Chippewa Golf Club

The message of great, strategic golf course architecture is clear. The actual words used to describe those golf courses, however, are many. The Architecture Glossary column will examine more precise terms and concepts that one will find when exploring golf course architecture. Hopefully understanding these terms, and why certain architects employed them, will help you to better understand the golf courses you play…and maybe even improve your scores! Today’s term is ‘Puzzle Piece Bunkering’. Although many concepts within golf course architecture are shared across a wide variety of architects, they often become associated in particular with a single architect (few come to mind as quickly as Pete Dye when discussing an “island green” for example). The same applies to Dick Wilson and “puzzle piece bunkering.” Wilson is often associated with the penal era of golf, and some of the most challenging courses ever created. These routes often featured tight fairways, lofted greens and, of course, plentiful bunkering. Although it has become somewhat fashionable to lump all of these architects together into one oversimplified bin, the designers of this era each had definitive aesthetics. Wilson was perhaps the most stylistically distinguished of the group, thanks to his bold puzzle piece bunkering. The simple essence of this idea is bunkering that defy simple geometry, involving a number of irregular ins-and-outs. While his contemporary, Robert Trent Jones, helped to usher in the era of cape-and-bay bunkering — generally more curvilinear in shape — Wilson often showcased a style both jagged and geometric, like he had taken a jigsaw (pun intended) to the soil. To differing degrees, the shapes of the bunkers were compared to puzzle pieces. Consider the opening hole at Coldstream Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio. Off the tee, there are three bunkers that feature inward pegs, giving the metaphorical impression that they could, indeed, be linked together with other “missing pieces.” Look ahead to the green, and a pair of longer bunkers are stylized in much the same way. An aerial of the opening hole at Coldstream shows how Keith Foster's restoration added Dick Wilson's character back to the club's bunkers. In terms of function, the turf inlets into the bunker behave very much like cape-and-bay bunkers, creating awkward lines out of the trap for those who end up near inserts. But the general presentation of the bunker is very much a question of aesthetics. Not familiar with Wilson’s signature style? Much of this can be traced to standards of upkeep. Colstream has recently undergone a restoration from Keith Foster, which involved reconstructing Wilson’s signature, rough edges into the bunker. This style requires dedicated maintenance to preserve its appearance, and — as a result — many of Wilson’s most celebrated designs have found their bunkering taking a more curvilinear shape over the decades. Another architect that has seen similar style degradation is Alister MacKenzie, who is noted for his “feathered” bunkering. In fact, it’s not too far to suggest that the Scot created a few puzzle pieces of his own. Consider Titirangi Golf Club, MacKenzie’s only design in New Zealand. The greenside bunkers alongside No. 4 take more distinctly “puzzle-piece” shapes, a style that Wilson would pursue at many of his most notable courses, including Pine Tree Golf Club. It’s unlikely that MacKenzie was Wilson’s prime influencer, of course. That title belongs to William Flynn, to whom Wilson was employed up until the Great Depression set in. Alister MacKenzie's approach to bunkering occasionally merits comparisons to Wilson's, particularly at Titirangi. (Photo Credit: Gary Lisbon) Through Flynn’s involvement at Merion Golf Club, Wilson became intimately familiar with the club’s East Course, and his boss’s work constructing its bunkers (Hugh Wilson completed the design and hired Flynn for construction). The shapes around this world-renowned course reflect where Wilson may have gotten his own shaping ideas. Particularly interesting are the four bunkers that sit between the fairways for holes Nos. 11 and 12; not only do these hazards take a shape we would expect from Wilson in later years, they also seem as if they would fit together — like puzzle pieces — to create a single, massive sand hazard. Although this is not what’s usually meant by “puzzle piece” bunkering, it does demonstrate a tendency that Flynn would take to other courses, such as Shinnecock Hills, and that Wilson would replicate his own courses. By clustering bunkers and nesting smaller sand hazards within the curves of larger ones, the architect can create an intimidating sight from the tee, as these hazards appear to be part of a much larger sand trap. Wilson, before opening his own design firm, worked creating camouflage for U.S. airfields during World War II. Who knows if his early years in golf course design paid dividends for the Allied forces? Wilson no doubt took some cues from William Flynn while working at Merion, among other clubs. Note the similarities in style, but also how this cluster of bunkers between Merion's No. 11 and 12 holes seems to fit together in puzzle form. The movements following Wilson have not necessarily maintained the “puzzle piece” style, however they have not thrown them by the wayside either. Joe Lee was Wilson’s most prominent student and, although his projects never gathered as much attention as Wilson’s, the latter’s style inevitably seeped to the former’s. Lee’s last original design, Musket Ridge, shows some tendencies toward puzzle piece bunkering at No. 6, although clearly influenced by the wiggling aesthetics popularized in that era by Jim Engh and Bob Cupp. The modern “minimalist” approach doesn’t quite leave room for such bunkers, however it’s not tough to imagine that a modern parkland course, relying on the frazzled fashion cues of Doak et al, could incorporate such a style. Great golf course architecture should present itself as a puzzle to be solved. Dick Wilson found a way to make his bunkers a puzzle to be seen as well.

