Tee to Green, Part 3: Course Design
Not all golf courses are created equal
This is the third article in our Tee to Green Series, designed to make professional golf and the stats behind it easier to understand. To view the whole series, click here.
Have you ever wondered why bunkers are where they are? Why does one course seem tailor-made for a bomber, while the next makes their life hell off the tee? It’s all course design: an art form that follows the natural terrain, borrows from classic templates, and lets architects leave their fingerprints on the land. The goal? Build the best test of golf possible.
What Makes a Golf Course?
No matter what set of 18 holes you play, almost everything about it is intentional. Every tree, every cut of grass, and every bunker is placed to fulfill the vision of the architect and shape how you, as the player, experience the course. Some courses freely enable you to go for it. Others lure you in with promises of hero shots, only to gleefully snatch your hope away as you watch your beautifully struck iron come up short and trickle into the water.
These moments aren’t just designed to punish: they’re tests of your golf IQ and fortitude. The architect isn't just setting up challenges. They’re creating psychological battles between what feels right and what is right.
Even a simple fairway bunker isn't there just to catch a bad shot. It reminds you that golf, at its best, is as much about strategy and patience as it is about execution. A well-placed bunker, a contoured green, or an unexpected dogleg makes you rethink every shot. Golf is famously as much a mental game as a physical one. Every hole you play just adds another mental challenge for you to tackle on top of your wicked slice.
The 12th at Augusta is the epitome of this mental battle. The narrow green, surrounded by water on the left, and the infamous swirling winds make it one of the most dangerous and iconic par-3s in the world despite its relatively short length. It’s a classic case of how the design forces players into a mental struggle. Everyone knows the safe play is to aim for the middle, but that temptation to go for the flag never goes away. If they miss, Rae’s Creek is always lurking to claim their golf ball and their hopes of a green jacket.
Let’s take a look at the styles of courses that influence how we approach the game and how designers play with both strategy and psychology.
Course Styles
Not all courses are built the same. Some are paradises for power hitters, letting them pull out driver and fire away. Others are tight, punishing tests that reward precision play. Let’s run through the major course styles and the different kinds of tests they throw your way.
Links Courses
This is golf’s version of a classic Ferrari: timeless, beautiful, and a whole lot of fun. Links courses follow the natural lay of the land, often along rugged coastlines, with firm, fast fairways and bounces you’ll spend 18 holes trying to predict. Instead of trees, you get thick fescue, gusting winds, and some of the nastiest bunkers known to mankind, all designed to make scoring that much tougher.
You’ll see these in the lead-up to the Open Championship, when the PGA Tour heads to the UK for the Scottish Open and then the Open itself. Links golf rewards creativity, control, and shotmaking. It’s less about how far you hit it and more about how well you plan your way around the course.
Parklands Courses
Your stereotypical golf course. Think Augusta National or your local muni: tree-lined fairways, distinct cuts of grass, and wide bunkers that are more about catching misses than serving as true hazards like you’d find in links golf. These courses are often inland, more manicured, and generally shielded from the wind.
While they’re more forgiving off the tee compared to links courses, that doesn’t make them any easier. Parklands are target-oriented, rewarding precision and strategic shotmaking. You’ll need to navigate the doglegs and avoid the thick rough, but overall, hit your spots and manage the course’s natural defense: its layout.
Desert Courses
Pretty self-explanatory here. The only grass on a desert course is found on the tee boxes, fairways, and greens. Everything else is well, a desert. These courses are typically built in arid, sun-baked regions like the Southwest (see: TPC Scottsdale), but they make up for it with breathtaking scenery and unique challenges.
With wide fairways and open spaces, desert courses often allow players to bomb it off the tee, but they make you pay for your mistakes. Miss the fairway, and you’ll find yourself in the sand or even getting poked by a cactus, with no easy way out. These courses favor players with precision around the greens, as putting surfaces are often undulating and tricky. It's all about controlling your game, not letting the desert control you.
Championship Courses
These are specifically designed for tournament golf. Championship courses are purpose-built to challenge the world's best players, often featuring length, tough rough, strategically placed bunkers, and greens that require pinpoint accuracy. When you think of the courses where majors are played, like Oakmont, Bethpage Black, or Winged Foot, you’re thinking of championship courses.
These courses demand not only power but the ability to navigate tough conditions with strategy and patience. The fairways may be tighter, the rough thicker, and the greens faster. Remember 12 at Augusta? It’s a textbook example of the test that championship courses put you through.
These courses have been specifically built to ensure that the best golfers shine. Championship courses can overlap with other categories. Augusta is technically a parkland course, and Pebble Beach brings links elements into play. At the end of the day, though, these courses are made to distinguish the good from the great.
Stadium Courses
Stadium courses bring a twist to the usual design philosophy. They’re built for the spectators as much as the players. While the challenge for the player is still there, the real focus is on creating a course that amps up the fan experience. With amphitheater-like seating, grandstands, and VIP sections, these courses are designed to bring the action right to the audience. Think TPC Sawgrass and its iconic 17th island green, or the dramatic 16th at TPC Scottsdale.
Sure, stadium courses embrace tension, but they’re no pushovers. There’s still plenty of bite to go with their bark. The design does lean into drama like it’s the season finale of a reality show, though, making the experience just as thrilling for the fans as it is for the players. The result is a course that feels like a spectacle, blending skill with performance to create a truly unforgettable experience.
