Lesson 2: What Makes Land Good for Golf?
Not all land is equal for golf. The best golf land has a combination of qualities that makes it interesting to play and beautiful to look at.
Natural drainage is one of the most important qualities. Land that drains quickly after rain stays firm and playable. Land that holds water becomes muddy and soft, making the game difficult and the course expensive to maintain.
Interesting terrain gives architects natural features to work with: ridges that define fairway corridors, hollows that become natural hazard areas, high points that offer elevated tees with dramatic views.
Vegetation — trees, shrubs, native grasses — defines the visual character of a course and its playing challenge. The variety and health of existing vegetation tells an architect a great deal about the quality of the land.
The famous golf regions of the world — the Scottish links, the Monterey Peninsula in California, the sand-belt of Melbourne, Australia — all have land with these qualities in abundance. That is why great golf courses cluster there.
Great golf land has: natural drainage, interesting terrain, quality vegetation, and ideally natural visual framing for holes.
Early architects judged drainage by walking the land after rain. Today, hydrological modeling software analyzes thousands of data points from a site to predict exactly where water will flow and pool — allowing drainage systems to be designed before construction begins.
Why do you think most of the world’s best-regarded golf courses are near the sea? What does coastal land have that inland land often doesn’t?
Research one of the following famous golf regions and find out what makes the land there particularly suited to golf: (1) The Scottish links coastline, (2) The Monterey Peninsula, California, (3) The sand-belt of Melbourne, Australia. Write five specific facts about the land in that region that help explain why great courses were built there.