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It’s not easy to be a golf course attached to a ski resort. Cold weather, short seasons, and rugged terrain conspire against many such courses reaching and maintaining a top status on a golf magazine rankings list (and perhaps among golfers themselves). 

Resort course operators might wonder, “How come that golf course is on Magazine X’s Top 100 list and my course isn’t?” While mountain courses tend to be particularly beautiful, the natural setting counts, at maximum, for 20-25 percent of a rater’s score. The design of the golf holes counts a full two-thirds. Thus, understanding the architectural principles for golf course design is crucial to building the best possible golf course. 

The good news: Often, with a few easy, inexpensive modifications, your golf course can rise from pretty good to downright terrific. This may not guarantee a top 100 ranking, but it will foster repeat business and an outstanding reputation as a destination during non-skiing months. Here are some tips on not only what golf course raters look for, but why they look for it. 

Removing trees on your course is healthier for your turf, allows for more playing angles, and opens up long vistas across the property, as demonstrated on holes 15 and 16 at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, N.Y.

GOLDEN AGE STRATEGIES AND PRINCIPLES

In golf, everything old is new again. Instead of back to the future, it’s forward to the past.

There are three eras of American golf design: 1900-1940 (the Golden Age, when strategic designs were in vogue), 1941-1995 (the Doldrums Era, aka the Age of Penal Architecture), and 1995 to present (the Second Golden Age or, to some, the Platinum Age). Golf design has enjoyed a renaissance for a full generation, returning to the strategic principles of the first Golden Age. Now, thankfully, harder is no longer better; smarter is better.

What do these strategies and principles entail?

SMARTER, NOT HARDER

Golf course architect Brian Silva has famously said, “If you want to play a sport where the trouble is all on the sides, go bowling.” Silva was referring to the “harder is better,” penalty stroke-filled designs of the penal era. Those courses featured particularly narrow fairways flanked by bunkers, gargantuan water hazards with forced carries over them, and deep, thick rough. They also followed the “Doctrine of Framing,” where standing on the tee box, there is only one option: Hit it straight down the middle.

Silva’s architectural epiphany occurred while playing at Pete Dye’s PGA Golf Club course in Port St. Lucie, Fla. At the par-5 fifth hole, the S-shaped fairway slithered around bunkers that cut perpendicularly into the fairway instead of flanking it. This required golfers to think their way around the course; they could play short, around, or over the hazards. The golfer had options. He or she could be tempted into taking a line that was risky, or play it safe. 

Temptation is the greatest emotion in golf. Almost every golfer thinks they are better than they actually are, so the idea is to give them enough rope to either hang themselves or succeed mightily. This tenet is called the “Doctrine of Deception,” and it gives all golfers more options, more ways to play the golf hole. An entire generation of architects bought into this idea and began designing wider fairways where players can find many different ways to play the hole instead of facing just one option.

The takeaway: Widen your fairways and keep the rough to a reasonable length. Use diagonally-shaped hazards to promote more playing angles, instead of merely bunkering the sides.

Who needs water? Golf has moved away from long, forced carries over water hazards, as the average golfer suffers far more than the expert. Quick quiz: Olympic Club, Oakmont, Winged Foot West, and Oakland Hills have hosted 26 United States Open Championships between them. How many water hazards are there on all four courses combined?

The answer is three: two at Oakland Hills and one at Winged Foot, and that last one only came into existence four years ago.

The takeaway: The primary purpose of water is to irrigate your golf course. 

Elevation changes. Flat courses run the risk of being boring. Instead, a mix of challenging uphill and thrilling downhill shots make the golfer think carefully about club selection. Due to the terrain on which most mountain golf courses are built, they have a distinct advantage in this regard. Some raters believe there should be an even mix of uphill and downhill holes, and of dog-legs left and right. I don’t much focus on the mix, but variety adds interest and keeps the golfer alert. 

One way to increase the elevation variation is to scoop out soil from lower areas and add it to higher areas. This also creates larger and bolder land forms.

The takeaway: Use your golf course’s terrain variations creatively.

Curvaceous, contoured greens. The adventure on a golf hole should not end at the green. At the greatest courses, the excitement ratchets up significantly once you reach the putting surface. Winged Foot, host of five U.S. Opens, is a wondrous example. The holes are like people, one author has said: from foot to neck they look the same, but their faces—the greens—are all unique. Augusta National is another example.

The takeaway: Curvy greens defend par naturally and inexpensively.

Bunkering. When it comes to bunkers, the deeper the better. From tiny pot bunkers so small they would only fit one angry man and his sand wedge, to larger, more visually intimidating yet memorable sand traps, bunkers are paramount.

Fairway bunkers are best placed inside the knee of the dog-leg, not outside. Outside, they serve as an easy aiming point for the golfer. But inside, the golfer must choose the proper line to carry it or play around it. Greenside bunkers should have a variety of placements, not the Doldrums Era practice of placing them at the five o’clock and seven o’clock positions.   

Turfgrass and drainage. Unhealthy turf is the fastest way to ruin your golf course’s reputation. No one wants to slog around a soggy golf course, and too much water kills the grass. Drainage (i.e., running water off the course) and water management (i.e., how much you irrigate the turf) are critical, and each is specific to the ecosystem on which the golf course is located. For healthy turf, you need the right amount of sunlight and air movement, too, especially on greens, since the grass is cut to a much shorter length. Sand capping a course can improve drainage, but that’s a big expense and a season-long project. 

To maintain a healthy surface, a trained golf course superintendent is vital. “Hire someone who has graduated from one of the many terrific schools of turfgrass management, such as UMass, Rutgers, Michigan State, or Washington State,” says Mike Hayes, a veteran superintendent who preserved and protected golf courses all across the Pacific Northwest. “From a playability standpoint, nobody wants to play a wet golf course. From a strategic standpoint, [fast and firm conditions] allow all the contours of the land to come into play.”

