Chapter Three Hazards

Tom Doak way of design golf holes is quite unique, his aim is to make the game challenging for better player, letting the worst ones enjoying their round without being punished by the course.

Influences from the past

Studying the evolution of golf architecture after the 1950’s, Tom Doak became conscious that design was getting more and more distant from the principles that brought the game to fame. The links courses were as far away as possible to be perfect, the slopes were severe, even in the middle of the fairway, and hazards were very hard, like pot bunkers, high rough and undulated greens.
They were designed with the same principles that govern life, where everyone is the only one that is responsible of his actions and to get to the goal needs to work hard, in a proper way and every mistake, get punished.