Designing Courses for the Weekend Golfer

Shaping the Land

Architects must also consider the course owner’s expectations. For example, when Brauer was contracted to design the first Giants Ridge course, now known as the Legend, he was asked to create a “gentle giant”—a picturesque resort course that could be played and enjoyed by golfers of all abilities. For the second Giants Ridge course, the Quarry, Brauer was asked to build a tournament-worthy course. The difference between player friendly and tournament friendly, he explains, can be as simple as tightening corridors, making elevation changes more severe, and incorporating more—and more difficult—hazards.

“You have to design the course for who is going to play it,” says Don Herfort, a retired Twin Cities architect who designed several Minnesota courses, including the Superior National Golf Course in Lutsen, Pebble Creek Golf Course in Becker, and the course at Stillwater’s Indian Hills County Club. “I’m not going to make a 7,300-yard golf course for the average guy, because he’s not going to like it. He’ll play it once or twice, and he won’t come back.”

Next, the architect must apply the owner’s specifications to the available space, which generally covers between 140 and 175 acres. “That’s the canvas,” Gill says. And to each of these canvases, architects tend to apply, in varying degrees, their signature styles. Gill, for example, likes to incorporate beach bunkers, or bunkers situated alongside ponds. “Water is sort of the absolute hazard,” he explains. “I see bunkers, on the other hand, as infinitely adjustable hazards. So when a bunker is placed next to water, it can prevent you from entering into a worse hazard—an unforgivable hazard. That’s a feature I really enjoy.”

Brauer, in turn, looks for opportunities to incorporate split fairways into his designs. Environmental “no touch” zones and other natural features can inspire fairways that part in their midsections and reconnect before the green. “I like to be able to give you some choices—make you think for a moment before you tee it up and swing away,” Brauer says.

In addition, both Brauer and Hurdzan tend to place bunkers to the left side of their holes. Again, the less-skilled right-handed player is more likely to slice the ball from left to right. They’re also more likely to hit the ball short than to overshoot the green. The better players are more apt to hook the ball from right to left. So by placing greenside bunkers to the left, “you’re statistically more likely to catch the good player and less likely to catch the average player,” Brauer says.

By employing these multipurpose features, architects are better able to design courses that reward all types of players. They’re able to challenge the top golfers without humbling lesser ones.

“I liken it to viewing art,” Gill says. “When people look at a piece of art, they each get different impressions, and it means different things to them. Likewise, as golfers look at a golf course, some of them might be playing them for the challenge—the physical punishment of it. Others might be playing because it’s a beautiful environment. They don’t care what they shoot, they just want to spend time with friends and have fun. I think that all can exist on the same course.”