The Biarritz Green

THe Biarritz at Yale, argueably the best of the bunch.






The original Biarritz was the famous chasm hole at the Biarritz Golf Club in France. The hole was known for its incredible carry over a stunning 50 foot deep and 100 foot wide cut in the cliffs to a peninsula below. The hole was designed by Willie Dunn and featured a tee eighty feet above the ocean playing 220 yards away to a green sitting 50 feet above the ocean hard up against the cliffs. The lighthouse in the background and sweeping ocean view made this one of the most famous holes in its day. This was also one of the holes that influenced the thinking of Charles Blair MacDonald when he went on his trip of Europe to find and document the best holes in golf in preparation for his work at The National Golf Links of America (NLGA).

At NLGA his original plan was to make the 15th hole a “Biarritz” of around 225 yards, but that got changed as the design for the NLGA evolved. He did not use the Biarritz concept at NLGA, although he went on to use the idea (or at least Raynor did on his behalf) at a number of the courses he and Raynor designed. These include; Yale, Piping Rock, Chicago and the Creek Club. There are thought to be 30 Biarritz’s in existence today.

So what is the Biarritz concept? The original hole featured a 100 yard carry over a chasm, but that is not what caught MacDonald’s eye. What caught his interest were two concepts. First, the fairway and green on the other side were flanked by two strip bunkers making accuracy paramount from the tee. This did allow players to be short as long as they were straight. Second, the green was cited on a natural plateau a few feet above the fairway that keeping all but the best shots off the green. If you can imagine this was a daunting shot from 225 yards away, so much so that the hole was shortened a series of times before its final disappearance (to become housing).

MacDonald took the concept of the natural plateau, the strip bunkers and the role of the slope in the difficulty of the hole. He brought all three together and then modified the idea into what he thought was a superior hole. MacDonald not only had the plateau “green”, he used the defense idea of the front slope in a different but equally effective way by creating a broad swale. The swale still needed to be in carried or “run through” to get to the green (I have never seen any reference to the original having the swale). Then where the Biarritz found its current form, MacDonald made the front a “plateau” like the back. The hole at Yale with its higher back plateau has more roots to the original than others, but either way they all are equally as interesting to play.

Where evolution took this one step further was the front seems to be intended to be fairway, but at some clubs (Chicago and Yale originally) the front was cut to green height creating a most fascinating version of the double plateau green. It is not known whether this was the idea of Raynor, MacDonald, Banks or a green chairman but never the less it made MacDonald’s creation even more fun to play. The result was many clubs now have greens with high plateau fronts, a massive deep swale running across the centre, and a high back plateau. That green is now commonly referred to as the Biarritz green. When MacDonald built his first one at Piping Rock it was quickly referred to as MacDonald’s folly (the hole at Piping rock had the approach and swale as fairway and the green as the back plateau). Now each and everyone of them is cherished and protected by the club.

My Comments on RCGA Canadian Golf Study

Kids playing on the Eden coiurse at St. Andrew's





First off I needed a break from architecture, because the hole series took a lot out of me. So I thought I would look at the most current news, although I’m admittedly a few days late on this item.

The RCGA released a study about golf a few days ago and I feel like commenting on some of the key numbers. Golf participation in Canada is 21.5 per cent. I must admit I’m surprised that participation equates to one in five, but we have always been known for one of the highest participation rates anywhere in the world. But when I looked into why it became obvious. Playing one round or company scramble counted as participation – this leads to 20% participation rate according to the survey. To me this number has no meaning.

The number that matters is the number of core golfers which is defined as people who play eight or more rounds a year. This group grew supposedly by 47.5 per cent since 2001. Does that seem like an unreasonable amount to you? It sure does to me. Through my own anecdotal evidence I have watched friends come into the game in the last 10 years only to leave in large numbers in the last five. Why? “The game costs too much and takes to long to play” is there standard reasoning. I find it hard to believe we have this much growth in a time when the largest region is in a sharp decline.

Now I get the ideas that this is not an issue in Saskatchewan and other smaller population centers where green fees did not take off recently. I get that Toronto is actually only a part of Canadian golf, but tell me how does the area that comprises almost as many players as the next three largest playing provinces combined - not show up in the numbers. Again when you look deeper in the polling it was proportional and this would make a huge impact on the numbers. It was made with an equal representation from provinces and right down the regions – this methodology makes Toronto and Montreal largely disappear despite representing close to half of all Canadian golfers. How can this be an accurate assessment of the game in Canada? I believe the survey was done intentionally this way to “help” the numbers along. This is not to suggest a conspiracy, but to point out consultants often find a way to deliver what people want to here.

Where this all gets confusing is the contrasting information with other major bodies in golf. We started the new millennium with 3 consecutive drops of 10% each - for the participation rate in golf - according to the National Golf Foundation. While I will concede that they are American based, but I still find it very hard to believe that Canada is running in complete opposite direction of the US. All I want is an accurate sense of where we are and where we are headed and I don’t believe this survey is releable.