US East North Central Division Best in State Rankings 2016 Another five States in our Midwest Region are re-ranked in the seventh of nine US divisional updates This concludes the Midwest Region of our Best in State re-ranking process for the USA, where we’ve spent the last few months assessing courses across nine regional divisions. This is the seventh in our series of reviews and it covers the five Midwest “Great Lakes” states of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, which are home to almost fifty million people. We’re increasing the number of courses that we feature in the USA and this expansion will be exhibited across almost every state in the country. For instance, in this East North Central division, we’re adding ten new courses to each of the five states, resulting in new Top 50 charts for Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. Michigan The top three positions remain exactly the same as last time around, which means that Crystal Downs is still the number one course in the Wolverine State. A recent reviewer described it thus: ”one of the few courses I’ve played in the Top 100 where I was able to remember every single hole… Crystal Downs is unique and presents you with a tough challenge… not by being long but by placing a premium on strategy.” It’s just a pity the course’s remote location and deficient infrastructure has prevented it from hosting more national events like the US Senior Amateur that was held here in 1991. Climbing three places to number 4, the 9-hole “walking only” course at the Dunes Club makes an impressive move in the right direction near the top of the new state listings. Developed by Mike Keiser of Bandon Dunes fame, this lovely little woodland layout – which squeezed into our recent update of the US Top 100 at number 100 – nestles on the shores of Lake Michigan, where it’s been delighting a select number of golfers ever since it was first unveiled in 1992. Further down the chart, Barton Hills, a near 100-year old Donald Ross layout that Ron Pritchard spent time restoring in 2013, bounds up a spectacular sixteen places to number 16 and it’s immediately followed by Orchard Lake, our highest new entry at number 17, which is a 1920s Golden Age design from C.H. Alison that has also been the recipient of a new millennium restoration, this time by Keith Foster. It was too early for us to consider the sixth course at Gull Lake View Golf Club, Southwest Michigan's oldest and largest golf resort. The Gallically named Stoatin Brae course is slated to open shortly and it’s been routed over a former apple orchard, stripped of its trees and reseeded with native grasses by Tom Doak’s Renaissance Design company. No doubt we'll be hearing a lot more about it, along with The Loop at Forest Dunes in northern Michigan, a reversible 18-hole design from the same firm of architects that is due to open in a similar timeframe. Rank/ Click this link to see full details of our 2016 Michigan Best in State rankings Ohio There’s little movement at the head of the table in the Buckeye State, where the top five tracks are all nationally ranked, and the Jack Nicklaus and Desmond Muirhead co-design at Muirfield Village is still the state’s number one course. It’s more than forty years since the Golden Bear built this course outside his hometown of Columbus and he’s constructed hundreds down the years since then but this track still remains one of his most endearing. Pete Dye’s course at The Golf Club, one of the architect’s earliest designs when it appeared back in the late 1960s, drops one place to number three, swapping places with Camargo, which becomes the new number two in our revised listings. Seth Raynor’s Cincinatti masterpiece has had its bunkers overhauled in recent years by Tom Doak’s Renaissance Design team and this work has certainly gone a long way to reviving the fortunes of a fabulous old track. The most significant upward move in the new chart is made by Alex Campbell’s 1930s course at Moraine Country Club (the USPGA Championship was held here in 1945) which climbs fifteen places to number 9. There’s no doubt the course has massively benefited from a recent Keith Foster renovation, involving the widening of fairways and the reconstruction of new greens and bunkers. Click this link to see full details of our 2016 Ohio Best in State rankings Illinois Chicago retains its place at the top of the Prairie State chart. Currently ranked number 13 in the USA Top 100 and number 22 in our World Top 100, this historically important course is the oldest 18-hole layout in the country, having been established in 1894. Host to three US Opens and four US Amateur Championships in its formative years, the club is now scheduled to stage the inaugural US Women’s Senior Open in 2018. The No.1 course at Medinah Country Club streaks up the chart from position 39 to 13 and this prodigious leap is all due to the major redesign that was recently carried out by Tom Doak. Nine of the original holes were re-routed, in the words of the architect, “to get fairways away from the nearby Medinah Road and to break away from the back-and-forth nature of the original layout… new greens and bunkering have tightened up the test.” The highest Illinois newcomer arrives at number 23 and it’s the revered old course at Onwentsia Club, which hosted three major championships during its first two