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 ‘Crossed Routing’.
The most important skill for a golf course architect to possess can be argued, but few doubt that the best the game has ever seen are masterful routers foremost. Given a topographical map and a pair of boots, these visionaries look at the landscape to create the puzzle pieces, and then somehow connect them together so that players get from Point A to Point B, with nary a dull moment to be had.
There are, of course, many, many courses where the routing gets away from the architect and the final product suffers for it. Let’s have some sympathy for these designers, however. Sometimes the land is simply too little, or too severe, for even the best to get from here-to-there without taking some shortcuts.
Sometimes this simply means a lengthy walk from one green to the next tee box (hardly a “shortcut” at all). In more extreme examples, the designers opt to simply have one hole travel across another. This controversial mechanism is known, appropriately, as a “crossed routing.”
Before you cast judgment, consider whether you could really do better than an icon like Old Tom Morris. Because a crossed routing is one of the many memorable quirks on display at his Irish masterpiece, Lahinch Golf Club.
The tee shot from No. 18 at Lahinch crosses the fourth fairway and fifth tee shot, but Old Tom Morris had little choice unless he wanted to dramatically alter, and weaken, the famous fourth hole.
The No. 4 hole at Lahinch is well-known for its carry of Klondyke Hill, which crosses this short par five about 150 yards out from the putting surface. That massive dune isn’t the only thing that crosses No. 4, however: Players finishing up their round will also be hitting their tee shots across the final 50 yards of No. 4’s fairway in order to reach their own fairway on the other side.
An uncomfortable logistics problem, to be sure, but consider Morris’s options. If he had moved No. 18’s green forward so that No. 18’s tee shot was unencumbered, “Klondkye” goes from 475 yards down to 375. More problematic, this would require players not to simply hit their second shot as long as they can over the slope (the current strategy for most), but hit a perfect lob that carries the 25-foot dune and then drops immediately to a green on the other side. It makes the blind tee shot at the next hole, “Dell,” seem simple by comparison (for the record, the tee boxes of nos. 5 and 18 are neighbors, meaning these holes are more slight examples of a crossed routing).
And so Morris elected to run that green all the way back to the road. His routing resulted in one of the club’s other notable quirks: the forecaddie’s shack built into the side of the hill.
An even more iconic crossed routing exists among the olde Links, one which reminds the modern player that modern safety-centric routing concepts were less “necessary” prior to the 20th Century.
Players will cross directly over the Cockleshell when heading to the green at the Old Course's No. 7 hole (right green), and then cross that fairway on their way to the putting surface at No. 11 (left green). (Photo Credit: P.J. Koenig)
Many course architecture enthusiasts know, by name, the four hazards traditionally associated with the Eden template, which is based on the Old Course’s No. 11 par three, High (In). The foremost bunker is the Cockleshell, an epic sand pit that is far enough from the green that it shouldn’t cause any real issue but, at the same time, does put the fear of God into those on the tee. Its placement, however, is perhaps more coincidental than strategic.
“Shell” is actually the primary hazard on No. 7, a short dogleg-right that crosses under the tee shots of those playing No. 11. It can swallow the balls of those who drive a tee shot more than 300 yards, and it also muddies the view into the green for those who land too near. Its usefulness while playing No. 11 is nice, but perhaps not as planned as C.B. Macdonald may have asserted.
One could argue that the entirety of the Old Course is an example of crossed routing. There was a time when the entire course was wall-to-wall fairway, with no native areas. Does it make sense for a skilled player to hit their tee shot onto an opposing fairway for one of the many side-by-side holes at St. Andrews? Maybe not. But the setup certainly allowed for the mingling of foursomes during yesteryear.
Cross-routing is not a strictly British tradition, of course.
We can make some conjectures as to what Douglas Nickels was thinking a century ago when he laid out Sequoyah Country Club. The clubhouse, as well as a few holes sit on a high plateau above the rest of the property. On the front nine, Nickels covered the plateau, and then worked his way down the east side of the rise, having the rest of the front nine wrap along the property line, eventually back the most gradual way to the clubhouse.
The landscape provided an impossible climb from the No. 15 green back toward the clubhouse so the architect brought the No. 16 tee shot across the preceding fairway while traveling back toward more gradual slopes.
