Golf Course Architecture 101: Morning Drive covers design basics and terminology

Golf Channel Morning Drive's latest edition of Architects Week features discussion on some of the top names in design, from the Pete and Alice Dye design family tree, to Tom Fazio and background on Golden Era architect A.W. Tillinghast.

Throughout the week, courses and travel expert Matt Ginella discussed the nuances of golf course design with courses historian and designer Geoff Shackelford, to detail some of the nuts and bolts every golfer should know about when it comes to creating and identifying compelling golf course design.

By becoming more knowledgeable about what's going on with the design and construction of golf courses, we can appreciate even more the great nuances in routings like the upcoming reversible course at Forest Dunes, The Loop, an innovative 36-hole design by Tom Doak.

Architecture 101 is in session. You can go to school watching the videos below:

Architecture 101: Defining True Links Golf

2015 was a big year for links golf. The Old Course in St. Andrews hosted a controversial, wind-blown Open Championship. Speaking of controversy, Chambers Bay, a modern links design, delivered a lot of strong opinions during the U.S. Open, one of which being whether the course was, in fact, a links golf course? Ginella and Shackelford discuss the earliest meaning of the term "links" as it relates to golf, as well as what we can define as a "true links" these days.



Architecture 101: Defining design terms

You've no doubt hear the term "biarritz" when it comes to golf course design. Where does the term come from, and why is it so often used? Shackelford and the Morning Drive team discusses the famed "Biarritz".

"Cape holes" are a very common type of hole in course design and date back well over a century, when they were implemented by the great C.B. Macdonald at such courses as the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda. Scotland has some examples of cape holes that date back to the 19th century at such courses as North Berwick and Machrihanish. Ginella and Shackelford talk about what exactly makes a Cape hole special in course design and why it's still a popular way to design a hole.

"Template holes" are a term defined very early on in the Golden Era of golf course architecture. The Morning Drive team discusses what a "template" hole is and some of the most often used concepts.

Architecture 101: talking strategic design vs. Penal golf course architecture

Shackelford and Ginella break down what it means to create a "strategic" golf hole, versus a penal hole. It sounds simple, but you'd be surprised how few holes actually are strategic. The 13th at Augusta National, for example, is a prime example of using temptation in strategic golf course design.



Architecture 101: Keys for designing a great golf course

In this roundtable with Ginella, Shackelford, Damon Hack and Charlie Rymer, the group discusses what makes for a memorable golf course you want to return to again and again.



You can view 26 video clips from the 2015 Architecture Week on GolfChannel.com by visiting the Architecture Week tag.

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Golf Course Architecture 101: Morning Drive covers design basics and terminology