Architecture Glossary - Esker

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 ‘Esker’.

A great golf course is almost as dependent on the landscape where it sits as for the actual design presented for the plot. Therefore it’s important to keep the terrain in mind when discussing a golf course. Much of this is fairly simple…hills, plateaus, ponds et cetera. At other times, we note specific terrain type as a key ingredient in particular forms of golf. What would links golf be without dunes, for example?

There are, however, more precise landforms worth noting for their incorporation within an architect’s design for a course. One such landform is a very near relative to a “dune,” known as an “Esker.”

Eskers, according to the United States National Park Service, are “meandering ridges of sediment that form in water channels beneath or within the glacier ice.” Essentially, frozen glaciers had flowing water within them, which deposited sediment — generally sand and gravel — as it flowed in its established path. As these glaciers moved on and melted, the ridgelines remained. These are often sandy enough to be considered proper “dunes.” Their sharp, serpentine forms often appear artificial, almost like a man-made levee. Unlike the wild dunes in coastal regions, the gravel portion of the substrate allows Eskers to better hold their form during persistent winds.

The presence of Eskers is immediately noticeable on the topography aerial of Astoria Golf and Country Club, almost appearing artificial in their linear nature.

Many such landforms can be found in the non-mountainous regions of Scotland, the straths where only rivers remain from the great glacial movements of yore. Remnants of those glaciers also remain in the form of Eskers, and one of the foremost is at the Gleneagles Resort.

These dune developments may not be as obvious as the next example on our list, but their soil makeup confirms their “Esker” status, as do mining operations near the resort.

Although the soil here is not quite as pure as that on the shore links, many refer to Gleneagles as an example of “inland links,” the Esker terrain lends credence to it. The soil here drains considerably better than that of more parkland-style courses to be found inland.

For the purpose of this post, however, it’s important to consider how architects approach these landforms. Due to their sharp up-and-down nature, it’s difficult to plan holes atop them, in the same way that Rye Golf Club uses its notorious ridge. Skilled architects, however, are often inclined to place just a green or a tee box atop the ridge for strategic effect.

James Braid fully embraced the former strategy at Gleneagles’ Kings Course. On the front nine alone, players will be asked to hit up to the perched green at No. 1, No. 8, and No. 5. The lattermost of these holes is one of Braid’s more famous designs, “Het Girdle,” which would serve as the inspiration for Charles Blair Macdonald’s “Knoll” template hole.

No. 5 at Gleneagles' Kings Course is one of several holes where James Braid chose to place a green atop the many Esker ridges that web the property. Gleneagles is one of many locations in the Scottish straths that feature Eskers left by glaciation.

As noted, there are much more dramatic examples of Esker in golf. It is frequently difficult to incorporate the most pronounced versions of this landform into a golf course, however, due to just how angular they are. Although Astoria, OR sits near the sea, glacial action created quite exaggerated Eskers across the property at Astoria Golf and Country Club.

The proposed routing traveled east-west across the property, providing a litany of blind shots. Founding member Charles Halderman and superintendent George Junior rejected the idea, instead choosing to route the majority of fairways north-south between the signature dunes. No. 3 is an early example in the routing how these landforms can serve dual-purposes.

The signature hole at Astoria Golf and Country Club, players hit from a tee perched atop the left Esker and then weave between the two dunes all the way to the green.

Although the majority of the hole travels attractively between two parallel Eskers, the tee is actually placed atop the left landform. The fairway is perilously tight, so players will need to choose an accurate club while sitting up in the wind. Also, remember that wind’s direction; the Eskers may make the winds seem calm when sitting down in their canyon, but the Pacific breezes will impact your ball once it rises above their heights. Tom Doak reportedly remarked that "if it weren't for the cart path that detracts from the hole's appearance, the third hole would be considered one of the greatest golf holes in the world” (the club has since re-routed the path. We’ll see if world fame follows).

Halderman and Junior used the landform differently at the turn. The clubhouse sits atop one of the wider dunes, and players will walk the plank for an 120-yard par three when they begin the back nine. The hole is fully exposed to the wind, and balls to either the left or right will face a steep save back up to the green.

It’s worth noting Esker Hills Golf Club in central Ireland for a variety of reasons. As a fairly modern course, it relies on water features and other elements more so than the land’s inland dunes. It does, however, utilize them nicely to house greens, such as the case with No. 4, where the putting surface sits in an alcove between Esker embankments.

If not architecturally, it should be noted that the word “Esker” does stem from Gaelic, translating appropriately to “ridge.”

The term "Esker" comes from the Gaelic language, and accordingly, Ireland features many such landforms, including at the appropriately-titled Esker Hills Golf Club.

Granted, there are only so many “proper” Eskers within the golf world, featuring the exact soil makeup that justify the classification. Still, understanding how the architects utilized these unique features can give us insights as to how others might manipulate the landscape to create similar experiences. Although minimalism is the resounding trend in golf course architecture at the moment, more maximalist creators — ranging from Seth Raynor to Pete Dye — did not shy from creating terrain features that serve the same purpose.

For example, Raynor placed the tee box at Country Club of Charleston’s famous Reverse Redan No. 11 on top of a Civil War-era battery, adding an element of grandeur to the memorable shot, if nothing else.

Are you likely to find an Esker on your next trip? Maybe, maybe not. At the very least, you can sound a bit sharper when discussing golf with the geology professor in your life!