Finally the survey confirms what has worried me all along – that junior participation is dropping. I think the Tiger Factor that everyone got a free ride from does not draw in new players anymore. The awe we and our kids once had for him wonder has largely run its course and kids are on to new heroes and new sports. We are back to cost being the single most important determination of participation in golf. As a parent with a child who plays, I know the cost is tough to deal with because many courses do not offer junior discounts near as much as they did when I was a young.

Affordability is the top barrier to increasing participation in the game of golf. The smaller centers are still healthy, but the large centers are not. I don’t see how this survey could not possibly pick that up when the rest of us see it so clearly.

18 Holes – Day #18 - 10th at San Francisco

The incredible 10th tee shot. The trees on the right are now long gone and the view is opened back up.



Well this is the last hole and another unconventional choice. The 10th at San Francisco is the finest example of correct use of scale that I know, this is a hard technique to explain and an even more difficult technique to use. I wanted to talk about scale during this list but I must admit this quality is the most elusive and requires an intuitive feel for space. I would honestly say that there are no more than a handful of architects that can work at a large scale. I have even seen a few good ones try to go to a large scale to disastrous results. I will spend this entire piece trying to explain how Tillinghast did it, and this may be to mixed results too, for this is a hard principle to get.

The aerial is crucial to understanding this hole, so I recommend you look at it often as reference. From tree line to tree line the clearing for the 9th and 10th fairway is 300 yards wide! What it does is create one of the grandest views from any clubhouse in golf. The hard part for Tillinghast was to find a way to make the 9th 10th and 18th holes not get lost in that much space. It would be overly simple to say that Tillinghast increased the bunkers to enormous sizes to help fill the space, but it is more than that. What Tillinghast did was take everything to epic proportions so that nothing would get dwarfed by the space. The bunkers are obviously large, but the mounding and fairway widths are much larger than convention too. Tillinghast was also smart enough to intentional blend the bunkering on the 9th and 10th so that they appear from both side to be an extension of the bunkering for each hole. This essentially helps create enough size and expanse within the bunkering to create definition, but more important balance with the landscape.

So why the 10th? The beauty of the 10th is you feel like you could hit that tee shot anywhere, but the Cypress trees closer to the green are unusually tight for San Francisco, and your real target for the tee shot is the smallest on the course. You must be right edge of the fairway, just beyond the carry bunker, to have the right line to cut the ball into the green. A fade is the only play to hold this green with a long iron, since the green angles sharply to the right behind an awaiting bunker.

So what can we learn from this hole? Understanding the beauty of scale and space can lead to breathtaking architecture, but not understanding it leads to the biggest misses in golf (just look at Doral after Ray Floyd for a great example). To work on this scale means to spend extra time getting the sweep and drama into the bunkering in particular. You must be painstaking in your details, since everything gets magnified by the open space. Only a confident creative hand that is capable of the broadest strokes can succeed on this level.

18 Holes – The List

10th at Riviera – George Thomas - 4
14th at Royal Dornoch – John Sutherland - 4
13th at Pine Valley – George Crump - 4
4th at National Golf Links of America – Charles Blair MacDonald - 3
14th at Royal County Down – Old Tom Morris - 4
9th at Cypress Point – Alister MacKenzie - 4
13th at Tobacco Road – Mike Strantz - 5
4th at St. George’s (NLE) – Stanley Thompson - 4
8th at Royal Troon - William Fernie – 3

14th at St. Andrew’s (Old) – Alan Robertson – 5
13th at Gleneagles (Kings) – James Braid – 4
4th at Royal Portrush – Harry Colt - 4
10th at Friar’s Head – Bill Coore - 3
5th at Merion – Hugh Wilson – 4
15th at Portmarnock – G. Ross & Pinkeman
6th at The Creek Club – Raynor
4th at Seminole – Ross
10th at San Francisco - Tillinghast

18 Holes – Day #17 - 4th at Seminole

When it came to the 4th at Seminole, I always knew it would be on this list. I’ve always been fond of the slightly unconventional routing that leads to the superior hole. Ross’s routing uses the two large parallel dunes on either end of the property on almost every hole. It is a magnificent method to create the feel of elevation when the reality is there was very little on the site. Without a doubt in my mind the best part of the routing is the holes (4-5-6) that run along the far dune. The 4th is a hole that runs right on top of the far dune and the hole is that it runs in contrast to all the others. Most holes play down from the dune creating a great tee shot and view, or up into the dune to creating great green sites. Seminole should be studied for the routing alone.

The 4th plays like a hogs back, with the land falling sharply away on both sides of the dune, but Ross was smart enough to create a reasonably landing to play for on your tee shot. He cut the top off the dune and then used bunkers and natural sandy areas on either side to define the right and left of the hole so that play must be accurate. The green is where this hole comes together for me. He has tucked it slightly behind the huge natural bowl on the left so that the fairway banks around the sandy bowl and then swings back as it gets to the green.