During the back nine, after 14 holes, he had two choices: One, create a second-consecutive par three that travels back toward where the now-No. 16 tee box would be — No. 16’s direction was strictly necessary in order to get back to the more gradual upslope that led back to the clubhouse. Or, he could route a par four across where No. 16’s tee shot would travel. Perhaps fearing critical feedback of back-to-back short holes, Nickels relied on a cross routing. Members have never seen fit to do it any other way.
In the more litigious modern era, cross routings won’t be welcome at many new designs, because ownership worries about the potential for injury. That said, another modern trend has led to several instances of cross routing on special occasions. Due to the increased distance of professional golfers, clubs have been forced to prove their championship caliber by installing ever-farther-back tee boxes, resulting in overlap.
An example of this was seen during the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club. New tee boxes created headaches for impatient players.
First, those on the No. 3 tee needed to be aware that they were hitting across the tee shot of the par three No. 6, which heads in a perpendicular direction. Sure, even if there hadn’t been rules officials monitoring traffic, the odds of two balls colliding in midair is slim. Things got a bit more wonky at the No. 7 tee, where players hit their drives almost directly across the green they had just been putting on, and not from an elevated tee box. Naturally, putters needed to wait on those ahead to hit their tee shot, which offered potential for further slow play because those on the No. 6 tee were haggling with those on the No. 3 tee regarding who would hit first. A logistical nightmare, albeit only for the week that the tournament ran.
The northwest corner of the property created some logistical issues during the 2022 PGA Championship, as extended tee boxes meant long waits for pros who needed to hit over other holes.
Naturally, there are some instances where cross routing just gets out of hand, due to lack of land or lack of course design expertise, but generally both. Fernbank Golf Course, near Cincinnati, hosts what Golf Digest recently dubbed the worst opening hole in golf. Players on their way to the first green will have crossed no fewer than five other holes. Considering that the opener is a mere 250 yards, one realizes both how tight a parcel this course sits on, and how hazardous it can be during a busy day. As if to feed into the frenzy, nos. 7 and 9 run parallel to each other, have teeboxes that sit next to each other, and greens that sit 100 feet apart. The punchline is that the left teebox plays to the right green, and vice-versa.
An example of crossed routing taken to an absurd degree. You'll notice that the two holes crossing near the tee box also cross back across each other mid-hole.
Are crossed-routings ideal, as a concept? From a safety perspective, no. Can they still be utilized to create the best version of a golf course available? Yes, as several old-world examples have demonstrated.
D is for Dell (blind par threes) THE ORIGINAL What’s the original blind par three? Considering the many courses that have come and gone among the many rolling dunes of Britain, it’s near impossible to guess. There is one, however, that stands more prominent in the lore of golf, and many have since held it as the standard for blind one-shotters. Interestingly, it’s not among the many rolling dunes of Britain, but rather those of Ireland: The Dell at Lahinch. Lahinch Golf Club Old course 5th hole - image courtesy of Lahinch Golf Club This hole, laid out by Old Tom Morris during 1892, makes its goal obvious (if not the target of one’s tee shot). Granted, a white stone is now placed atop the fronting, 30-foot dune to mark the pin placement for the day, but this was not necessarily always the case. Players launch their ball 155 yards in the general direction, hoping to find it on the two-tiered green (high left and low right) when they arrive at the other side. The worst result will be to end atop or even on the far side of the fronting dune, as the thick cut won’t allow a short ball to follow gravity. True, the player will need extra club to carry the hill, but Old Tom showed his knack for meteorology: The North Atlantic wind results in shots that descend much steeper than they ascend. Despite the debate over the fairness of blind shots, The Dell survived renovations from Alister MacKenzie, the same man who eventually removed Royal St George’s notorious Maiden from the map. There are very few examples to suggest that “Dell” itself is a template, but it does set a standard for holes that wish to be compared to it. OTHER INTERPRETATIONS The Dell may be Old Tom’s most noteworthy instance of a blind par three, but it was far from his first. He first tried the act at Prestwick, nearly 40 years earlier. The famous “Himalayas” hole has a more straightforward green than at