Hole no.6 par 3 156 yards and playtesting infos

Glenmarnock's 6th hole is a short par 3 measuring 156 yards. Situated at one of the high points of the course it offers to golfers panoramic views of the surrounding holes. The best approach is to aim left of the deep front bunker and work a high soft fade towards the middle of the green. When the wind blows, you must avoid being short as this cavernous bunker is almost a 1 stroke penalty in itself. Missing left of the green is a "good" miss on this hole.

On another note, if any of you is interested in playtesting the course, please send me a request via email or leaving a comment on the blog and I'll be happy to send the course. The course is in good enough shape at the moment to be considered "in beta state". Lots of work still needs to be done but I'm slowly getting there :)

Hole no.3 par 4 408 yards

Here's an overview of the par 4 3rd, heading inland and playing relatively short at 408 yards from the back tees. The view from the tee to the wide open fairway can be quite deceiving as the player must choose to play left or right of 2 deep bunkers right in the middle of the fairway. Play left and you're rewarded with a clear view for the approach shot to the green (2nd picture). Play right and you can add extra yardage down the hill to your drive but have a semi-blind approach. The green slope from back to front.

Exploring some concepts about greensites

One thing that I've read time and time again in countless books about golf course architecture is the importance of finding good, natural greensites for a course. This is the fundation with which we can then build the routing and establish the flow of the holes. Many early architects started to work on a potential course site by exploring every square inch of the land to find the best natural greensites to lay the course on. Then they worked backward finding a fairway, and a teebox...and off they went for the rest of the course. They didn't have bulldozers and other heavy machinery to shape the land like what we have today on modern courses. They mainly relied on the quality, natural features and richness of the land to give life and character to their courses. Many famous links courses in the british isles and some more classic tracks around the world have been built that way, and this is in my mind the only way to do it. Nature is of infinite richness, and the architect must work in harmony with it at all times.

Like I said in an earlier post, minimum earthmoving have been applied to the landplot I've been given to work with, and this apply particulary to the greensites at Glenmarnock. I took extra care refining and contouring the greensites on the course so they integrate seamlessly in their surroundings and look as natural as the architect program and skills can allow. I found about 14 to 15 natural greensites on the plot that have been used to build the course, with those extra 3-4 requiring a touch more work with the land to get it done. Most of the greens at Glenmarnock golf links are large and undulated with ridges and collection areas that can certainly test the short game. I did choose to be not overly aggressive with the rough around the greens to let the greensites "breathe" more openly with the rest of the course so to speak. Here pictured is the greensite of the 209 yards par3 2nd.

Glenmarnock hole no.1 par 5 498 yards

The opening hole at Glenmarnock is a beautiful par 5 playing along the coast. The modest lenght of the hole can provide an opening birdie with the helping wind. The player must negociate a double dogleg as the preferred line of play off the tee is a gentle draw around the menacing bunker to the left part of the fairway, followed by a long iron or fairway wood fading around the big dunes to reach the green. The large green is inviting and but many balls can find the back of the green which can challenge a bit the short game.

Design Notes: That hole was at first a very tough, very long par 4 opener of some 470 yards with the black tee box much closer to the sea. It proved to me during testing that it was a bit too harsh for an opening hole so I built a new tee and changed the hole to a par 5. I don't usually open my courses with super challenging holes and this won't change here with Glenmarnock. With 2 solid shots the player may see an eagle opportunity right at the start of his round.

Planting in progress at Glenmarnock

Just a quick update to let everyone know that the planting of Glenmarnock is well under way and that I should be able to post pics of the course quite soon. To this point I must say that the project have been going smoothly, though I need to put some more time balancing the layout and working on some holes....

Lately I've been playing courses like Darnoch high, The American Club and Lochiel as they are very good examples of the spirit, course strategy and style I want to put to Glenmarnock. I'll go more deeply into these fine courses once I start presenting Glenmarnock holes.