A Guide to Timeless Hole Designs Every Golfer Should Know

If golf is a language, then classic hole designs are its idioms—shorthand expressions that carry layers of meaning. Over more than a century, architects have borrowed and reinterpreted certain “template holes,” designs so effective they’ve become standards worldwide.

Knowing these holes isn’t just trivia. It’s essential to understanding the DNA of golf course architecture. Here’s a tour of the most famous designs, how they work, and where you can experience them.

The Eden

Origin: 11th hole, St Andrews Old Course
Defining Traits: A short par three with a wide, shallow green guarded by deep bunkers and subtle slopes.

The Eden tests precision and touch. Though only about 150 yards, its green contours punish indecision. Many architects copied it, showing that length isn’t necessary for difficulty.

Learning point: Small greens with strategic hazards keep short holes relevant forever.

The Cape

Origin: Charles Blair Macdonald’s work at National Golf Links of America
Defining Traits: A par four (or five) with a diagonal hazard—often water or sand—that the player must decide how much to bite off from the tee.

The Cape exemplifies risk and reward. A bold drive over more hazard leaves a shorter, better angle approach. A safe play away from the hazard leaves a tougher second.

Learning point: Diagonal hazards create choice, drama, and strategy.

The Punchbowl

Origin: Common in Scotland; popularized in U.S. by Macdonald and Doak
Defining Traits: A green set in a natural bowl, where slopes funnel shots toward the hole.

Punchbowls are joyous. They forgive imprecision and reward creativity. They’re often a welcome respite in a round, reminding players that golf should also be fun.

Learning point: Not every hole must be punishing. Some should thrill.

The Alps

Origin: 17th at Prestwick Golf Club, Scotland
Defining Traits: A par four with a blind second shot over a hill to a hidden green, often protected by a deep bunker.

The Alps challenges trust and nerve. You hit over a looming obstacle with faith the architect has left space beyond. In America, Macdonald’s version at National Golf Links remains famous.

Learning point: Blindness can be thrilling if paired with fairness.

The Double Plateau

Origin: Raynor/Macdonald templates
Defining Traits: A green with three distinct levels—front, back-left, and back-right—creating wildly different pin positions.

Double Plateaus turn approach shots and putting into puzzles. A player must place the ball on the right tier or face near-impossible putts.

Learning point: Variety within greens keeps holes fresh.

The Short

Origin: Prestwick, 5th hole
Defining Traits: A par three under 150 yards with a tiny, well-guarded green.

The Short hole proves small can be mighty. The target is exacting, and any miss is punished. At Yale, the 7th Short is both beautiful and brutal.

Learning point: Scale doesn’t dictate challenge. Precision does.

The Long

Origin: St Andrews, 14th hole
Defining Traits: A three-shot par five, usually over 550 yards, with strategic hazards along the way.

The Long emphasizes patience and placement. Unlike modern “reachables,” the Long demands three quality shots.

Learning point: Endurance and strategy matter as much as daring.

The Redan

Origin: North Berwick Golf Club, Scotland
Defining Traits: A par three with a green angled from front-right to back-left, heavily sloped, with a front bunker guarding the entrance.

The Redan is the most copied par three in golf. Its genius lies in its angles: the ideal shot is a right-to-left approach that uses the slope to feed the ball toward the back-left pin. Architects like Seth Raynor and Charles Blair Macdonald transplanted Redans across America, from Yale to National Golf Links.

Learning point: Great architecture creates strategy not by length, but by angle and slope.

The Road Hole

Origin: St Andrews Old Course, 17th hole
Defining Traits: A dogleg-right par four with a blind tee shot over a building (or its symbolic replacement), followed by a brutally difficult second to a narrow, angled green guarded by a deep “Road Bunker” and a road beyond.

The Road Hole is infamous for its severity—but also its brilliance. It demands nerve, precision, and strategy. Countless modern architects have built their own versions, though none quite match the terror of the original.

Learning point: A hole can be brutally difficult yet still fair if it offers options and rewards execution.

The Biarritz

Origin: Pau Golf Club, France; popularized by C.B. Macdonald and Raynor
Defining Traits: A long par three (often 210–230 yards) with a massive green bisected by a deep swale or trough.

The Biarritz forces a player to carry the ball to the correct section of the green—front, swale, or back. Putts from the wrong section are some of the wildest in golf. Yale’s famous 9th is America’s most iconic version.

Learning point: Bold green contours can define an entire hole.

Why Templates Endure

Template holes are not lazy copies. They’re timeless strategies that test skill in endlessly fresh ways. Each site reshapes the template: a Redan on sand dunes plays differently than one on clay farmland.

Modern architects—like Coore & Crenshaw, Gil Hanse, and Tom Doak—continue to reinterpret templates, proving their relevance in the 21st century.

Studying classic hole designs is like learning jazz standards. Once you know them, you can recognize riffs, improvisations, and homages everywhere. The next time you face a short par three with a tiny green, you’ll think of Prestwick. The next time you see a diagonal hazard, you’ll know you’re standing on a Cape.

And perhaps most importantly, you’ll understand that golf is not just a game of scores—but a conversation across centuries, carried on through holes that remain as alive today as when they were first conceived.

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