Photos: The Chain short course, designed by Coore and Crenshaw, opens soon at Streamsong

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw turn up the volume with The Chain at Streamsong.

BOWLING GREEN, Fla. – There are expectations for architects as they design a golf hole. Length, width, severity of contours, difficulty, placement of the green – there’s room for creativity, sure, but stray too far from tradition and a few eyebrows certainly will be raised.

Except for short par 3s. Great architects have long let their imaginations wander with the most miniature of holes on many acclaimed courses.

“It seems that’s there a theme that every wonderful, great course I’ve ever seen always includes a little short par 3 somewhere,” said Ben Crenshaw, the two-time Masters champion, golf historian and design partner with Bill Coore. “Short par 3s are pretty tantalizing for a lot of people. There’s so many brilliant examples of that. It just adds spice.”

Coore and Crenshaw have included many such holes on the dozens of golf courses they have designed together. Often not much over 120 yards or even shorter, these pint-sized par 3s are famed for offering intrigue as players plan for birdies but often pencil in bogeys or worse on their scorecards.

Soon comes a new chance to play a string of such holes as Streamsong opens all of its newest short course, The Chain, to preview play March 31. Until then, the resort is allowing limited preview play on less than the full course as it continues to grow in. The Chain is expected to fully open to resort play later this year.

The new par-3 course, The Chain, at Streamsong in Florida (Courtesy of Streamsong/Matt Hahn)

Built by Coore and Crenshaw, The Chain will offer 19 holes ranging from 41 to 293 yards, each offering a vast teeing area that allows players to pick a length. Want to play No. 8 with a driver? Step back to the huge metal chain link sunk into the ground and swing away. Want to play the same hole at 170? Go for it. It’s totally up to each group, or even each player. No. 1 can be 57 yards or 110, all the way to No. 19 at that ranges from 115 to 145.

The resort never refers to par for any hole, though the vast majority of them will require just one full shot for most players. Call them par 3s, or call them whatever you like – the resort’s operators don’t really care as long as players are having a blast.

The course was laid out in such a way that players can take a six-hole or a 13-hole loop, but resort operators expect most to play all 19. The Chain is a short walk from The Lodge at Streamsong, so late-afternoon tee times will be at a premium after many players tackle one of the resort’s highly acclaimed full-size courses – Red, Blue and Black – in the mornings. The Chain should prove especially popular during Streamsong’s peak winter season, when curtailed daylight might prevent a second 18-hole loop, and among players arriving to the resort mid-afternoon or simply those who just don’t want to stretch their golf to 36 traditional holes a day.

Streamsong Chain
Nos. 18 and 19 of the new short course, The Chain, at Streamsong in Florida (Courtesy of Streamsong/Matt Hahn)

Also expect to encounter plenty of fun shots on The Chain. Coore and Crenshaw were granted a feast of freedom in designing the layout that maxes out at 3,026 yards, and they dreamed up plenty of internal contours and ground features that will only improve as the greens and their sandy surrounds continue to mature and become even more firm and bouncy.

“We can do things with a shorter course, where players are hitting shorter shots and you can be a bit more aggressive with the greens and some of the things,” Coore said recently after a tour of the layout alongside Crenshaw. “Things are in more of a reduced scale, and you can take more liberties and a few more risks to do greens and surrounds with interesting things that you might not be able to do with a regulation course. …

“For years, people have said (about full-size courses), ‘You can’t do that, it won’t be accepted, that’s too radical.’ With a par-3 course, you can kind of dispense with that a little and say, ‘It’s a par-3 course; we can do that.’ If you’re in our profession, it gives you freedom to work.”

The Chain includes a bunker in the middle of a green at No. 6, the aforementioned No. 8 that can play for many as a short par 4, and several trips across water and quarries at the former phosphate mining site. There are plenty of slopes that will help feed golf balls onto the putting surfaces and more devious contours that can sweep a ball off a green.

The tee markers at The Chain at Streamsong are huge chain links left over from mining. But instead of markers on each side of the tee, these links mark the front and back positions for each tee, which can stretch for dozens of yards, allowing players to select the yardage they will play each hole. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)

The hole most likely to be relived over post-round beverages is the 209-yard (max) 11th, where a punchbowl green awaits on the opposite side of a pond, just a thin slit in the nearly vertical bank showing the putting surface from the tee. Players can try to just crest the forward mounds with their tee shots, or they can intentionally take it deep past the flag and trust that the ball will roll backward onto the green – this might be the safest route, and it’s a blast to watch balls scamper back toward the putting surface as if pulled by a string.

“Probably most people would point to that hole,” Coore said when asked what he anticipates will be the biggest talker among the 19 holes. “You play over the beautiful lake. It used to be a flat piece of ground out there, and we just mined a bunch of sand out of it and made a big hole.”

But don’t expect No. 11 to be a pushover, even with slopes on all sides of the green to feed the ball toward the hole – especially for players who flirt with the water short or right in trying to play a shot to the yardage instead of just hitting it long. Streamsong Black, the 18-hole design by Gil Hanse, already offers a famous punchbowl green, but The Chain’s variation is much smaller and tighter in scope, fitting with Coore and Crenshaw’s focus on right-sized targets for the par-3 course.

