Royal Ship Sapporo Golf Club

Overview: Royal Ship offers a public 18-hole round at par 72 in Ishikari, roughly 30 minutes from Sapporo by road. It measures 6,337 yards and is set across gently rolling terrain, with a single bentgrass green and a clear resort-adjacent Hokkaido feel. Tobishima Construction is credited with the design and Craig Stadler with supervision. The official hole guide shows a course that mixes downhill openings, ponds, two-tier greens and strategically placed out-of-bounds, making accuracy more useful than a purely aggressive plan.

History: The course opened on June 16, 1995 and continues to operate as a seasonal public facility, closing during the Hokkaido winter. The official site published a 2026 opening notice and current competition schedule, confirming that the course remains active rather than merely listed in older directories. Its visitor-friendly operating model is central to its value for golfers based in Sapporo.

Did You Know? The official card gives the 7th a large pond that can distort distance perception and describes the 14th as a two-tier short hole. The 18th finishes with a pond and beach bunker about 70 yards from the green. Those features create a useful rhythm: the course is accessible, but its best scoring chances depend on getting the exact landing side and approach distance right.