C.H. Alison's pre-war work in Japan — Hirono, Naruo, Kawana — sits in a small group of golf design that ages without effort. The current generation of Japanese architects, led by names like Shunsuke Kato and Yasuhiro Iwakura, are not trying to outdo it. They are studying it.
The shift is most visible in routings completed since 2018: less earth moved, more emphasis on existing contour, and a return to bunker shapes that look like they belong in the landscape rather than dropped onto it.
What it means for visitors
Two of the courses we book regularly — Karuizawa's newest nine and an unnamed Kyushu opening in 2027 — are early examples. If you want to see contemporary Japanese minimalism in person, those are the rounds to ask about.