Ross’s genius was to not place the green right on the bowl, but to set it 20 yards back allowing a bounce in approach. Where this became essential was when he raised the green up a couple of feet creating a slightly crowned plateau. The bunkers right and long tell you that the smart play is to bounce in the approach or to play short and left for an easy up and down.

What have I learned? What I love about the hole is that if you want to get aggressive, the hole will punish you for being too cocky, since the crowned green is very hard to hold. If you recognize the room and the safer option on the left, you find Ross has given you a very fair route into this long testing par four and an easy way to make four. It is a great combination of difficulty and playability in one hole. Finally, this is another fine example of making sure every hole doesn’t have a raised tee, elevated green, plays through a valley, or goes with the grades; ridgeback holes (and other less conventional holes) are just as important to routing a great golf course.

Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-18-10th-at-san-francisco.html

Latest Article in Toronto Golf

The following article was written by Robert Thompson and myself. It is a walk through some of the prominant courses that disappeared around Toronto. I used to play Box Grove (then IBM Country Club) as a kid. It would have been easily in my top 50 in the country.

18 Holes – Day #16 - 6th at The Creek

This may be my favourite par four in golf - unusual, quirky, solid strategies, beautiful view, terrific green - it has it all


Sometimes presentation can make a hole even more dramatic. Raynor was smart enough to take you across the flattest section of the property with the first five holes before placing you on the 6th tee. The 6th tee has a beautiful high panoramic view of the ocean and the holes below. There are few views in golf as pretty as this one. What makes the 6th is there are few holes as good.

The tee shot appears fairly simple because there is tons of room out on the right and the bunker barely comes into play. The problem with that play is from that angle you’re pretty much dead. You really need to be on the left to have a reasonable chance at approaching the green. The forest on the left of the hole defends the ideal line and a shot into the forest is a lost shot. Therefore you must hit a light draw around the tree line to gain position on the flatter plateau for the approach.

The approach is a stunner. The green is a reverse redan (falling hard to the back and right) and Raynor has lifted the surrounds to create a punchbowl setting for the green too. This is the most unique and wonderful green complex I know. The shot is a fade into the throat in front of the green to access the front pin, or a play to the front of the green to access the back pin position. The ball will release and run a long way from both spots. The joy of the hole is that it uses the rambling hillside to define the locations of the landing area and then a perfect natural ridge to find the green site. Since the hole goes with the grade the whole way everything blends in magnificently.

What I learned? The ideal line only has to be protected by one hazard and that there is no need to defend the other side if the green can do that. That a bold idea can make a hole so unique and so memorable that people will not forget it. I have realized that “template” ideas can be combined to create far better holes than using only one of the ideas. The redan makes a great green site on fours and fives. The ground game can still be part of modern golf, it just takes some old fashioned ideas to bring it back.

Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-17-4th-at-seminole.html

18 Holes – Day #15 - 15th at Portmarnock

The 15th hole, one of my favourites







At 195 yards, the next hole is as beautiful and diabolical as it is simple. There is nothing fancy at the 15th at Portmarnock, the hole is pure in its design and clear in every facet of its challenge. There is nothing to figure out, just a shot to hit.

What makes the hole is position over everything else. The hole sits hard up against the ridge of sea side dunes that separates the beach from the course. The green is placed on a naturally occurring plateau that is very close to the dunes on the right. The shot is further complicated since the dunes are also covered in think vegetation and there is an out of bounds fence running along them too. What makes this hole great is the effect of the out of bounds combined with the prevailing winds. If the wind is coming off of the ocean, the only way to find the green is to hit at the out of bounds and bring the ball back in. If the wind is in the opposite direction the player must guard against over cutting the tee shot out of bounds.

There is some room to bail left but the up and down is quite complicated. The left is much lower than the green and is a mixture of rumples covered in short and long grass. There is no guarantee that bailing left will bring a favorable lie, and a bunker cut deeply on the front does swallow any shots in that area. You may be forced to play around that bunker costing you more shots. There is also a deep front right bunker but that one is more of a catch to overly daring approaches than anything else.

What I learned from this hole. Out of bounds was an incredibly well used an effective hazard in the origins of golf. It is used much less now because of liability issues with adjacent properties; but if the right situation could be found, placing green hard up against a boundary has a huge psychological impact on the way the player will tackle the hole. The other issue is providing a bail that will leave very mixed results and a lot up to chance. That left bunker can make the bail the worst possible choice. All this strategy is further emphasized by the green being up on a plateau.

A fine par three indeed.

Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-16-6th-at-creek.html

18 Holes – Day #14 - 5th at Merion

The tee shot into the banking fairway








I have been slowly building a list of holes that have captured my imagination, but very few listed match the next one. Merion’s 5th is more than a clever routing of a good long par four; it is also a unique concept that is brilliant yet underutilized in golf architecture. It represents the simplest way to create both difficulty and option all within a single hole, a concept so fine that bunkers are completely irrelevant.




