What Makes a Golf Hole Good?

We all have golf holes we enjoy and other we definitely don’t, but what’s the difference? In all reality they are all just carved out pieces of earth earth varying components of grass height, water, and curve. While inherently similar, the difference between a good hole and a bad one can’t be more different.

Sure, good vs. bad in golf hole design is just as subjective as good music vs. bad, or good movies vs. bad. This post is certainly my take on the equation, and yours will likely vary, but once the thought of examining golf holes for their quality and not for their ability to gift you a good score enters your mind, courses in general start to look a bit different.

Some would argue that a good golf hole is one that forces the player to execute specific shots to attain a certain score, however I don’t subscribe to this train of thought. Actually, I think I land on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. I think a good golf hole that allows for endless combinations of shots and techniques to attain a specific score.

Some would also argue that scenery and visual appeal are what make golf holes good, and that is a powerful point. When you look up “Best Golf Holes in the World”, you get lists chalked full of ocean-side holes with beautiful vistas (I mean, the above-linked article is a a “scenery”-bonanza). The premise of that argument is troublesome, however. Is a hole’s location that large of a factor to its quality? Personally, I have trouble fully embracing that line of reasoning.

To me, the measure of a golf hole is the degree at which the hole make the player think. We’ve all played courses where it goes Tee Box = Driver, no matter what. In Golf there are two types of golf hole, “Fill-In-The-Blank” holes and “Essay Question” holes.

To my measure the best holes are, more often than not, the “Essay Question”-type golf holes.

Fill-In-The-Blank holes are holes that ask a question that have a very specific answer. Tee Shot? Driver. Second Shot? 150 club.

Essay Question holes are the ones that allow the player to determine and justify the answer, and where there are no “right” answers.

#3 at Grand Rapids Muni, Indian Trails Golf Course is a great example. The hole is very short for Par 4 standards (which is right in-line with this course’s ethos), but allows the player the ability to hit any club in the bag off the tee. Going for the Green? Driver or 3-wood will suffice, but with a tight landing area and bunkers in front of the green, there’s risks to be weighed. Want to play safe? Even a soft 7-iron will leave you a comfortable approach in, but with some woods not too far to the right of the green, there’s something to be said about a mid-iron into the green. Want to cut the small dogleg? That’s an option. Play it safe? There’s miles of room to the right, but offer a bigger challenge and worse angle into the green.

#4 at The Mines Golf Course here in Grand Rapids, MI is another awesome example. Similar to the above hole, there are so many options off the tee, you can’t really go wrong, but stepping up to the tee, envisioning the shot you want to hit, how much risk you want to take on, and stepping up to execute is one of the best feelings in golf.

One thing to note, neither of those holes are anywhere close to water, an ocean, or even a nice vista, but I’ve had some of the best times and memories on those holes than many “more picturesque” holes that I’ve played.

All in all, what makes a good golf hole is entirely subjective, but to me, it can be distilled down to the ability to make the golfer think and imagine the shot before them. Creativity and imagination in golf are to be celebrated and cultivated any chance we get, and the more holes that force us to be creative and to hit shots we could have only imagined hitting, the better.