Hokkaido Link Country Club

Overview: Hokkaido Link Country Club spreads across the gentle hills of Bibai, about 40 minutes from Sapporo according to current club material. The 18-hole par-72 course measures 6,819 yards from its back tees and uses a bentgrass putting surface. Its character comes from a mixture of open fairways, modest elevation change, water and pale sand, with natural contours left visible rather than flattened away. The official hole notes show how the routing changes its demands: the opening side includes a water-crossing par three and several holes where out of bounds sits close to the fairway, while the inward nine adds a long par five and more water decisions. It is a course where wind, angle and restraint matter as much as raw length.

History: Current club material credits Isamu Doi with the design. A current golf-travel listing gives an opening date of 1 September 1990, and the operator's site confirms the same Bibai address and an actively maintained 18-hole facility. That opening date is retained as a sourced course date, while no claim is made about earlier planning or construction. The course's presentation reflects an inland interpretation of links design, using the visual language of seaside golf on a rolling Hokkaido site.

Did You Know? The official scorecard makes the difference between the two nines easy to see: the outward nine is 3,442 yards from the back tees and the inward nine 3,354. Hole 11 is listed at 602 yards from the back tee, the longest on the card, while the 16th is a 202-yard par three with water in play. Those numbers explain why the course can feel strategic even when its broad setting looks forgiving.