Design doesn’t stop at the big picture: there are specific holes that show up time and time again. Here are six of those design templates that you’ll see on courses around the world.
Blueprint Holes
You’ve almost certainly played these before; you just didn’t know it. Course architecture often employs hole designs based on classic templates. Those layouts have stood the test of time because they just work.
These “blueprint holes” aren’t cookie-cutter copies, but share a design template. They show up everywhere: at Open venues, at your local muni, and sometimes with a little twist to catch you off guard. Let’s take a look at a few of the archetypes that you’ll play and how they get you.
The Redan
This one's a classic for a reason. A par 3 that usually slopes from the front-right to the back-left, daring you to shape the ball into the green or risk kicking it away. It’s not enough to just hit the green. You’ve got to land it in the right spot with the right trajectory. Miss your mark, and you’re staring down bunkers that exist solely to cause you pain.
The Punchbowl
This is your “gimme”, if you will. Everything funnels into the center of the green, so if you get it close, you’ll love your chances. It comes with its challenges, though, as a miss leaves you with an extremely difficult chip or pitch.
Road Hole
Road holes, like the famous 17th at the Old Course, are notorious for their risk-reward design. If you want an easier shot into a heavily protected green, you’re forced to take a bigger risk and challenge the danger. It may not be a hotel you’re trying to clear like at St. Andrews, but you have to flirt with trouble for a shot at glory. Sounds fun, until you’re digging through your bag for another ball after hitting your tee shot out of bounds again.
Turtleback
Famously used by Donald Ross when he was designing Pinehurst No. 2, turtleback greens are exactly what they sound like. The green has a distinct hump in the middle, making it feel like you’re trying to hit a golf ball onto the back of a turtle. Miss your spot, and you’ll helplessly watch your ball trickle off the green like it never had a chance.
The Cape
This hole is all about the hero shot. It’s a risk-reward hole where you’re forced to carry water, bunkers, or both, with the fairway wrapping around like the edge of a cape. It’s like choosing between jacking up a contested three or passing to a teammate for an easy layup. The safe play is to bail out to the open space, but if you’re feeling bold, you can cut the corner for a shorter approach. The question is: how much do you trust that driver? Most golfers play it safe, but those who try to thread the needle are often rewarded. Just be ready for the consequences if you miss.
The Biarritz
This one’s trouble. The Biarritz features a massive green with a giant swale running right through the middle, creating two distinct putting surfaces. If you’re on the wrong side of the green, good luck. The rest of the green may be flat, but that valley effectively cuts your landing space in half.
Each of these holes forces you to think, whether it’s about risk, precision, or just how much you trust your ability to execute. But no matter what, they keep us coming back for more.
Design Elements
Even with these template holes and many others, course design isn’t as simple as just sticking 18 holes in a sequence and calling it a day. What actually makes a course memorable isn't just how the holes are laid out: it's the features that challenge you at every turn. From tricky greens to strategically placed bunkers, these elements shape the way you play. Let's take a quick look at some of the key design elements that make a course truly stand out.
Shot Variety
Ever play a course where you felt like you hit an 8-iron into every green? That’s a design fail. Good courses keep you on your toes. One hole it’s a spinny wedge, the next it’s a long iron you need to draw around a stand of pines. Keeps the round interesting.
Routing
This is the backbone of the course: the way holes are laid out. Good routing gives you a mix of directions, distances, and wind conditions. Great routing makes the walk feel effortless and the course feel like it’s always belonged there. If you’ve ever played a course and felt like you’ve gone on a hobbit-like journey, that’s routing at work.
Risk and Reward
The best courses give you choices. Play it safe, or go for broke? Do you trust your swing enough to take the aggressive line? Smart design puts that little voice in your head and forces you to make a decision. When you pull it off, it’s pure golf dopamine. When you don’t, make sure you declare that provisional ball.
Greens and Surrounds
Greens are where the magic and chaos happen. Fast, slow, undulating, tiered: all provide different tests of your ability. But it’s not just about the putting surface. It’s the surroundings, too. Slopes, false fronts, and collection areas all dictate what happens when you miss. And you will.
Bunkering
Bunkers aren’t just there to ruin your round (though they’re pretty good at it). Smart bunkering does two things: it frames the hole and messes with your head. Some are optical illusions, some are deep enough to make you question why you still play golf. The best ones live rent-free in your head before you even swing.
Elevation Changes
Flat courses get the job done. But throw in some elevation, and suddenly every shot feels different. Uphill approaches play longer, downhill tee shots fly forever, and sidehill lies will test your balance and your sanity. It’s not just scenic, it opens up a whole new world of strategy and imagination. Augusta uses this to perfection, making every shot a measure of how well you can recognize the situation and adjust.
Natural Features
The best courses use what the land gives them. Streams, dunes, trees, rolling hills: whatever the environment dictates. When a hole feels like it was always meant to be there, chances are the architect just went with the natural flow.
Final Thoughts
So next time you're out there, take a second to look around. Why is that bunker there? Why is this hole crying out for a draw? Is that par 3 a Redan? Once you start spotting design signatures, the whole game opens up. Every slope, every bunker, every single choice; they’re all done intentionally.
And the next time you're standing over a tee shot, staring down a hazard placed right where your drive would land, just know it’s there on purpose. And it’s working exactly as intended.
This is what Tee to Green is all about: decoding golf’s weird brilliance and showing why there’s more going on than just ‘vibes.’ If that sounds like your thing, hit subscribe. We’ve got plenty more coming.