Lahinch, simply angled upward from front-to-back. Two factors do make a difference, however: the length (currently 230 yards from the back) and the bunkers. Six pots line the edge of the green, but five of them make the left of the hole the worst miss. Some suggest blind bunkers are an insult to strategic golf, but Morris used the concept several times at Prestwick. In fact, C.B. Macdonald enjoyed the No. 17 “Alps” hole so much that he brought the template home to the National Golf Links of America. If Macdonald — the ultimate strategist — can appreciate it, why shouldn’t we? Prestwick Golf Club 5th hole - image courtesy of Prestwick Golf Club Very soon after Lahinch, Old Tom moved on to Cruden Bay, where No. 15 “Blin’ Dunt” plays exactly like it sounds (we think), 195 yards across the side of a hill where a large green awaits. A friendly slope off the fairway apron will kick shots forward toward the green, but by no means play this hole short. Cruden Bay Golf Club 15th tee box Old Tom was not the only architect to enjoy the occasional blind par three. Laidlaw Purves laid out the since-deceased Maiden hole, and Willie Park Jr. also created a few. Most notable is Shiskine’s “Crows Nest,” an 120-yard shot that seems to travel straight up (and over) to cross a dune that doubles back across the line of approach, before finally settling on a putting surface high above the tee. Players must also combat the breathtaking scenery of the Isle of Arran, with the Firth of Clyde left and a rock bluff rising beyond the green. Shiskine Golf & Tennis Club 10th hole - image courtesy of Shiskine Golf & Tennis Club Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your opinion), blind shorts have largely fallen out of favor with modern architects, either because of the potential for injury (not everyone is familiar to listen for a bell) or simply because players don’t like the old-fashioned luck occasionally required at old-fashioned links. A few bold individuals have tried, however. Steve Durkee, upon renovation of the Dorset Field Club, strategically placed the No. 12 tee box to alleviate the safety problem. The player can stand to the left of the box and see the green (and, more importantly, whether anyone is on it). They can then step back to the actual tee area, where the hill on the right now blocks the view to the 145-yard target. Dorset Field Club 12th hole "Goats Loose" - image courtesy of Dorset Field Club One last in-memoriam for an attempt to make a true Dell recreation: At its opening, Erin Hills featured a near-clone of the legendary hole. Cleverly, they left three tee boxes to the right so weaker players could play the green longways, removing the blind element. Better players could challenge its true intent from the leftward tees. Unfortunately, many professional players also dislike the idea of blindness, and the hole was removed as a sacrifice for landing the 2017 U.S. Open. MAYBE...MAYBE NOT We noted there are few details that definitively make The Dell a template hole... so of course we have still found reasons to exclude a few par threes from this list. Willie Park Jr. has another blind par three of almost equal renown to “Crows Nest.” No. 10 at Temple Golf Club plays a whopping 243 yards... so it is helpful the player doesn’t need to cross any significant slope. The blindness is provided by a sunken green, set in a deep hollow. The land slopes down in a punchbowl formation to usher blind shots to the putting surface. Dell-style par threes depend on distance and directional management, without assistance from natural landforms. That the hole is named “Punchbowl” confirms our suspicion that it’s intended to play much more like that template, and less like a Dell. Temple Golf Club 10th hole "Punchbowl" - image courtesy of Temple Golf Club Continuing on this theme, we follow Park to the United States for yet another not-quite “Dell.” The No. 8 hole at Maidstone is one of the most famous on Long Island, yet it plays nothing like its original intent. After Park had left his mark, a storm shifted a dune and made the 150-yard hole blind. Members later elected to bulldoze the dune, but made the odd decision to handle it themselves (we assume these Long Islanders had cash to spare). The remaining wreckage of the dune leaves half the green blind, but more so due to scrub brush than hill. It’s an iconic look, but the visible portion of the green takes it out of contention for “Dell” comparisons. The Maidstone Club 8th hole - image courtesy of Jon Cavalier @LinksGems Using this logic that the entire green must be invisible from the tee, we can rule out greens such as No. 8 at Tom Doak’s Heathland Course at the Legends Resort. Front-left pin placements will be blind due to the sandy rise at the front of the uphill green, but otherwise players will be able to spot the pin on this uphill, 150-yard shot. We don’t doubt at all, however, that Doak is among the most likely architects to propose a blind par three green if an owner gave him a green light.