decades of operation – the US Open in 1896, the US Amateur in 1899 and the US Women’s Amateur in 1915. The layout has been lengthened, bunkers have been modified and a lake added since then but it’s still a track that appeals to golfers of a traditionalist persuasion. Click this link to see full details of our 2016 Illinois Best in State rankings Indiana The Hoosier State of Indiana still has the spectacular 18-hole Victoria National course as its number one, with this rather unique Tom Fazio design holding off a strong challenge from a number of other contenders. Laid out within an abandoned coal mine, the course offers an exacting test of golf where much of the strategic strategy is shaped by a variety of water hazards that now lie within its 400-acre confines. Pete Dye’s early 1960s layout at Crooked Stick and Steve Smyers’ late 1980s design at Wolf Run exchange positions, with the former course (which held the USPGA in 1991, the Solheim Cup in 2006 and the BMW Championship in 2012 – the BMW returns here again later this year) dropping down one place and the latter, a renowned tough track that’s set in thickly forested terrain outside Indianapolis, moving up one to the runner-up spot. Three courses each make notable five-place upward moves: Brickyard Crossing at number 7 (where four of its fairways are located inside the oval of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track), Notre Dame’s Warren course at number 9 (which held the US Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in 2010) and South Bend Country Club at number 12, an old George O’Neil design described by Tommy Armour as “the sweetheart golf course of the Midwest”. The highest Indianan new entry comes in at number 11 and it’s the Kampen course at the 36-hole Birck Boilermaker golf complex, a mid-1990s Pete Dye layout that has attracted a number of distinguished state and regional golf competitions in the two decades since it debuted. Click this link to see full details of our 2016 Indiana Best in State rankings Wisconsin The Badger State listings are headed by the Straits course at Whistling Straits. Site of three USPGA Championships in 2004, 2010 and 2015, this highly-regarded layout is all set to host the Ryder Cup in 2020. A recent reviewer is of the opinion that “Pete Dye’s work here was done spectacularly well… it’s quite playable for less talented golfers, often because Dye built wide fairways and huge greens… I place Whistling Straits alongside the world’s best ‘modern links’ courses: those at Bandon, Barnbougle, Kingsbarns and Streamsong.” Only three courses make upward moves in the new Wisconsin chart and the highest climber (up four places to number 11) is SentryWorld, an early 1980s Robert Trent Jones Jnr layout that was closed at the end of 2012 to undergo an extensive two-year renovation. The original architect was called back in to oversee the construction of new tees, bunkers and greens, the regrading and reseeding of fairways, the reconfiguration and rerouting of several holes, and the introduction of new par threes at the 3rd and 12th. Soaring into the revised listings as a new entry at number 11, Troy Burne is a late 1990s public access facility from Dr Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, built in consultation with Tom Lehman, which took almost three years to construct. Water hazards feature at almost half the holes, thanks to the presence of four man-made lakes and a babbling brook, with bentgrass fairways and greens routed around 225 acres of rolling countryside. Click this link to see full details of our 2016 Wisconsin Best in State rankings As ever, we like to ask for feedback when we conduct a re-ranking exercise so please let us know what you think about our five newly revised US Best in State charts. Hopefully, you agree with what’s been published but maybe you think we’ve not quite got everything right. Whatever your opinion is, please click the “Respond to this article” link at the top or at the bottom of this page to let us know your views. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses

For much of golf’s history, the idea of a hole measuring 700 yards or more would have seemed excessive. Today, such distances are no longer quite so extraordinary. The world’s longest holes are an eclectic group, spread across very different landscapes and created for very different reasons. Some belong to expansive resort courses, others to championship layouts, while a handful have become famous largely because of the sheer scale of the challenge they present. From a former world-record holder in North Carolina to an extraordinary par 7 measuring over 1km in South Korea, these are the 10 longest golf holes in the world. 