What’s with all the hole names? What’s a template hole? Are they exact reproductions?
All commonly asked questions by many upon their first exposure to a Raynor golf course. It has often been said, you must define the terminology before effective communication can begin.
To understand the terms used in this arena you have to start from the beginning with Raynors mentor Charles Blair Macdonald, The Father of American Golf Architecture. Macdonald lived in Scotland for years where he attended the University of St. Andrews and learned the game of golf at the Old Course. He not only became quite a skilled golfer, he was also fascinated by the immense variety of features and strategies found on Scotland’s links courses.
Macdonald embarked on a studious journey to discover what were considered to be Scotland’s best golf holes and why they were deemed so. After returning to America he made numerous trips back to Scotland to solidify his research.
Ultimately he concluded there were about 25 great hole designs in the world and that the best features of each should be used as guides when constructing a course, he stated;
“The courses in Great Britain abound in classic and notable holes,
one only has to study these and adopt their best and boldest features.”
As the outworking of this conclusion, Macdonald long envisioned building in America an “Ideal” links course, with 18 “Ideal” holes utilizing the best features and strategies of Scotland’s best holes. The dream became a reality when in 1911 the Macdonald designed and Raynor built National Golf Links of America opened for play.
In classic Scottish style the holes had names! A few were close to replicas, most were strategically similar yet with many interesting original features, and some were Macdonald originals simply inspired by a feature or strategy he admired. They were originally called ideal holes, for modern day Mac-Raynor enthusiasts this is often the preferred term, yet Macdonald’s bold links hole designs and green complexes at the National, were eventually dubbed “templates”.
More than a century later National Golf Links is holy ground for golf course architects from around the world. Mcdonald’s hole designs and green complexes are studied in detail, often replicated, and universally revered, as is the course. The National is perennially rated as one of the best courses in America alongside Augusta National, Oakmont, and Pine Valley.
Template by definition is; a form, mold, or pattern used as a guide to make something. Guide frames the approach and to understand the term properly within this golf context, the form or mold is the terrain and topography of the site, and the pattern is the defining features and strategies which characterize the hole and green.
Raynor’s renditions of his mentor’s template hole designs and green complexes are not cookie cutter versions of the originals, as he sought to fit them naturally into the topography of the site. This often introduced nuance and uniqueness, typified by the “Reverse Redan” which has the same classic Redan green design features in reverse, angled and sloped from front left to back right.
In modern times, comparing and rating Raynor’s different versions of a particular template hole or green complex has almost become a religion among classic course design enthusiasts.
MVCC Template Hole Origins
Hole #2 Redan;
- #4 @ National Golf Links – #15 @ North Berwick GC
Hole #3 Alps;
- #3 @ National Golf Links – #17 @ Prestwick GC
Hole #4 Narrows;
- #15 @ National Golf Links – #14 @ North Berwick & #15 @Muirfield
Hole #6 Valley;
- #1 @ National Golf Links
Hole #7 Eden;
- #13 @ National Golf Links – #11 @ St. Andrews Old Course
Hole #8 Knoll;
- #13 @ Piping Rock GC – #4 @ Scotscraig GC
Hole #9 Plateau;
- #11 @ National Golf Links
Hole #11 Biarritz;
- #9 @ Piping Rock GC – #3 @ Biarritz GC (France) – #16 @ North Berwick GC
Hole #12 Short;
- #6 @ National Golf Links – #5 @ Brancaster now #4 @ Royal West Norfolk GC
Hole #13 Prize Dogleg; (Raynor)
- #6 @ Lido – patterned after an award winner in a magazine hole design contest
Hole # 11-13 = Raynor Corner!
Hole #14 Leven;
- #17 @ National Golf Links – #16 @ Lundin Links
Hole #17 Cape;
- #14 @ National Golf Links
Hole #18 Long;
#9 @ National Golf Links – #14 @ St Andrews Old Course