariake Sea. It is an unhurried round, well suited to golfers who want to see a rural side of Kyushu. Make a day of it by visiting the tea fields and tasting rooms around Yame, or browsing the town's traditional crafts such as lanterns and washi paper. The club is reached by car; Fukuoka Airport and central Fukuoka are the natural starting points, and the official site takes tee-time bookings online around the clock.