The second still contending with the same bank









As Tom Doak has described in his writings this is one of the more natural holes to find. The creek on the left defines the left edge of the entire hole, first as a diagonal carry from the tee and then as a hazard against the left edge of the green. The tee shot is hit into a natural bank rising from the creek which makes the fairway very receptive, but the second shot is most likely from a lie well above your feet. A prefect tee shot with a draw can find the small flat area by the creek for a flat stance and a good look at the green, but most shots are played safely away from the hazard up on the side slope.

The green rather than being flat or pitched back into play slopes the exact same way as the fairway. This is the genius of the hole. Wilson left ample room above the green to bounce a ball in from the right, but it is very hard to judge the right line to get it on the green. Leave it above and you will not get up and down, pull the approach and you will hit it through the green and into the creek. Most try to play a mild draw and bounce it in, it seems to be the safest play; but a few with great skill try to hit a fade from a draw lie. This is the shot only the most skilled player can make, but the green will reward this shot.
This is a hole where you remember your fours and accept your fives.

What I learned was a long list. Having the green and fairway all fall in the same direction requires that the approach be shaped to hold both the fairway and green for position. Keeping the approach right of the green also as fairway means that a player can hit both the draw and fade to find the green. Having the creek as a diagonal and a fairway with large cross-slope means a player can shape the ball to hold the fairway or the other way to feed the ball around the corner to the flats. Throw in the clever diagonal of the creek; the flanking hazard at the green, the fact that the hole uses natural slopes, the uphill nature of the hole making the hole play longer, and the list goes on and on. I hope to design a hole that good in my life time.

Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-15-15th-at-portmarnock.html

18 Holes – Day #13 - 10th at Friar’s Head

The tee shot at the 10th with the green peaking out behind the dune









Sometimes something unconventional will bring the finest result.

The routing at Friar’s Head is one of the best that I have seen in modern time. The key is how Bill Coore weaved the holes through the tree covered dunes without destroying the nature of the site. One of the keys to the project was the brilliant transition from the dune area into the old potato farm, and the two par fives playing from on top down into the fields were the key. Getting to the 11th tee required what a short hole from the clubhouse to the top of the dune – rather than a connector - it turned out to be the most memorable hole on the course.

The story of the hole is quite interesting, Bill took all the staff over to look at the hole for their opinion about the huge dune that fronted the natural green site and kept putting off the decision on what to do with it. Originally Coore wanted to incorporate the feature in the design, but once cleared it, he kept thinking it was too much. Finally it was Ben Crenshaw who said he should leave the feature exactly how it is, and this decision made the hole. The mound is reminiscent of the features found at famous short holes in Scotland and Ireland where playing over them creates a sense of adventure.

What did I learn? There is no question in my mind that leaving natural features makes the most memorable holes. While half the green is blind, Coore made sure the other half is not, and this makes the hole enjoyable rather than intimidating. You have a feel to where the green is and how far you need to be. While the dune makes some of the pin positions blind, the green is enormous so it becomes an accessible target once you’ve carried the dune. The key to the hole was the choice to keep the quirky, but interesting, feature dune.

Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-14-5th-at-merion.html

18 Holes – Day #12 - 4th at Royal Portrush

The view of the approach to the green









Royal Portrush is as good a golf course as any I have ever played, while there are many fantastic views, the course is not what I would call beautiful. There are so many more spectacular looking courses like Royal County Down or The Island Club, but it is undeniably a design that has few rivals. No course puts pressure on your driving quite like Royal Portrush. No hole does it better than the 4th.

The tee shot on the 4th may be to the widest fairway on the golf course. The tee shot is downhill with out of bounds hard up against the right edge of the fairway, but what causes so much more problem is the incredibly deep pot bunker 20 yards inside the edge of the fairway on the right. Colt has placed a bunker right where you want to play. You can not afford to be short because you won’t get home in two and you certainly can’t carry the bunker, so to hit this fairway you face a choice of flirting with the bunker or the out of bounds. It’s your choice.

Once you have finally got on the roller coaster fairway, you face a daunting approach to a green set in between the dunes. The back half of the green is hidden by an enormous dune on the left. It takes courage to try carry the fescue covered dune to get to the back left pin, particularly because the carry is longer the further left you go. The right is open but you must thread the needle between the fronting dunes to find the green. All in all, a great challenge when you have a long iron in your hands.

What did I learn from this hole? At a certain point in every course a player must be asked to reach down and find their best. If an architect never asks this from a player, then they have not created enough challenge to hold the player’s interest over the long term. These are the holes that we measure our ability against. It is important for a player to know they can make two great shots under pressure, or for a weaker player to make the par of their life against an insurmountable foe.

Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-13-4th-at-friars-head.html

18 Holes – Day #11 - 13th at Gleneagles (Kings)

From the tee









Gleneagles is one of the most underrated courses in the world. It is full of great holes, on great land in a spectacular setting. It is largely ignored because it is not on the sea coast and because the resort is very expensive. The fun part about picking this hole is that James Braid already selected it for me when he called it ‘Braid’s Brawest’ which means Braid’s best.

The tee shot is up a natural valley with a nice wide rolling fairway stretching up a large roll on the left. One horrendous cavern of a bunker sits in the left centre of the ridge guarding the safest line. The right side of the fairway offers the advantage of a flat lie and a great angle; but you must avoid the heather covered ridge up the right, and more importantly the hidden bunker cut into the next small rise (where most balls run to if you don’t flirt with the first bunker). You face the choice, either threading the needle up the right, or bail out left and accept the awkward stance with a tough carry to the green.








The green is what makes the hole really fascinating and challenging to play. It sits up above on a natural plateau with two extremely deep bunkers cut into the fronting slopes. Braid has left plenty of room short of the green to bounce the approach in, because that is actually the only way to find the surface. The green falls away to the back left making the play to hit it short right and feed it into the green along the ground. Players must judge their approach shots to just clear the deep bunker in order to stay on the green; amazingly this hole is still played the way it always was despite the changes in technology.

What did I learn from this hole? Here is a hole type that has not bowed to technology. The fall away green remains one of the greatest defenses in golf. The judged or measured approach is rewarded, whereas a player who only looks at the green and the distance in is repelled out the back. There is lots of room from tee to green on this hole, but the precise placement of hazards right into the ideal line and target areas has made the hole extremely challenging for a good player. This is further proof that narrow fairways have nothing to do with toughness.

Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-12-4th-at-royal-portrush.html

18 Holes – Day #10 - 14th at St. Andrew’s (Long)

How do you pick from all the delightful holes at St. Andrew’s. The back nine alone has the Road hole, the Eden and the 16th is pure inspiration for me. But the 14th hole holds some of the best ideas in golf all in one hole. It is certainly one of the best par fives in golf.

The tee shot is over whins and gorse, your invited to cut the corner and shorten the hole, but the out of bounds is tight to the right of the fairway. The prudent play is out to the left but you must skirt the Beardies and avoid the wickedly deep little Crescent bunker to find safety in the Elysian Fields. Once safely upon the Elysian Fields you face a fascinating dilemma. Do you play over the incredibly deep and menacing Hell Bunker to shorten the approach, or do you play wide and out to the left of the bunker for safety. It is not very often when one bunker can create the level of fear the Hell Bunker does. Right from the tee you are aware of it’s location and penal nature. Your goal is to stay out at all costs.

The most interesting feature to me is the green and the final shot. There is a large wicked roll that begins just off the front of the green and continues through into the front of the green. Nothing is more complicated than trying to get near a front pin. I watched group after group try fly it in and ending up in the back of the green. Finally an old gentlemen played a long bump and run from well out to within 5 feet. I asked him how he knew to do that. He smiled and told me it took him years to figure out there is no other approach to that green and he had to learn to hit the shot.

So what can be learned? First, that a mound can be much trickier and more sinister defense than a bunker. It is a very subtle form of hazard that is very hard to slove because it requires imagination. It befuddles a strong player, yet allows a weaker player an easier approach compared to a bunker – another great equalizer in the game. The Hell Bunker teaches us that a menacing hazard weighs on a golfers mind the entire hole. One bunker can be intimidating enough on it’s own to alter the psyche of the player. The thirds is that interior bunkering can adequately challenge the good player while the wide fairways give the weaker player the opportunity to enjoy the game. Finally even the out of bounds creates a classic diagonal carry providing risk and reward. What an outstanding hole to study.

Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-11-13th-at-gleneagles.html

18 Holes – Day 9# - 8th at Royal Troon (the postage stamp)

This beautiful photo is by David Scaletti, a great golf course photographer.



One of the most delightful shots in all of golf is the tee shot on the short par three 8th hole at Royal Troon. Only 126 yards away, with a beautiful backdrop of the sea and Ailsa Crag, the green seems inviting. The least enjoyable shot is the next one because most people have found they have missed the tiny green and now are scrambling to recover at best a par.

Willie Park gave the hole it’s famous name in Golf Illustrated when he described it as “a pitching surface skimmed down to the size of a postage stamp”. Much has been written about the hole mainly because of the many famous holes in ones, and just as many mid Open disasters too.

The shot is from a high plateau, over a small gully to an extremely narrow green set into the side of a large sandhill. The front of the green is protected by a large deep chasm of a bunker that will gobble up anything short. Two bunkers protect the left side along with the large dune. The bail side initially appears to be right, but this is where the disaster looms. The right bunkers are extremely deep and the recovery is up and onto the narrowest part of green with the left side bunker in behind. Back and forth between bunkers is common. Missing the bunker completely on the right finds you down in a deep hollow in with a tight lie with the green well above you and only 6 paces wide!. Simply put this benign looking hole has no where to miss.

