Pine Valley in Clementon, New Jersey, a course that many consider the best in the world and is certainly one of my favourites, is an archetypical example of the penal style of design. In this case, the course is not unfair. A badly missed shot usually is penalized more than a slightly missed shot. It is just a very difficult test. On many, if not most, of its holes, long carries over intimidating sandy wastes, chasms or water are demanded, with no alternative route available. It is a course designed for the better player, for whom it is a magnificent challenge. But many players, especially women and short-hitting men, have a great deal of trouble with it and end up in the throes of frustration when they try it. Pine Valley is a course that is exactly what it was intended to be, one of the most beautiful and demanding layouts in the world.
But it is not for everybody.

The strategic design, on the other hand, demands that the player think his way around the course to avoid the hazards. There is no way over them. There are undulations and other subtle features that force the player to place his shots in exactly the right place or be faced with a more difficult shot into the green. So the player must plan the route to the green accordingly. The essence of strategic architecture is to encourage initiative and to reward the thinking golfer while penalizing the unthinking golfer. In strategic architecture, well-struck shots are necessary but often may be secondary to the end result. If the player has not thought through to the position he wants to be in when the shot finishes, he may find himself with an impossible next shot to the green.

Augusta National, home of the Masters Tournament, is one example. There is no rough, and no long carries over water are demanded, unless a player wants to try for the 13th and 15th, both par-5s, in two shots. But Augusta requires the player to think his way around the course, to position his ball for the shot to the green so he can get it in the right place. If he does not, he is faced with peril on the slick, undulating surfaces or an impossible recovery shot. This undoubtedly is the better way for most golfers to play, but there still is something missing.

I decided long ago that the better way was a design I labelled heroic, a concept that demands a heroic carry or gamble for the better player to get into a position for a birdie but one that always leaves an option for the lesser player to take the safer route. There must be a just reward for those attempting the heroic carry, and there must be a way around for those unwilling to take the risk. Without the alternate route, heroic carries are unfair. Without the reward,
heroic carries are meaningless.

If you can play a difficult 200- yard shot over a lake, you will have a chance for that birdie and certainly can make par. If you do not successfully make the shot, you will pay the penalty, and you know it before you start. If you are not capable of that shot, there must be a way for you to go around the lake. It can cost you an extra stroke, and it certainly will diminish your chance for a birdie or a par. But it won’t cost you two strokes, and it will always give you the opportunity, through skilful play, to still make par or birdie. In any event, it will be an easy bogey.

At the same time, that route, less risky and demanding, must not be boring or condescendingly easy. There still must be the excitement of meeting your own challenge. It may be a lesser challenge than that faced by the scratch player or the tournament player, but it is a challenge to you that can be met with skilful play within the limits of your particular ability level.