Differences in Course Type - Resort, Park, Links, City (muni), Championship

[tdk8180]

Basically, you hear course classifications all the time. What are the differences that allow for the classifications. Use the template to add.

 

Park - Simple, straighter cut fairways. Some Tees and greens close by. Many trees lining fairways. Walkable course.

 

Resort - Crazy holes, unfair side hill lies and green undulations (triple tier). Unwalkable. Usually cut out of a forest, or placed on a coastal property. Fairway widths under USGA regulations and blind tee shots.

 

Championship - fairways at fair width, long back tee (6700 to 7400). Layout is challenging, but fair, no double penalties or gimmicky holes.

 

Links - Few trees, if any. Tall grass and less than ideal greenside conditions. Tees and greens close by.

 

City (Municipal) - ????

[mctrees02]

I would describe a resort course (excluding one that is Tour/USGA championship caliber) like this:

- Very wide fairways, most elevation comes from the tee box and runs downhill, walking is discouraged/not allowed. Rough isn't very penal. Most people get in trouble with water or desert areas on a resort course. Holes are pretty straight forward but often times have large, undulating green complexes.

In my experience, a parkland course (see Pacific Grove's front 9) is very similar to a municipal course (see Presidio, Stevens Park) if they are older layouts. Two great examples of newer (within last 20 yrs) municipal course builds that are significantly different are Tierra Verde & Texas Star.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Target golf: forced carries from tee to fairway and fairway to green over desert or waste areas to limit the amount of turf and water used. Very common in Az.

[teejaywhy]

You are mingling design styles, environment/location, and ownership. For example, parkland and links describe the environment, while resort and municipal describe the ownership and/or target market. All the terms can be useful in describing a course, but one does not necessarily depend on the other.

To my knowledge, resort courses don't really share any design or environmental features, they can be parkland, or links style, residential etc. Same with municipal courses, they don't share any particular style or design elements because they are municipal.

"Championship" is just a marketing term. Really means nothing as a way to describe the course.

If I were to apply a general description to a "resort" course, it would be much different than yours. Most resorts rely on "beauty" to attract golfers. The primary focus is on the visual aesthetic - dramatic bunkering, water features, bold shaping, "signature holes," lush conditioning and customer service (golf carts, beverage service, etc.). The primary goal is to provide "wow," and the actual golf values are secondary.

But then, Bandon Dunes is a resort so that shoots that description out of the water.

One could describe a municipal course as a basic course, fairly easy to play, budget minded.

But then, Chambers Bay is a muni so that description doesn't work.

I guess I'm saying the terms "resort" or "muni" are useful in the big picture, but don't do much to describe a courses design or environment style.

[tdk8180]

Hmmm. All very interesting.