What can be learned? A narrow target is the hardest to hit. If you want to make something hard, reduce the width of the green and flank it with bunkers. Front bunkers are less important than side bunkers for creating difficulty. The fact that the green is flat and on a slight angle only adds to the difficulty of the hole. More greens should be either level to demand more skill of the approach shot.

Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-10-14th-at-st-andrews.html

18 Holes – Day 8# - 4th at St. George’s (NLE)

A look from the crown down to the original gren site





I thought it would be fascinating to do one hole that no longer plays the way it was designed.

The 4th at St. George’s Golf & Country Club used to be called one of the greatest holes in Canada. It was a medium length par four that was an interesting option off the tee. You could play safely to the left side down in the valley and face a blind approach over a bunker strewn hill in front of the green; or take a big risk hitting to a crowned upper fairway with deep trouble on the right to gain visibility of the green and the ideal angle for the approach. In my mind it was one of the finest holes Stanley Thompson ever designed. It was a brilliant use of the natural land and its loss represents the disastrous results that come from altering a course to hold a major championship.

The old 4th was all about position. There were no bunkers in play from the tee, just one prominent landform to think about. There was little room on top of the crown but the landing was clear from the tee. There was a lot to risk since a slight miss right put you in a deep ravine with long grass that ran parallel to the fairway, but the reward was an open approach directly into the slope of the green.

So why take the risk off the tee? If you played safely to the left the natural slope took you to the left edge of the fairway. In your way stood a large hill of about 20 feet high with a series of deep bunkers. Getting in one of those bunkers was a disaster considering the length of the next shot. Hitting the ball safely over was not enough, the green was a very tough target surrounded by trouble. The front of the green fell right and into a deep swale in front, the left front had a very deep bunker, and the back of the green also has a bunker and deep rough The green itself (which is still there!) fell sharply from the back to the front right, meaning a long approach was an impossible up and down. Having to be that precise is a lot to ask, couples with being a blind shot, makes it even more intimidating – and that is why the risk was worth it from the tee.

What can we learn? Rather than routing the hole only through the natural valley, Thompson used the crown to best effect. By tucking the green behind the large ridge, instead of on top, he required the careful placement onto the crown as the only way to make the green visible on the approach. Having to flirt with the ravine on the right adds to the challenge of the hole. This unconventional routing approach made for a very strategic hole.


Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-9-8th-at-royal-troon.html

18 Holes – Day 7– 13 at Tobacco Road

Finally the first par five, but what a par five for ideas.

Tobacco Road is probably the most intimidating and frustrating course you can play for the first time. While it has plenty of width and playability, Mike Strantz uses blind shots and very overwhelming hazards throughout the round to hide that fact. Often the player simply looks at a massive display of sand with no clear idea of where to play, yet the hidden fairway is large and receptive hiding behind the bunkers or trees.

The 13th is a great example, off the tee the player has lots of room to hit the tee shot left (while the hole doglegs sharply right). If the player wants to become more aggressive, he ends up looking at a narrow neck of fairway that looks impossible to hit. What he does not realize first time out, is he can possibly carry the trees on the right and find a blind fairway, leaving a middle iron into the green. All I can say is, you better be down wind to give it a go.

Once off the tee, unless you have found a short cut, the next shot is through a narrow opening between intimidating bunkers out to a wide open fairway. Mike loves to make these shots look impossible and then give you ample room in behind. He believes that a player got more excitement from overcoming a seemingly impossible than making a routine one.





The aggressive line in red, the standard line in yellow.









The final shot is where he really truly took it up a notch, or where he embraced one of the oldest and least used concepts in golf. He used a natural punchbowl set between huge sand piles (looking like dunes) so that the green is blind. You can see the flag through a narrow gap in the front if the pin is not left. Adding to the pressure and intimidation of the shot mike created huge scraggly bunkers right into the dunes in front. The player is left to feel the pressure to execute the shot because Mike has emphasized the hazard rather than the target as he does on most holes.

So what have I learned? Mike loves the short par five where there is a lot of opportunity to take a big risk; he has also made it clear that if you dare gamble, you may pay dearly. He provided optional routes and adequate bailout areas, but used visual trickery to make the hole appear much harder than it is. Mike teaches that visual intimidation is an important tactic, and that blind shots can still be part of that equation. He has taught us to take risks with our architecture and to say to hell with convention and criticism – it’s all about great holes.



Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-8-4th-at-st-georges-nle.html

Galt Country Club and The Valley Holes

The 185 yard par three 16th, with the tees and green set at the height of the protective levee.


On Thursday I attended the 100th Anniversary of Galt Country Club. It was a wonderful day, where I finally got a chance to play the new holes AI had built a year previous. I was asked to speak to the media and members and this was approximately my speech. Thought you may find the whole thing interesting.

