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Most golf courses in Japan are defined by trees. Tight, forested fairways that funnel your ball into a narrow corridor, with rough and woodland waiting on both sides to punish anything offline.
Shin-Kimitsu Belgreen Country Club is something different. Step onto the first tee and you’ll feel it immediately — the openness, the sky, the wind. This is links-style golf: a design philosophy born on the coastal heathland of Scotland, transplanted to the hills of Chiba Prefecture.
What Is a Links Course?
The original links courses were built on the sandy, wind-swept land along Scotland’s coastline — courses like St Andrews, Carnoustie, and Royal Troon. The terrain dictated the design: open fairways with few trees, undulating ground, constant wind, and a premium on ground game and creative shot-making.
A true links course rewards players who can use the ground — running the ball along the turf, shaping shots with the wind, reading the bounce and roll rather than purely flying the ball to the pin. It’s a different kind of thinking, and for golfers who’ve only played tree-lined parkland courses, it opens up a new dimension of the game.
Shin-Kimitsu captures that spirit. The open layout, the exposure to the elements, and the feel of the course set it apart from virtually everything else in the greater Tokyo area.
The Course: Think, Shape, Adapt
Links-style golf demands more from your course management than your swing. Wind direction, pin position, and the slope of the fairway matter as much as club selection. You’ll find yourself playing shots you don’t normally hit — bump-and-runs, low draws into the wind, deliberate fades to use the slope.
That variety is exactly what makes Shin-Kimitsu interesting. Golfers who are used to the same approach shot over and over will find the links challenge refreshing. Every hole invites a slightly different solution.
The openness also means the course plays differently depending on the conditions. A calm day and a windy day at Shin-Kimitsu are almost two different courses. Come back in different seasons and you’ll understand why links golfers are so attached to their home tracks.
The Practice Facility: One of the Best in the Region
Shin-Kimitsu’s practice range is exceptional — and worth mentioning upfront, because it genuinely stands out.
The facility is large, well-maintained, and properly equipped. Whether you want to warm up before your round, work on your long game, or spend time after 18 holes dialing in something that wasn’t working, the range gives you the space and quality to do it properly.
For visiting golfers who’ve been traveling and want to shake off some rust before teeing off, having a serious practice facility available makes a real difference to how the round begins.
The Staff: Genuinely Warm
This is worth saying directly: the course management team at Shin-Kimitsu are exceptionally welcoming.
Japanese golf clubs are generally well-run and courteous, but Shin-Kimitsu goes further. The staff are warm in a way that feels personal rather than procedural — the kind of welcome that makes first-time visitors feel like regulars. For international golfers navigating a Japanese club for the first time, that warmth makes the whole experience easier and more enjoyable.
The Bottom Line
| Best for | Golfers wanting something different, links enthusiasts, all levels |
| Style | Links — open, wind-exposed, ground-game friendly |
| Unique factor | Rare links-style design in the Tokyo area |
| Practice facility | Excellent — one of the best in the region |
| Staff | Exceptionally welcoming |
| Location | Kimitsu, Chiba — accessible from Tokyo |
If you’ve played every tree-lined course in Chiba and want something that challenges you differently, Shin-Kimitsu Belgreen Country Club is the answer. Links-style golf in Japan is rare. A links course with a great practice range and genuinely warm staff is rarer still.
Come prepared for the wind. Come ready to think. Come back for the range.
Combining golf with a wider Japan trip? MagicalTrip offers English-guided local experiences across Japan — food, culture, and hidden gems led by people who actually live there.
🌐 Booking in English? This course can be reserved via BaiGolf — Rakuten GORA’s official English-language partner for international golfers in Japan.