The recent Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Te Arai Links was a timely reminder of what happens when you put elite players on a great golf course. The South Course, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, was every bit the star of the show.
With 16 holes offering views of the Pacific, firm fescue and natural sand dunes, it provided a spectacular setting and a proper examination for the region’s best amateurs.
Both Te Arai layouts are ranked among the top 100 courses in the world, and the reaction to what viewers were seeing was another reminder that the venue matters. It is one thing to watch talented players hit golf shots. It is another to watch them work their way around a course with character, strategy, consequences and in this case million-dollar views as every backdrop.
We saw it on our own shores at last year’s Australian Open, when Royal Melbourne’s Composite Course welcomed Rory McIlroy, Cameron Smith, Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee. One of the best courses on the planet was given the stage it deserved, and the players had to meet its demands. The greens, angles and strategic challenges made for a compelling test. In a few weeks, the Australian Open heads to Kingston Heath, another global classic. It is exactly the sort of venue that should be hosting our biggest events.
We need more of it.
The recent Walker Cups at Cypress Point and Lahinch have shown the same thinking at an international amateur level. These are not just famous clubs trading on their history. They are distinctive golf courses that ask players to think, adapt and execute in different ways. The best holes offer options, the ground game matters and there is no single formula for getting around.
Too much of the modern tournament calendar is built around courses designed to accommodate professional golf, rather than courses that make professional or tournament golf interesting. There is a place for long, immaculate layouts, but when week after week looks and plays much the same, the product can become boring and predictable. Bigger drives and lower scores are not automatically better entertainment, I think all golf fans will agree with that.
Great courses create variety, they normally reward imagination and people want to watch golf being played at bucket list venues. The layout also contributes to a tournament’s identity. A championship at Royal Melbourne, Erin Hills, Te Arai or Kingston Heath and team events at the likes of Cypress Point or Lahinch makes the venue firmly part of the story.
Golf's biggest events should be played on its best courses more often. Not every great venue can host a tournament, and not every classic needs to be turned into a championship test. But organisers should be looking harder at the places that make golf what it is.
The players are good enough to take on these courses and the fans deserve to see them do it. Put the best in the world on the best courses in the world, and the golf will take care of itself.
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