Galt can be best described as a course where the scorecard does not mean a thing. It is a course where position and accuracy are rewarded over length and brawn. I have always enjoyed the opportunity to introduce the course to anyone who hasn’t played there. I’m used to people checking the card and saying “let’s play all the way back”, and “this should be a good opportunity to shoot a low score” I always chuckle and smile knowing the last comment they will make is “this course is harder than I thought”.

I have a long love affair with this course, from the very first time I was invited out to play. I love the way it sets into the landscape and I enjoy the ease in which you can get around the course. I love the fact I can not score here, but I think I should. I admire how so much great golf is placed into such a small package, a testament to a series of architects before me and Doug, Percy Barrett, Stanley Thompson and Bob Moote. I have been fortunate to work with the club and Mark Piccolo for a long time. We have done a lot of small things for a lot of years. A little bunker work, added some additional tees and even rebuilt a the 7th green along the way but I don’t think we really changed much of the character of the course.



The 15th, with the new water course on the left, the fairway at the levee height and the river on the right of the second landing.

A couple years ago we were faced with a project that would change the nature and character of the course. The Valley holes had become an increasing problem over the years and were out of play so often that something needed to be done. The decision was made to raise the holes, so that all playing areas were out of the 100 year flood. Easier said than done, the restrictions and negotiations with the Conservation Authority to get this approved were very trying, but perseverance from the club and Merv Redmond in particular helped finally obtain our approvals. The reason there is so much water on the Valley holes was simply to balance cut and fill in the valley and to provide enough long term water storage for the club. The technical aspect of the project dictated the design a lot.

The original three holes were very open and mildly interesting holes but had no relationship to the Grand River. The architectural vision for the Valley Holes was to try including the Grand River as a key part of the design. The trees were cut down along the Grand River and the holes were raised so that the 15th and 16th felt like the River was in play along both holes. I knocked it in the river on my first play of the new 16th hole, a place I had never been before!
We opened up spectacular views down the river which improved the overall feel of the holes. The club now had a view up the grand on the 14th and down the Grand on the 16th. The water on the interior represents the water course that once flowed through the holes when it was an island. The original concept was to allow the river to flow through once

18 Holes – Day 6 – 9th at Cypress Point

One of the most beautiful and inviting shots in golf.




I must tell a story on this one, my father and I were lucky enough to play Cypress Point together. On the ninth hole we waved up a group up to play through but instead they suggested they join us for a few holes. We eventually parted ways after some fun together but it was pretty cool for my father to play with his current favorite player Mark O’Meara

You stand on the tee and you feel compelled to have a go at the green, the same feeling you have on most great short holes. At just shy of 300 yards the green is very reachable, when you couple this with an inviting stretch of fairway all the way to the right front of the green, it is an invitation to be aggressive. Mackenzie does a beautiful job of tempting and teasing you with such an inviting target.

Mackenzie provides you with all the options, you can lay-up and then play a short iron approach, or risk the driver and be left with an easy pitch run straight up the green. Where he proved to be very clever was how he escalated the level of difficulty the closer you got. Have a go at the green and you could find yourself in either the 20’ deep front left bunker or miss right and risk deep trouble in the dune grass that pinches the landing area the closer you are to the green. Either way you must make one great shot.

The long narrow green is a key architectural feature; it is angled sharply left to reinforce his strategy perfectly. Additionally the green falls steeply from left to right and has a big impact on where you want to approach a pin from. If a player is willing to risk hitting the driver into the narrow throat in front of the green, he is rewarded with a very straightforward pitch into bowl shaped green. If the player chooses a lay-up from the tee he will face the daunting short iron over the fronting chasm to a very wide but very shallow green. Shots long and short are both in deep trouble. Now if the pin is in the front right, you have to have a go because the pitch into the front right pin is incredibly difficult considering how small the target it is and that it has no backstop to help you.

What can we learn from this par four? Mackenzie uses temptation as the key element of the hole; he invites an aggressive play through a clear and obvious reward. The way he placed the green on a diagonal reinforced the strategy of the hole. It is the perfect drivable par four, fraught with danger, full of options and stunningly beautiful.

Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-7-13-at-tobacco-road.html

18 Holes – Day 5 – 13th at Royal County Down

The 13th from up on the left dune, looking over the diagonal dune and bunkers at the green.



Royal County Down is the most remarkable golf course I have ever played. All the blindness and partial blindness somehow doesn’t interfere with the joy of playing the course. There are many great holes there, but the one that has the most interesting lessons is the par four 13th.

