Golf Course

The game of is played on a course - obviously. But have you ever thought what goes into making a good course? I mean, what makes a good course, and what makes a not-so-good course? While we don't have the space to go through specific design layouts, we can touch on some of the aspects of a course that makes it fun to play yet challenging too.

Like the miniature course, a regular course should be fun. You really can't add the fun windmills or other hazards on a regular course, but you can use the natural elements of the land to help build challenges into the layout.

Obviously, the first thing you're going to need is land. I mean, you're going to need A LOT of land! The course must have some long yardage holes as well as some shorter yardage holes. However, most golfers will agree that having mostly longer holes is a great challenge. But they also need those short par 3s for a little ego boost!

Having several sand bunkers is a great way to present challenge on the course. Most bunkers are located around the hole, but they can also be placed in the fairway for added headaches! Having to hit out of the sand provides for all sorts of stroke modifications, and golfers love to have the challenge at hand!

Water hazards are another great way to give golfers a challenge on the course. Natural lakes and rivers can be found all over the place, but you can also create man-made water hazards by digging out a large area and filling it with water - obviously! Water hazards make a player have to use finesse to avoid them and make a course fun to navigate.

The course that we play most often used to be a cow pasture. The rolling hills that used to have Holstein's instead of carts make this particular course a lot of fun to try and get "up and down" on. Rolling hills cause a ball to - take a guess here - roll! You may have a great drive, but if your ball lands on the side of a hill, it will either stick there making your shot hard or it will roll off the side. Either way, this is another way to make a course challenging.

Natural trees and woods are also part of the course environment. There's nothing worse to hear on a course than the sound of your ball hitting a tree. Then you have the fun task of trying to find out where the ball landed. Did it go further in or did the tree propel it out into the fairway? Either way, you have another great way to challenge yourself with natural elements.

Designing a course can be great fun - for both the designer as well as the player. Take in the natural elements of your favorite course and then navigate through those hazards with a positive attitude. Then you'll be having fun!

Author Information

Mark Hamilton of Golf2Win.com. This Golf article may be reproduced provided the author's information and web site link is kept intact

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