Golf Around the World

Golf Around the World

Golf is a game that spans all across the world.

In today’s blog entry, we’ll be discussing different professional golf tours, different types of golf courses, and what makes each course special.

PGA Tour

The PGA Tour is by far the best professional golf tour in the world. It’s regarded as the highest level of competitive play and it has the biggest prize pools out of any other golf competitions. Since its founding in 1916, the PGA tour has been home to the legends in the competitive golf scene.

You can reach the PGA tour through a number of routes. First, you can compete on the Korn Ferry Tour and earn your way. It’s a very challenging and rigorous process because all of the people you are competing against are fighting for the same thing: a PGA Tour card.

Another way you can compete is by winning a major championship. In theory, an amateur could be granted their tour card if they competed in the US open qualifying events. Then, they had a miraculous run and ended up winning the event. In that case, they’d be granted tour status and then they’d be able to keep competing.

European Tour

The European tour (Actually titled the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons) is the second most prestigious competitive golf tour in the world. As the name implies, it is strictly played throughout Europe. Traditionally, the European tour is seen as a stepping stone for the PGA tour. However, the highlight of the European Tour is the access to world ranking points for each tournament.

Different Types of Golf Courses

There are 5 main styles of golf courses: Links, Parkland, Heathland, Sandbelt, and Stadium.

Links Style

Links style courses are the most famous type of golf course. Many people like to say “hit the links” when they are referring to just a golf course, not a links course. True links courses are found mostly in Europe in Scotland, Ireland, and England. In many ways, links courses are the home of golf. The courses are characterized by firm ground, ridges, and large fairways. Some examples of links courses are The Old Course at St. Andrews, Royal Troon, Lahinch, and many of the Bandon Dunes courses.

Parkland

Parkland courses are characterized by featuring lots of trees and lush grass. An easy way to remember this is “park” land because these courses should feel like you are playing in a park. They also feature many man-made obstacles like dug bunkers, ponds, and designed rough. Good parkland courses are typically harder to make and maintain because they are more expensive. The best example of a parkland course is Augusta National which is the venue for The Masters each year.

Heathland

Heathland style courses are characterized by course grass, lots of vegetation and they are more inland than the other two types that we’ve already discussed. Heathland courses are typically similar to links style courses because of their angulation. They are also typically found in Britain. Some examples of heathland courses are Working Golf Club and Alwoodley Golf Club.

Sandbelt

The sandbelt region is found in Melbourne, Australia. These courses are typically characterized by the sandiness in the soil and undulating greens. Famous golf course architect, Alister MacKenzie designed Royal Melbourne’s West course and it is one of the most renowned in the world.

Stadium

Stadium or Championship courses are typically synonymous with eachother. They are both built for competitive play and if they are given the title of being a “championship” or “stadium” course then there is typically more than one course on site. Typically, these courses are created with spectators in mind. Therefore, architects will keep in mind ease of movement and creating vantage points for spectators. One of the most famous holes of a stadium style course is TPC Sawgrass #17. It’s an island green par 3 that creates some of the most exciting moments during championship golf.

What are TPC Courses?

Tournament Players Club (TPC) is a collection of courses that are operated by the PGA Tour. Typically, these courses have hosted a PGA Tour event or an affiliated tournament beforehand. There are 33 golf courses that have TPC designation and 13 of them are public. I’ve had the pleasure of playing TPC Myrtle Beach, it’s a blast but admittedly, there’s many better courses in the Myrtle Beach area.

A golf course encompasses a wide variety of characteristics. It’s hard to define what you local course would be. For some, they would characterize a golf course as “home”. Next week, we’ll be discussing how people connect themselves to the game of golf and why they feel it is so important.

-GBS-