Still in existence today, the 17th at Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland is the original “Alps” is. As the name implies, the key feature of this template is an imposing mass short of the target that refuses to be ignored, often obscuring the green from view. Strategy rules on a well-designed Alps where the hole must be considered in its fullness all the way back to the teeing ground for success. While the purest forms of this hole include a hidden bunker over the hill, my favorite interpretations of this template incorporate a form of “strategic blindness”, where the target is in sight from the teeing ground but tucked from view from certain angles on the approach. The 6th at St. Enodoc, named “Himalaya”, the third at National Golf Links of America, and Old Macdonald’s 16th are great examples of this clever hide and seek design.

Size: 20" wide x 16" tall

About the Artist:

Over the past 3 decades, Thad Layton has traveled the planet plying his trade as a Golf Course Architect for Arnold Palmer Design Company. He is a lifelong student of the game and has studied scores of golf’s greatest courses. Along the way, he’s catalogued the journey, filling up piles of sketchbooks with doodles and descriptions that have informed and inspired his work as an architect. Of these, Thad has illustrated a selection of his favorite design studies to share with fellow golf enthusiasts in a vivid series of original giclee watercolor prints.