Played at Tri Lake Golf Club in Kashima City, Ibaraki Prefecture. It is a par 3 course. It was January, and the weather was nice and not cold.
There is also a driving range called Golf Plaza Junikami on the south side of the road. The building where the reception of the par 3 course is located is different from the driving range. The parking lot is only available on the side of the driving range. If you drive from the Junikami intersection, you are supposed to park your car on the left side of the road. I put on my golf shoes, picked up the necessary clubs (five clubs for this time), and I headed to the reception in the white building on the north side of the road.
There was a space and golf bag storage area in the building where you could leave our golf bag. You could take your golf bag with you, confirm the clubs you needed, pull them out, and play. You could play golf, carrying your own golf bag.
The weekday fee is 1,100 yen including tax for 9 holes. The website says it costs 1,320 yen, but 220 yen seems to be the rental fee for a small and lightweight golf bag that can hold several clubs.
The fee on Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays is 2,200 yen for 9 holes, and the rental fee for a small and lightweight golf bag is also 220 yen.
This time, I didn’t use a rental golf bag because I carried five clubs in my hands: a 9-iron, three wedges, and a putter.
The course yardage is as shown in the scorecard below. Although it is a 9-hole course, the teeing area and green positions are changed for each hole to create slight differences in distance and layout, resulting in 18 holes (9 holes x 2). The green fork shown in the photo was given to me along with the scorecard when I paid in advance. It’s a simple silver color with no markings.
This time, I decided to try the blue course on the left side of the scorecard. The longest hole is No. 6 at 193 yards, and the shortest is No. 9 with an island green over a pond at 88 yards. My distance is 115-120 yards with a 9-iron, but six of the nine holes are longer than that. Although I could not hit one-on in those 6 holes, it’s actually good because you can practice your approach.
The layout of the course may be easier to understand from the photos on Google Maps.
1st hole: Bottom right. Tee shot diagonally up to the left towards the northwest
2nd hole: The hole you can see at the top of the pond. Go from right to left.
3rd hole: Just left of the pond
4th hole: This hole is located to the lower left of the pond. Tee shot toward the southwest (diagonally down to the left)
5th hole: Bottom left course facing west (left)
6th hole: Head northeast (up diagonally to the right) toward the pond.
7th hole: Left side of the pond (Left of the 3rd hole). Head north (directly above).
8th hole: Tee off from almost the same spot as the 3rd hole (the 3rd and 8th holes intersect around the teeing area) and aim for the green that is directly upper side of the pond on the map. (there is a pond on the right side of the green, not going over the pond)
9th hole: For the blue course, aim for the island green that juts into the pond. For the white course, aim for the green behind the island green.
The golf course is quite good. Green maintenance is also good. The greens were very soft this day and relatively slow. On all holes, tee shots can be hit on grass, not artificial turf mats. Considering the fee, I think it’s a pretty good par 3 course. I envy the locals who can come here easily. I would like to play again if I have a chance.
1st hole
2nd hole. There is a valley or bush or OB zone between the teeing area and the green.
Green of the 2nd hold
3rd hole. The teeing area is complicated with the 8th hole, so be sure to hit in the right direction. For the 3rd hole, hit to the right side of the pond. (For the 8th hole, tee off to the left side of the pond)
4th hole
5th hole. Here too, there is a valley or bush or OB zone between the teeing area and the green. The photo is for the White Course. The teeing area of the Blue Course is not in the picture and is on the left side of the picture, and the green for the Blue Corse is on the far right.
6th hole. The longest and 193 yards. It is quite downhill.
6th green. I hit the second shot with a SW from about 60 yards to go. It is hard to see in the photo, but the ball dug into the green a little and stopped with no run at all. The green was so soft that day.
6th green
7th hole
8th hole. A photo taken from the green towards the teeing area.
9th hole. Aim for the floating island green. The actual measurement on this day was 82 yards with my laser rangefinder.
From the side of the 9th green.
I got one on. 4-5 yards in front. Pretty nice shot for me.
The green with the white flag on the left is the White Course green.
Regarding the name Tri Lake, is it Tri Lake or Try Lake? Looking at the Google map above, there appear to be three light blue areas on the premises, so I think it is Tri Lake. However, only one large pond is actually connected to the course.
