Strategy is the lifeblood of golf architecture; without it, a course lacks interest and vitality. The main characteristic of strategy is that it forces players to make choices when considering their tee shots, their recovery shots, their approaches and their up-and-downs. These choices are forced upon them by the careful positioning of hazards.
At IVGD, we spend a lot of time thinking about the strategy of our holes, playing the holes we are in the midst of designing over and over again in our head to achieve the best possible results for all standards of players. We are, therefore, very proud to hear frequently from people that they have never thought as much about their shot selection as when playing our courses.
Although the fairway may be made as broad as space allows, it should be highly desirable to play on on to some particular portion of it, in order to simplify the next stroke
Harry S. Colt “Some Essays on Golf-course Architecture” 1920
The true line to the hole, except for once or twice a round, should never be the center of the fairway
Tom Simpson “The Architectural Side of Golf” 1930