The takeaway: Invest in your course’s health; hire an expert to manage your turf.

Cut down the trees. Fact: you can grow trees or you can grow grass, but you can’t do both. Tree roots suck up water vital for the health of the turf everywhere on the golf course. And too much shade is unhealthy for the greens.

Oakmont Country Club, host of nine U.S. Opens, started the modern trend of tree removal. Once a treeless site outside Pittsburgh, the Doldrums Era saw Oakmont and other courses plant lots of trees. Before long, every golf hole played through a tunnel of trees. Playing angles were reduced significantly, while the tree roots appropriated the water necessary for the health of the turfgrass, especially greenside. Eventually, Oakmont had to cut some trees or stop hosting Opens. So trees were cut, turf conditions improved, and playing angles increased. Both the 2007 and 2016 U.S. Opens were wild successes. The rest of the golfing world saw all that and followed suit.

The takeaway: Remove trees that have no architectural purpose. One specimen tree strategically placed is, occasionally, palatable. Otherwise, trees are a nuisance. Clear cut as much as you can, and watch how fast the turfgrass improves.

Greenside options. The short game is perhaps where the Second Golden Age shines the brightest. Where once you had one greenside option—hack out of ankle deep rough with a lob wedge—shaved chipping areas allow for a galaxy of playing options. Bump and run, pitch and check, putt, or lob wedge—let the player creatively choose what shot to play.

The takeaway: Providing greenside options allows golfers of all skill levels to innovate and choose the shot that best suits them.

Walkability is a factor in course ratings. Though it seems unfair, many mountain courses lose a point or two simply because the severe nature of the site prohibits or impedes walking the golf course. 

The takeaway: Make your course as walkable as possible, with short distances between greens and tees, and mow walking paths from the tee box to the fairway.

RESORT CASE STUDIES

Mount Snow, Vt. At Mount Snow, the golf course is harder than the ski runs. Despite being built in the heyday of the Penal Age, the course, designed by Geoffrey Cornish, has several ingenious architectural tricks. First, more than half the tee shots are blind, and almost all of them require long carries over crests in the fairway. 

The blind shots at Mount Snow work because they are well-executed and visually thrilling. On two of the tee boxes, your target is the summit of Mount Snow. On another hole, your target is a Japanese maple on the far tree line. And on still another, smash it directly over the bunkers guarding the knee of the dog leg. 

The blind tee shots at Mount Snow Golf Club, Vt., are purposefully aided by different targets visible from the tee box, such as the summit of Mount Snow on hole 17.

In many places, the fairway is also tilted back toward the tee box. As such, the natural lay of the land kills the momentum of a drive, restricting driving distances—something raters would and do look for. Also, the fairways are anything but flat, so golfers have to adjust stance and swing for uneven lies—another natural, yet inexpensive defense to scoring. 

Takeaway: Use your natural surroundings to provide visual and technical thrills.

Mount Washington, N.H. The other side of the coin from Mount Snow, Mount Washington is a Golden Age design by quintessential architect Donald Ross. Built in 1915 and restored by Brian Silva in 2008, the course is easy and welcoming. 

Mount Washington’s (N.H.) course was built in the Golden Age of American golf design and offers ease of play for newcomers and variety for more skilled golfers.

The safest place to miss the greens is short, which helps resort and casual golfers. Meanwhile, variety provides challenge. For example, though the first four holes are all par-4s of a somewhat similar length, they all play in different directions (and that means the wind direction constantly changes). The inward nine plays through the most hurly-burly terrain, showcasing constant elevation changes. 

Takeaways: Provide ease of play for less-skilled golfers, along with lots of variety to keep everyone entertained.

Giants Ridge, Minn. Surprise! The top-rated ski resort courses in America are in Minnesota, at Giants Ridge. The Legend and The Quarry, designed by Texas-based architect Jeff Brauer, aren’t just pretty golf courses. They showcase strategic design principles: wide fairways, bunkers turned perpendicular to the line of play, and curvy greens. 

With wide fairways and curvy greens, The Legend (above left) and The Quarry (above right) at Giants Ridge, Minn., are the top-rated ski resort courses in the U.S.

Brauer was also thoughtful about drainage. “It’s challenging to build on mountains,” he says. “Naturally beautiful, the backdrops are great, but it’s all about drainage. I built at the base of the mountain, [where] the land was gently rolling.”

Takeaway: Great golf courses follow the golden (age) rules.

FOR FURTHER STUDY 

Looking for more inspiration? Check out the work of these golf course architects.

Robert Trent Jones, Jr. Of his 250+ original designs, Jones has built courses in the shadow of some of the world’s greatest ski resorts, including five different Winter Olympic venues, and nearly a dozen great American resorts, including Crested Butte, Steamboat, Jackson Hole, Sunday River, and Sugarloaf. Lately, he and partner Bruce Charlton have been renovating their course at Tamarack, Idaho, and reports are glowing.

Pete Dye. Though he’s called the “Mad Scientist of Golf Design,” he follows the strategic principles of the current era.

Charles Blair Macdonald, Seth Raynor, and Charles “Steamshovel” Banks. The godfathers of American golf architecture, their designs have returned to prominence. Even on the flattest sites, their strategic principles make for fascinating golf.

FINAL THOUGHTS 

Don’t aim for a top 100 ranking. Instead, build the most interesting course the land gives you. 

Harder is not better. Older is better. Your course may not have been designed in the Golden Age, but the architectural principles it is built on should be.   

Jay Flemma is the associate editor of Golf News Net and the current vice president and communications committee chair of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association. He has rated more than 400 golf courses worldwide and has covered 35 major golf championships.