Review of the Month December 2017 - Ballyliffin (Old) I have now been to Northwest Ireland to play golf three years in a row. Having played most links courses ranked in the Britain and Ireland Top 100 and many ranked just below, I think no other place offers a better combination of course quality and accessibility. Not even factoring in the drop dead gorgeous scenery. I mean, where else can you look out the window and decide on the day – as a non-member – when on the same day you’d like to play two top links courses… and reasonably expect to play two rounds at your own pace, whether that is a fast 3-hour two-ball match or a game at a more leisurely pace? With the Glashedy course chosen for the 2018 Irish Open, I think there is a risk that more people will favour that course at the expense of the Old links. They could not be more mistaken. For me, it is the combination of the Old links and the Glashedy, and the fact that they are very different design-wise, yet equally matched, which makes the Ballyliffin experience. Drive up to the clubhouse in the morning, have a chat in the pro shop to make sure you know when other groups are teeing off and then decide which course to play first. If the weather turns ugly (happens), just wait in the clubhouse until it blows over, then start/resume your round. You can play 9, 18, 27 or 36 holes, whatever takes your fancy. Heaven. So, what could possibly be better? Well, you cannot walk from your hotel room to the first tee. At Rosapenna, two hours away, but at equal distance from Dublin, you can. That would perhaps be the one reason to go elsewhere. By EG Ohman Review of the Month December 2017 selected by Editor-in-Chief, Keith Baxter – click to read more about Ballyliffin (Old).
The 240 “Real Links” courses of Britain & Ireland Last month we published our inaugural rankings of the Top 100 Links Courses of Britain and Ireland. In that news release we promised to publish a full list of all the links courses in Britain & Ireland that we felt warranted the accolade of “Real Links”. We’ve previously mentioned publications that have listed courses which the authors felt qualified to be called “authentic links”, but we discovered some links courses within Britain & Ireland had been omitted while others had been included which we felt were not sufficiently links-like in nature. Our alphabetical list includes courses located within the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and on the Scottish islands as well as the two main islands of Britain and Ireland where the vast majority of “Real Links” courses are found. 240 courses in Britain and Ireland have made our Real Links list but we do not feature every one of them within our various ranking categories. Being a links course doesn’t automatically qualify clubs for entry into our rankings. Scotland can proudly lay claim to possessing more links courses than any other country, 100 in total. But there are 63 in Ireland (50 in the Republic and 13 in the North), 55 in England and 18 in Wales. We mustn’t ignore the trio of links gems on the Channel Islands and the mighty Castletown on the Isle of Man. We fully expect this list to stimulate debate and we’d like nothing more than to receive comments about any links courses that we have omitted or any that we’ve included which you feel are not genuine. But, before you contact us, we should explain our selection criteria. Of the 240 listed links courses (the list includes a mixture of layouts ranging from nine to eighteen holes) not every hole on every course is necessarily a real links hole. We decided that if at least 50% of the holes on any course are genuine links holes, the course made it on to our final list. There are many points of argument and debate as to what constitutes a real links course. For example, we could discuss grass types for a very long time. Purists argue that meadow grass has no place on links courses, but the reality is that poa annua is prevalent on some. Until 2016, the greens on the Old course at Ballybunion were dominated by poa annua, but no author dreamt of uttering the suggestion that Ballybunion was not a links course. Our Interpretation of "Links" After much thought and consideration we think we’ve taken a pragmatic view, which we believe is fair and reasonable. Some links courses will play homage to the ground game more enthusiastically than others, but you’ll find mostly the spirit of true links within the courses we’ve listed. Here’s our list of the 240 links courses in Britain & Ireland that we genuinely believe deserve the “Real Links” title: Course Contact us if you disagree – our aim is to get it right – and if we agree with your assertions we’ll correct our list. Treat this iteration as version one because we fully expect to refine the listing in light of feedback received. The following courses were carefully considered and debated at length but we couldn't quite find enough evidence to include them within our list:
