What’s Union Ace Golf Club in Chichibu Like? Restaurant & Course Guide

This time I played a round at Union Ace Golf Club in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, so I’ll share a course and restaurant rundown of Union Ace Golf Club based on an actual round.

This article is written for anyone who’s “looking for a golf course close to Tokyo,” “wants to play golf without owning a car,” or “is curious what kind of course Union Ace Golf Club is.”

Free shuttle available from Seibu-Chichibu Station!

How to Get to Union Ace Golf Club

Union Ace Golf Club is located in Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture, with a strategic 18-hole layout spread across the foothills of the Chichibu mountain range. It also has its own hotel facility.

With the ups and downs typical of a mountain course and well-maintained greens, this is not an easy course to score well on.

Getting to Union Ace Golf Club breaks down into two patterns: by car, or by train plus the club shuttle bus.

By Car

Here’s the route if you’re driving from Shinjuku Station.

The fastest route takes about 2 hours, but if you take surface roads partway, it takes about 2 hours 30 minutes. Taking the highway the entire way ends up more expensive and actually takes you out of your way, so the surface-road route partway is the better choice.

If you live in western Tokyo or the Tama area, you’ll often find yourself taking surface roads the whole way without using the highway at all.

Whichever route you take, be careful: on weekday mornings around 8am, Chichibu’s city center sees commuter traffic, so plan with some buffer time.

By Train

Here’s the route if you’re coming by train from Shinjuku Station.

By train, head from Shinjuku Station to Ikebukuro Station, then from Ikebukuro take the Seibu Ikebukuro Line’s Laview limited express to the terminus, Seibu-Chichibu Station.

From Seibu-Chichibu Station, a free club shuttle bus takes about 25 minutes.

From Shinjuku Station to Seibu-Chichibu Station using an IC card on the limited express costs just ¥1,496, making this a great way to keep your transportation costs down!

Since there’s only one shuttle bus departure, at 8:20am, your train schedule is effectively locked in. Make sure to catch the 6:50am Chichibu No. 3 train from Ikebukuro — that guarantees you’ll make the connecting shuttle bus.

Note: The shuttle bus requires advance reservation! When booking by phone, be sure to tell them how many passengers will be riding.

Union Ace Golf Club’s Facilities

Now let’s go through the facilities at Union Ace Golf Club.

Clubhouse

The clubhouse has a white-and-base-toned entrance and includes an attached hotel.
If you take the shuttle bus, it drops off and picks up right in front of the entrance.

Reception

Walking into the clubhouse, you’ll see the reception desk right in front of you.
Even as a guest, you can simply line up at the counter and write your name to complete check-in right away.

In front of reception is a fairly spacious lounge area. It’s used for morning meetups, waiting for the return shuttle after your round, and award ceremonies after competitions.

Locker Room

Once you receive your locker key, head to the locker room. Women’s lockers are toward the back, men’s are near the front.

The men’s locker room is clean and tidy, with enough space between lockers that changing doesn’t feel cramped — you can take your time.

The lockers are quite wide, each holding 2 hangers and a pair of slippers, with extra space up top for shoes and other items.

Caddie Master Room

Step outside through the exit facing the course and you’ll immediately see the caddie master room.
If you want to warm up before your round, write your locker number, name, and the number of coins on the sign-up sheet at the caddie master room counter, then receive your coins (self-serve, 1 coin = 30 balls).

Driving Range

The driving range slopes uphill as you look toward the back, which makes judging distance tricky,
but it’s just fine for checking your direction. Only use it if you have 20+ minutes before your tee time.

Carts

The carts run on electromagnetic guidance, letting you play either on full auto-drive or by remote control.
※ As of January 2023, the carts have been upgraded to GPS-equipped models, making them even more convenient.

Practice Putting Green

Right in front of the caddie master room, both the South and West courses have practice greens nearby, which makes for good flow. The building standing in the middle is Hotel Union Vale, which also offers accommodations.

Restaurant

After finishing the front 9, it’s time for a lunch break.

Restaurant “Loire” is on the 2nd floor of the clubhouse. Window seats offer a view of the course, so if one’s available, I’d recommend grabbing it.

The tempura rice bowl set loaded with vegetables and a large shrimp. The batter was fried beautifully, and the portion was substantial and satisfying. A dish I’d recommend for lunch.

The monthly rotating colorful Chinese-style lunch. The fried rice portion is a bit on the small side, so it might leave some guys wanting a bit more.

There’s also a special nigiri sushi set with 9 pieces including fatty tuna. It’s probably not quite filling enough for guys wanting a hearty meal, but it’s just the right portion for women! Being able to get sushi at a golf course is a rare treat.

Union Ace Golf Club’s Play Rates

As for the rate, I played on a Saturday with a self-play round including lunch, for a total of ¥16,500 (tax included, including the ¥550 golf course usage tax). We played as a group of 4 in May.

In parts of Saitama closer to Tokyo, like Hanno, a weekend round can run over ¥20,000, so making the trip out to Chichibu gets you a better deal.

Check current rates:

Union Ace Golf Club: Full Course Layout

Finally, here’s a full course layout guide for Union Ace Golf Club. I’ll show the tee-shot angle for every single hole!

First, let’s take a look at the full 18-hole layout.

Here’s the full 18-hole course layout.

There are 3 holes with a water hazard to carry over. Restrooms are located at the 5th and 14th holes.

You often see stray balls land on neighboring holes at other courses, but this course has few adjacent holes running side by side, which means less risk of getting hit by a ball from another fairway — a nice touch.

Here’s the South Course. It has two greens, an A-green and a B-green — the B-green is used in winter — and overall the distances run on the shorter side.

The regular-tee total across the 9 South Course holes is 3,093 yards on the A-green and 2,834 yards on the B-green — fairly short.

If you prefer longer courses, this might feel a little underwhelming.

Here’s the West Course. Both the A-green and B-green here come in under 3,000 yards.

On the B-green, it’s just 2,737 yards, with plenty of short par-4s, making it easier to score well! A great chance to go for your personal best!

South Hole 1

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 1	4	448	432	278	2

A long par 4 with OB on both sides, demanding real control off the tee.
Finding the right landing spot for your tee shot is tricky, so a club choice that aims safely for the center is probably wise.

It’s a blind hole, so be very mindful of players ahead of you.

South Hole 2

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 2	3	175	145	145	9

A downhill short hole where club selection is tricky.
The area around the green is wide, so even a shot that drifts left or right is recoverable, but there’s a penalty area long, so don’t misjudge the distance.

South Hole 3

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 3	5	429	407	250	1

A longer par 4 that goes downhill before finishing uphill. Your tee shot should aim for around the base of the hill on the left; the green slopes from back to front and runs fast, so the standard strategy is to approach from the front.

South Hole 4

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 4	4	405	390	260	4

A dogleg-left par 4 that requires a shot over a valley. Even if your ball drops into the valley, a shot from the bottom is possible, though the lie is tricky.
You can see cedar trees on your second shot, so aiming from their left side is your best bet.

South Hole 5

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 5	4	454	400	286	3

A downhill par 4 where OB on both sides is common. There’s a large grass bunker on the left, and landing in the trees leaves a tough downhill-lie shot, so prioritize accuracy over distance off the tee.

South Hole 6

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 6	5	487	472	373	8

A par 5 with a narrow fairway but short enough that reaching the green in two is realistic. Aim your tee shot at the base of the hill on the right — again, accuracy matters more than distance here.

South Hole 7

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 7	3	208	191	161	7

A downhill short hole with real distance. Since it plays long, as long as you watch out for the grass bunker in front, the green is wide enough that you can swing freely.

South Hole 8

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 8	4	324	304	236	5

The only uphill par 4 on the South Course. Being uphill, the yardage plays shorter. Aim your tee shot left, and go big on your second shot.

South Hole 9

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 9	5	482	462	342	6

A blind long hole with relatively narrow margins on both sides, prone to OB. The trees jut out on the left side of the tee shot, making OB easy there, so stay alert.

West Hole 1

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 1	4	405	392	272	5

A par 4 with a wide fairway — a relatively easy hole. Ideally land your tee shot just left of center; aiming right is the shortest route but carries real risk of a penalty.
The green slopes from back to front, so approaching from behind the green is hard to control.

West Hole 2

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 2	5	552	540	373	2

A long par 5 with a dogleg left. Since it doglegs left, you’ll be tempted to attack the left side, but watch out — OB is close by. The grass bunker straight ahead sits about 200 yards from the white tees.

West Hole 3

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 3	4	372	356	312	9

A short downhill par 4 with a dogleg right. If you can carry the cross bunker off the tee, a birdie via reaching the green in two comes into view.
OB on the right is shallow, which tempts you to favor the left, but a zelkova tree blocks your second shot from there, making this a tricky hole.

West Hole 4

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 4	3	299	186	164	4

A wide, short hole where your remaining distance changes a lot depending on left/right placement. The green on the right near the front is elevated, demanding precise iron play.

West Hole 5

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 5	4	365	345	323	7

A medium-distance par 4 with a dogleg right. A large tree towering just in front of the green gets in the way. Attacking from the right shortens the distance but also makes it easier to find a bunker, so aiming from the left is the better call.

West Hole 6

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 6	4	356	331	224	1

The only uphill hole on the West Course, a par 4. The left side is OB over a cliff, so you’ll want to favor the right.
Your second shot is also uphill, so take extra club.

West Hole 7

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 7	5	493	483	370	8

A straight, wide-fairway par 5. With all that room off the tee, feel free to really let the driver go.
The area around the green is tricky, so the key to this hole is keeping your second shot as short as possible.

West Hole 8

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 8	5	225	168	154	3

A downhill short hole with real distance. Aiming between the two greens is the safe play, and since bunkers guard the front of both greens, approaching from behind is the better strategy on this hole.

West Hole 9

	Par	Blue	White	Red	HDCP
Hole 9	4	355	342	285	6

A straight, approachable par 4 that’s easy to attack. The closing hole, with a satisfying drive aimed right at the grand clubhouse. The margins on both sides are wider here than on other holes.

Summary

So, how was this course and restaurant rundown of Union Ace Golf Club?

Once you hop on the Laview limited express from Ikebukuro Station, you can get there in about 2 hours, which makes it an easy golf trip even if you don’t own a car.

Lunch also offers Chichibu’s famous waraji katsudon (sandal-sized pork cutlet rice bowl)!!

Even in autumn, fallen leaves are regularly cleared, keeping lost balls to a minimum, so you can enjoy a round in a good mood — definitely recommended.

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About the author

Joe

I love hotels, hot springs, and saunas across the whole country!!
I’ve made it to 40 prefectures so far.
Around 100 hotel stays and 50+ saunas visited, and the count keeps climbing.
My hobbies are travel, golf, snowboarding, saunas, and the gym.

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