10. Black Mountain Golf Club (North Carolina, USA) Hole 17 | 747 yards (683m) | Par 6 The 17th at Black Mountain is one of the survivors from an era when exceptionally long golf holes were still something of a novelty. At 747 yards, the par six was once recognised as the longest golf hole in the world - a distinction that helped put this small North Carolina club on the golfing map. The hole is part of Black Mountain's older nine-hole layout, which dates back to the 1960s, and its extraordinary length was a deliberate feature rather than an accident of modern championship-course design. From the back tees, the fairway climbs and falls through the foothills, with the green sitting far enough away that it disappears from view for much of the hole. For a course that otherwise has a relatively modest footprint, the 17th is an impressive piece of real estate. Its 747 yards are now exceeded by several holes built in the decades since, but the hole retains its place in golf's long-hole folklore. It is also a reminder of how quickly perceptions of distance have changed. What was once a world record is now the shortest hole in this particular top ten. 9. TPC Colorado (Colorado, USA) Hole 13 | 773 yards (707m) | Par 5 TPC Colorado opened in 2018 at Heron Lakes near Berthoud, with Arthur Schaupeter’s design set against open Colorado terrain and views towards the Front Range. The 7,991-yard course was built with tournament golf in mind and has since become a regular Korn Ferry Tour venue. The 13th, named “Longer Still”, is its defining hole. At 773 yards from the TOUR tees, it is the longest hole on a PGA TOUR course and the longest par five in PGA TOUR golf. Its principal feature is the enormous 108-yard Hell Bunker, which runs along the left side of the fairway and creates the key decision after the drive: challenge it to gain ground or lay back and accept a longer approach. At altitude, the hole does not play quite as severely as the yardage suggests, but its scale remains remarkable. More importantly, the length is integrated into the design rather than simply added as a spectacle, giving No. 13 a strategic identity that has made it one of the most recognisable holes in modern American golf. 8. The Reserve at Moonlight Basin (Montana, USA) Hole 17 | 777 yards (710m) | Par 5 Set at 7,500 feet above Big Sky in the Rocky Mountains, The Reserve at Moonlight Basin is one of Jack Nicklaus’ most dramatic mountain courses. Built across the former Moonlight Basin ski area, the 8,000-yard layout moves through forest and open mountain terrain, with more than 1,000 feet of elevation change across the property. The 17th is the signature expression of that setting. At 777 yards, it is already extraordinary on the card, but the hole plunges downhill towards the green, with the change in elevation and thin mountain air making the distance considerably less daunting than it first appears. A large fairway bunker sits around 370 yards from the back tee, beyond which the fairway reveals the full scale of the descent towards the green. It is a fittingly theatrical hole for a course where elevation is central to the experience. The 17th was also one of the holes that came to wider attention when Moonlight Basin hosted The Match in 2021 – when Bryson DeChambeau and Aaron Rodgers defeated Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady – putting its spectacular setting and remarkable yardage on national television. 7. Penati Golf Resort - Legend course (Trnava Region, Slovakia) Hole 15 | 783 yards (716m) | Par 6 Opened in 2012, the Legend Course at Penati occupies a sandy, pine-covered site near Senica, with Nicklaus Design using the natural character of the property to create wide, undulating fairways and extensive waste areas. The course forms part of Slovakia’s largest golf resort and was the first Nicklaus Design course in the country. The 15th is the course’s defining feature. It has 11 teeing positions, allowing it to be played at very different lengths, but from the back tees, it stretches to 783 yards and becomes a par 6. The fairway is split by a large waste bunker, with further bunkering framing the second landing area before the hole finally turns towards the green. The hole gained international attention when the European Challenge Tour used the full 783-yard version during the Slovakia Challenge in 2015, 2016 and 2019. In regular play, however, it is generally shortened and played as a par 5 - a useful reminder that the extraordinary version seen on the professional circuit is only one interpretation of Central Europe’s longest hole. 6. Theodora Golf Club (Transylvania, Romania) Hole 18 | 804 yards (735m) | Par 6 Theodora Golf Club sits outside Alba Iulia on the banks of the Mureș, occupying a remarkably flat 56-hectare site. Opened in 2018, the resort was created around an 18-hole championship course, with a large lake excavated in front of the clubhouse providing material to shape the otherwise level ground. That lake is central to the character of the closing hole. The 18th stretches over 800 yards from the back tees, with the approach eventually leading to an island green shared with the 9th. The arrangement gives what might otherwise be a straightforwardly expansive hole a much more distinctive finish. Theodora itself describes the 18th as the longest par 6 in Europe, and it has become the defining feature of a relatively young Romanian resort that has steadily established itself on the European golf map. 5. The Links at Kahite Golf Club (Tennessee, USA) Hole 9 | 808 yards (739m) | Par 6 The Links at Kahite opened in 2002 as the third course in Tellico Village, occupying a natural setting between Tellico Lake and the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The links-style layout has six sets of tees, stretches to 7,170 yards and is notable for its 93 bunkers and tall fescue framing some of the fairways. The 9th is the course's defining hole: an 739-metre par 6 that runs in a notably direct line across the landscape. From the back tees it measures 808 yards, while the blue tees bring it down to 721, making the hole a very different proposition depending on where it is played from. The course's own guide describes it simply as a unique hole, with the fairway rewarding players who can keep successive shots in play. Its position at the turn also gives Kahite an unusual rhythm. After eight holes that establish the character of the course, the 9th opens out into one of the most distinctive holes in Tennessee golf before the back nine heads back towards the mountains. 