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

Like the miniature golf course, a regular golf course should be fun. You really can’t add the fun windmills or other hazards on a regular golf 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 golf 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!

Challengers on the golf courses are numerous especially when you have several sand bunkers. Bunkers are now placed on the fairways as well as around the bunkers causing more golfers headaches! Having to hit out of the sand provides for all sorts of stroke modifications, and golfers love to have the challenge at hand!

The challengers on the golf courses are numerous one such is the dreaded water hazards. Rivers and lakes in their natural environment are found everywhere on the golf course. and man made water hazards are dug out and then filled with water over large areas! Water hazards make a player have to use finesse to avoid them and make a golf course fun to navigate.

The golf course that we play most often used to be a cow pasture. The rolling hills that used to have Holstein’s instead of golf carts make this particular golf course a lot of fun to try and get “up and down” on. Rolling hills cause the golf ball to- you must guess here – roll! You think you have a great drive and you just might have but when you ball lands on the side of a hill two things will happen either it will stop dead a harder shot or it wiil carry on down the side of the hill. Either way, this is another way to make a golf course challenging.

Natural trees and woods are also part of the golf course environment. When you hear the sound of your ball hitting a tree on the golf course there is no sound worse. 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? You have a great way of either way to challenge yourself against natural elements.

The fun of designing a golf course is shared by player and designer alike. Take in the natural elements of your favorite golf course and then navigate through those hazards with a positive attitude. Then you’ll be having fun!