The tee shot is quite open compared to most holes and it is easy to assume a ball anywhere in the fairway is the correct play. But a key diagonal dune that begins in the right rough and extends all the way to the green is the key to the hole. A player hitting safely onto the right side of the fairway has a completely blind approach over the dune, which is covered in long grass, bunkers and even a little gorse. The play is actually to the far left side of the fairway where the green becomes “mostly” visible. From that point the hole can be attacked without crossing the main part of the dune or it’s bunkers, but getting to that position you must be careful to avoid the gorse in the hillside just left of the fairway.

My favorite part of the hole is the partially blind approach. Your eye says stay left - where the sole deep bunker awaits - yet the easy route is to use the hidden kicker slope short and right of the green to feed the ball in. Why don’t people hit it there, because most can’t get by the fact that they have to hit it blindly over the dune and trust their stroke to be accurate? It’s a mindset that mainly North American golfers struggle with since we’ve used to seeing everything well.

So what is to be learnt? Rewarding accuracy with visibility is an old technique that is largely ignored in the modern era of earthmoving and fairness. It is an excellent way to reward positional play. Blindness makes players uncomfortable and is a terrific way to get inside the player’s mind. Deception and intimidation still make a player uncomfortable and must be used to add challenge and interest to the game.


Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-6-9th-at-cypress-point.html

18 Holes – Day 4 – 4th at National Golf Links of America

A view from the tee, with everything in front of you.





Charles Blair Macdonald studied the classic holes of Great Britain and found the 15th at North Berwick to be one of the most superior holes he had ever come across. He mentions in his writings that there are only four or five great holes in golf and that the Redan was one of the finest concepts of them all.

At the National Golf Links of America, Macdonald set out to find a natural site for his Redan. He had stated that every hole had room for improvement and the Redan was no exception. He was not fond of the blindness of the original and found a natural site for the green that was clearly visible from the tee. The joy of MacDonald’s version of the hole is that all the strategy and difficulty are clearly visible from the tee; what’s even more enjoyable is the opportunity for the player to watch the result from the tee.






The red line is the direct line, the yellow is the bounce in approach




MacDonald continued his improvements with the bunkering. While he copied most of the green’s shape, angle and contour understanding that was the key to the strategy, increased the depth of the “Redan” bunker and the back bunker, making the hole all the more perilous from the tee. While the hole was more visible and inviting, the penalty for missing the shot was much more severe. MacDonald’s version of the feels more of “an all or nothing shot” than the original does, which adds to the fun and the pressure of pulling off a great shot. The hole was so good that North Berwick’s famous head professional, Ben Sayers, called the Redan at the National superior to the original.

So what have I learned from this hole? How effective a defense it is to place a green on a diagonal line from play and defend it with a front bunker. This is the basis of the strategic school of design. But the biggest lesson is the green which places a player in a defensive mode. Rather than playing into a green pitched towards play that receives and favors the high shot, the fall away green requires more creativity and a running approach is the safer play. It favors the flight of the middle handicap more than the high aggressive flight of the great player because they won’t want to chance bouncing in the approach. Finally there is nothing better than providing an option. The player must make the decision to either play directly over the hazard with a precise shot or draw and approach around the fronting hazard using the land to feed the ball onto the green. This requires creative thinking rather than just swinging the correct club.


Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-5-13th-at-royal-county.html

18 Holes – Day 3 – 13th at Pine Valley

The fantastic approach to the 13th green, where everything feeds left



On a course full of great holes, this is the one that stands out above all. I have always been amused that A.W. Tillinghast claims to have designed this hole. I would bet that like everything at Pine Valley, it should still be attributed to Crump. I think Crumps’s strength was the ability to solicit all ideas from all his friends including Tillinghast, his brilliance was to use the best ideas and combine them all into one vision – his vision.

I had previously talked about the drive as being noteworthy. The drive is to the top of a high ridge that falls off in pretty much each direction. While a crown, the fairway is still wide enough to receive the tee shot, although great care should be taken from rolling off the left side where the player is stymied from going at the green. It is certainly one of the hardest drives on the course because of the crown shape to the land.

The beauty of the hole lies in the second shot. The long downhill approach is to a very large green that runs diagonally away to the right. Miss the green left or long and you are in deep trouble. The player is given two options; make the full carry over the wild exposed sandy waste to the large green, or to play a draw short and right and let the natural contours bring the ball down onto the green. The two choices work well, the green is large enough to receive a long iron, and the slopes are steep enough to feed the ball onto the surface. There are few holes that have such clear options that both work so well. The 13th remains one of the greatest models for a long par four that I know.

What I learnt from this hole was the routing aspect of the green site. Crump placed the green on a natural knoll on the end of a ridgeline. He used the formidable valley in front to create a wasteland of sand to force a carry and then took the natural side hill leading t the green and turned it into fairway so that the fairway banks around the waste area; because of this, the fairway can be used to feed the ball around the waste area and onto the green. Crump has allowed the player to play boldly over, or delicately around, depending on their confidence at the time. No matter which shot you play, it is as thrilling a shot as there is in golf.

Next Hole: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/06/18-holes-day-4-4th-at-national-golf.html