Strategic Concepts - Optional Lay-Ups

By: Jeffrey D. Brauer


"The Inside Pinch Hazard"

As mentioned before, no one likes being forced to lay-up, just like no kid likes being told "No."

And, like a good parent, who learns instead to give the child the choice to decide - even if both choices are selected by the parents - the good golf course architect can find ways of allowing golfers to feel okay, and maybe even downright good, about laying up. If they think golfers feel they have outsmarted me by laying up, I have done my job, without telling anyone "no."

We can do that by providing narrower fairways at longer distances, as in the following examples.

The large bunker on the inside of the dogleg at or just past the normal landing area makes golfers choose between laying up slightly with an easy driver or 3-metal to a 40-plus-yard-wide landing zone, and forcing a power drive into a 30-yard wide landing zone. When I design these holes, I often use a large waste bunker-type hazard to make relatively sure long hitters cannot simply carry the hazard and avoid the strategy.

These work best when the club differential is between two or three clubs, and most often on mid-length holes. It is obviously more palatable to lay up if your approach club goes from wedge to a 7-iron or, at most, 8- to 5-iron. Laying up to hit a long iron becomes a lower percentage play.

The concept can also be used on a mid-length par-5, forcing the decision to play safe or take a risk to reach the green.

The approach-shot distance determines whether the greenside hazard will be on the inside or outside. I favor placing the hazard on the outside-front of the green on longer holes, since a longer shot to an open front with a run-up shot is a fair trade-off against a shorter shot over a bunker. On really short holes, two or three extra clubs over a bunker is a fair trade-off against any chance of going in a fairway bunker to gain a better angle with a driver (and probably the smarter play).

Depending on the green's shape and size, it can also vary depending on the pin location. If the pin can be set 20 yards over those bunkers, as opposed to 20 feet, it may affect which side of the fairway you choose.

Jeffrey D. Brauer began his career as an apprentice in the Chicago area in 1977. His first project was Kemper Lakes, which shortly after hosted the 1989 PGA Championship. He formed GolfScapes in Arlington, Texas, in 1984. In the last 29 years he has designed and consulted on a wide spectrum of projects, ranging from partial renovations to international resorts. His recent work includes teaming with the design team of Pascuzzo and Pate on a remodel of the world-famous La Costa Resort & Spa in California, and renovations at Superior National Golf Course in Lutsen, Minn., and Mesquite Municipal Golf Course in Mesquite, Texas.

He has been a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects since 1981, serving as President during its 50th Anniversary year in 1995-96. Jeff still studies the classic works - both old and new, and has played more than 75 of the best courses in the world.

Jeff gives many presentations and is a regular architecture columnist for many publications and websites, including Golf Course Industry and Cybergolf.com. He has also been a strong advocate for the "Tee it Forward" campaign and strives to make his courses fit the description of "fun to play every day."

Jeff's work has been spotlighted in most of the world's major golf magazines. Golf World ranked him as one of the top-20 golf course architects and Golf Inc. ranked him as the world's fourth-best value in golf architecture in 2010. Jeff's portfolio and reputation keep him at the forefront of desired designers for new courses, reconstruction and renovation projects. For more about Jeff, visit http://www.jeffreydbrauer.com/sites/courses/layout.asp?id=859&page=48451.