Cooks Creek

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

With the Presidents Cup rosters finally confirmed after both captains announced their six respective picks on Tuesday, the countdown to Medinah Country Club is officially on. Team International will head to Illinois looking to end Team USA’s dominance of the Presidents Cup and lift the trophy for only the second time in the competition’s history, having last tasted victory in 1998 at Royal Melbourne in Australia. It will be no easy task, though. Team USA boasts enormous depth, with major winners, extensive Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup experience, and the world’s number one-ranked player, Scottie Scheffler, among its ranks. But can Geoff Ogilvy’s International side cause an upset at Medinah? Top100 takes a closer look at both rosters, the key players to watch and the venue that could play a crucial role in deciding who will lift the Presidents Cup. Medinah No. 3: A new-look stage for the Presidents Cup There are few more appropriate venues for the 2026 Presidents Cup than Medinah No. 3. Completed in 1928 by renowned architect Tom Bendelow, the course has spent almost a century building a reputation as one of American golf’s great championship venues. Five major championships, a Ryder Cup and countless memorable moments have followed, including Tiger Woods’ victories in the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships and Europe’s remarkable “Miracle at Medinah” in 2012 – widely regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history. But the course that welcomes the Presidents Cup will look considerably different from the one that hosted those events. After decades of incremental changes that increasingly narrowed the playing corridors and placed a premium on length, Medinah No. 3 underwent a major transformation by Australian firm OCM Golf, led by Geoff Ogilvy, Michael Cocking and Ashley Mead. The renovation, completed in 2024, sought to restore the scale and strategic character of Bendelow’s original design. Wider fairways, larger greens, expansive bunker complexes and the removal of hundreds of trees have opened up the landscape, resulting in a fascinating mix of old and new. At more than 7,650 yards from the championship tees, Medinah can still stretch the world's best players, but the increased width means distance alone should not dictate how the course is played. Instead, players will be faced with strategic decisions from the tee and into the greens, with different angles potentially offering very different rewards. The closing holes could provide some of the most dramatic moments of the week. Lake Kadijah now plays a prominent role on the inward nine, with the 16th crossing diagonally towards the water and the 17th offering another demanding one-shot test alongside the lake. The 18th, meanwhile, has been returned to its original corridor, providing a fitting finish to a course that has undergone such a significant rebirth. There is one particularly intriguing subplot for the International team. Their captain, Geoff Ogilvy, was part of the team responsible for reimagining Medinah No. 3. While intimate knowledge of a golf course is no guarantee of success, Ogilvy will know better than most how the redesigned holes are intended to be played, where the opportunities lie and which mistakes the course is designed to punish. The United States may arrive with the deeper roster and home advantage, but Ogilvy’s intimate knowledge of the course could help to level the playing field. With the course now offering considerably more strategic options than the penal layout of recent decades, the question is whether Ogilvy can use that knowledge to help his players find an advantage. Team USA: The Favourites On paper, Team USA looks extremely difficult to beat. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlines a formidable 12-man roster that also includes major champions Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark and Justin Thomas, while Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay add a wealth of team-match experience. The automatic qualifiers – Scheffler, Cameron Young, Clark, Sam Burns, Russell Henley and Morikawa – are joined by captain’s picks Schauffele, Thomas, Cantlay, Chris Gotterup, Jackson Koivun and Jacob Bridgeman. Snedeker's selections have made an already strong side even more imposing. Schauffele, Thomas and Cantlay bring considerable Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup experience, while the inclusion of 21-year-old Koivun adds an exciting new dimension. Koivun, Gotterup and Bridgeman will all make their Presidents Cup debuts at Medinah. The Americans therefore have an attractive blend of proven stars and youthful talent, with strength throughout the 12-man roster. Add home advantage and an 11-match winning streak, and it is easy to see why they arrive as overwhelming favourites. The challenge for Brandt Snedeker will be turning that individual quality into the right pairings and combinations – particularly in the foursomes. If he can do that, Team USA will take some stopping. The full Team USA roster can be found below: Scottie Scheffler Cameron Young Wyndham Clark Sam Burns Russell Henley Collin Morikawa Jacob Bridgeman Patrick Cantlay Chris Gotterup Jackson Koivun Xander Schauffele Justin Thomas Team International: The Underdogs The International team enters Medinah as the clear underdog, but Geoff Ogilvy has assembled a side with plenty of experience and enough quality to make life uncomfortable for the Americans. Si Woo Kim, Ryan Fox, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee, Tom Kim and Adam Scott qualified automatically, before Ogilvy added Corey Conners, Sungjae Im, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Nick Taylor, Nico Echavarria and Ryo Hisatsune with his six captain’s picks. There is plenty of Presidents Cup experience within the group, particularly through Scott, Matsuyama, Tom Kim, Si Woo Kim and Im. Ogilvy has also opted for three rookies in Taylor, Echavarria and Hisatsune, betting on a mixture of current form and players he believes can thrive in the team environment. It will also be a Presidents Cup debut for New Zealander and Champion Golfer of the Year, Fox. The obvious concern is star power. Si Woo Kim is the only International player inside the world's top 20, while the Americans boast Scheffler alongside a deep collection of elite players. But this is where Ogilvy's role could prove crucial. With a team that may lack the depth of the USA, the International captain will need to find the right combinations and maximise every available point. If his players embrace the occasion and the new-look Medinah rewards their style, they may have a genuine chance of making this a contest. After all, Medinah has already witnessed some extraordinary comebacks and championship moments. The 2026 Presidents Cup could provide another chapter in its remarkable history. The full Team International roster can be found below: Si Woo Kim (South Korea) Ryan Fox (New Zealand) Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) Min Woo Lee (Australia) Tom Kim (South Korea) Adam Scott (Australia) Christiaan Bezuidenhout (South Africa) Corey Conners (Canada) Nico Echavarria (Colombia) Ryo Hisatsune (Japan) Sungjae Im (South Korea) Nick Taylor (Canada)