Seiichi Inoue

Regarded as a master of golf design in Japan, Seiichi Inoue was a prolific course architect who also introduced the two-green system to many courses and regions within Japan. Inoue's philosophy was that you should be using every club in your bag and understand every type of shot that might be required. 

Kasumigaseki West was Inoue's first project as a designer in 1932. He followed up Kasumigaseki with courses in Kanagawa, Tochigi, and Ibaraki. Eight of Inoue's first ten courses were in the Kanto area and included Nasu, Hitachi, and the beautiful Oarai Golf Clubs. 

Inoue's first post-war course was the Awase Meadows Golf Club in Okinawa in 1948 and while he continued to create masterpieces in the Kanto Region, he also started to make his mark in the west of Japan. The 1950s and '60s saw him reach his peak as a designer, completing 26 courses in those two decades.  

Seiichi Inoue was heavily influenced by British architect C.H. Alison who was known for making full use of nature and Inoue kept faith with this philosophy. The idea was not to disrupt nature for the sake of creating a nice golf course but to keep the beauty of nature for the sake of a nice golf course. If Inoue couldn't make a course according to his principles, he'd turn down the job. 

Image(s) published courtesy of Top 100 Golf Courses.com

Website: https://www.golf-in-japan.com/news-events/culture/design-king-seiichi-inoue