4. Meadows Farms Golf Course (Virginia, USA) Hole 12 | 841 yards (769m) | Par 6 Meadows Farms is very much the product of its founder, Bill “Farmer” Meadows, who built the course on former farmland after taking up golf later in life. It opened in 1993 with an intentionally unconventional character: the 27-hole layout includes a baseball-themed hole, a waterfall green and an island green, alongside the hole that became its calling card. The 12th stretches to 841 yards from the championship tees, running downhill before turning right, crossing two lakes and climbing towards a large elevated green. A three-leaf-clover-shaped bunker guards the approach. The sequence gives the hole considerably more shape and interest than its raw length might suggest. For decades it was promoted as the longest golf hole in the United States, a distinction that helped make this eccentric Virginia course a destination in its own right. The current course still describes No. 12 as its signature hole and the longest in the country, as recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records. 3. The Links Golf Club (Idaho, USA) Hole 9 | 842 yards (770m) | Par 6 The Links Golf Club in Post Falls opened in 1999 on the broad, open Rathdrum Prairie, with owner and designer Emmett Burley shaping the course in the tradition of Scottish links golf. There are few trees or water hazards to interrupt the prairie landscape, leaving wind, wide fairways, deep bunkers and rough to define its character. The 9th has been the course's signature hole from the beginning. It was originally measured at 738 yards from the black tees, but subsequent changes have transformed it into an 842-yard par 6, now the longest hole on the course and one of the longest in America. That extra distance has only amplified the hole's original links character. With no trees or water to dictate the route, the scale of the prairie is laid bare, while the wind can have a considerable influence on successive shots. The green itself has two distinct levels, adding another layer to a hole that has evolved from an unusual feature into the defining landmark of The Links. 2. Satsuki Golf Club - Sano course (Kanto Region, Japan) Hole 7 | 964 yards (881m) | Par 7 Satsuki Golf Club’s Sano Course opened in 1979 in the hills of Tochigi Prefecture, with broad fairways laid through a landscape of trees and gentle elevation changes. The 18-hole course measures more than 7,200 yards from the back tees, but it is the seventh hole on the outward nine that has made the club internationally known. At 964 yards, the seventh was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s longest golf hole and remains the defining feature of the course. It is not simply a long, open stretch: the hole has trees crowding the tee shot, OB on both sides and a relatively narrow fairway, creating pressure from the outset. There are two greens, with the left measuring the full 964 yards and the right 924. The club’s own playing strategy reflects the scale of the hole: rather than simply attacking distance on every shot, the objective is to keep successive balls in play and leave the final approach within comfortable range. For many years, Satsuki’s seventh was the benchmark by which the world’s longest holes were measured. Gunsan Country Club has since surpassed it in sheer yardage, but the Japanese par-7 remains the more established name in the record books. 1. Gunsan Country Club - Jeongeup course (Jeonbuk State, South Korea) Hole 3 | 1,098 yards (1,004m) | Par 7 Gunsan Country Club is an extraordinary property in its own right. Built on a former salt field on Korea’s west coast, the sprawling complex now has 81 holes across more than 1,000 acres, with lakes accounting for roughly 380 acres of the site and 26 bridges linking the courses. The third on the Jeongeup Course is the hole that gives Gunsan its international reputation. At 1,004 metres from the black tees, it is a par 7 and the longest hole in this ranking. The hole is also the No. 1 handicap on its nine, with water running along the left and bunkers placed to complicate the long sequence of shots required to reach the green. Its scale is matched by an unusual sense of place. The hole emerged from the transformation of the old salt works into one of Asia’s largest golf complexes, and its local nickname, the “1004 Hole”, is a play on the 1,004-metre length. Gunsan has built much of its identity around these extreme holes, with a 661-metre par 6 elsewhere on the property, but the Jeongeup third remains the defining feature. At 1,098 yards, it is comfortably longer than Satsuki’s 964-yard seventh and takes the top spot here by distance. Guinness World Records, however, has historically recognised Satsuki’s hole, so the distinction between the longest hole by yardage and the Guinness record is worth keeping in mind.