“I think the long punchbowl hole, in this little family of holes, will probably be maybe the toughest hole because it’s a long carry,” Crenshaw said. “It’s basically an old idea if you have a long shot across something, that you have a gathering green, a punchbowl. That may be one at the top of the list” that players remember.

The new Bucket putting course at Streamsong in Florida (Courtesy of Streamsong/Scott Powers)

Before or after a loop around The Chain, players can tackle The Bucket, the 2.6-acre putting course that sits within the par-3 course. Drinks and snacks also will be available onsite with the resort planning to add a clubhouse later, surely making the new complex a preferred hangout for resort guests.

Coore and Crenshaw also designed the Red Course at Streamsong, which opened in 2012 and ranks as the No. 2 Golfweek’s Best public-access layout in Florida and ties for No. 16 among all resort courses in the United States. The resort’s Blue Course by Tom Doak also opened in 2012 and ranks No. 3 among Florida’s public layouts and No. 20 among all U.S. resort courses, while the Black by Hanse opened in 2017 to become No. 4 in Florida and No. 23 on Golfweek’s Best resort list.

Coore said he’s always loved the allure of the site, where sand was piled high for decades as part of phosphate mining operations. The name of The Chain references the dragline chains used by miners, and The Bucket is so named because of the massive scoops once used to move earth at the mining site, one of which has been placed at the new putting course.

“People love it when they get here,” he said. “It’s a little mysterious the first time, but when they see it, they say ‘I’ve never seen anything like this in Florida.’ It has been so much fun to be a part of it.”

Crenshaw summed it up: “We do believe the Chain will be a positive extension of the journey.”

Check out photos of each hole below.

The perfect round of golf: 5 Things to love about Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort

The perfect round of golf: 5 Things to love about Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”https://cdn5.anyclip.com/khnwLY4BbRh1Kj5Q1V1a/1710168808694_248x140_thumbnail.jpg” playlistId=”undefined” content=”PHNjcmlwdCBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vcGxheWVyLnBvcHRvay5jb20vYW55Y2xpcC13aWRnZXQvbHJlLXdpZGdldC9wcm9kL3YxL3NyYy9scmUuanMiIGRhdGEtYXI9IjE2OjkiIGRhdGEtcGxpZD0ibm51ZzQ1Mm1sZTJlZXlzc25heXV3MnJ2a2V5dm1tbGIiIHB1Ym5hbWU9IjE5OTgiIHdpZGdldG5hbWU9IjAwMTZNMDAwMDJVMEIxa1FBRl9NODMyNyI+Cjwvc2NyaXB0Pg==”][/anyclip-media]

The perfect round of golf to some is composed of pristine greens and untouched fairways, but to Golfweek’s Averee Dovsek and Chase Smith, it’s a bit more.

Planning a golf getaway encompasses a symphony of experiences that extend far beyond the fairways. Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort is home to the stunning Sequoyah National Golf Club, but beyond the impeccable course lies a tapestry woven with beautiful accommodations, tantalizing dining experiences, rejuvenating spa treatments, a thrilling casino and much more. Unlock experiences like this through Caesars Rewards by playing on the Caesars Sportsbook app.

Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort is a slice of heaven located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Cherokee, North Carolina. Read below to see what makes this resort a must-visit destination and download the Caesars Sportsbook app for a chance to win a Stay and Play at Harrah’s Cherokee and a round of golf at Sequoya National.

Photos: Golf TV commentator Tony Johnstone shares his deep love of wildlife photography

“Delight in the wildlife. That’s my idea of heaven.”

Tony Johnstone waited 20 years to get his first photograph of a gorgeous bushshrike, a bird that is easily heard, but it takes something of a miracle to be seen.

Johnstone’s favorite bird is the lilac-breasted roller, which is unofficially considered the national bird of Kenya.

“It’s the most stunning bird you’ve ever seen in your life,” said Johnstone, who hails from Zimbabwe but now lives in Sunningdale, England. “I can’t drive past one without stopping to take it.”

When the DP World Tour heads to South Africa this week for the Jonsson Workwear Open, Johnstone will be there, colorfully calling the action at Glendower Golf Club from the booth.

Lilac-breasted roller (Tony Johnstone photo)

A six-time winner on the DP World Tour, the 67-year-old Johnstone is one of golf’s great characters. Combine his passion for the game with his passion for the wildlife in Kruger National and the result is a television series called “Bush Hacking,” where Johnstone offers insight on birds and animals as he plays a round of golf through the African bush. The series lasted three seasons, and snippets are still shown when the tour plays events in the area.

Johnstone describes himself as fanatical about his photography, and he loves to share his discoveries on social media. His fascination with birds began about 25 years ago and now extends to creatures of all sizes. He’s fond of going out in Kruger National Park around 4:30 a.m. with his wife and staying out until 6 p.m.

“We just drive the whole day, and just delight in the wildlife,” he said. “That’s my idea of heaven.”

The talented Johnstone shared a number of his favorite wildlife photographs from over the years with Golfweek. Scroll on to get lost in another world.

Check the yardage book: Bay Hill for the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour

StrackaLine offers a hole-by-hole course guide to Bay Hill and the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, site of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard on the PGA Tour, opened in 1961 with a design by Dick Wilson. Arnold Palmer took over the property on lease in 1970, bought it in 1975 and made adjustments to the course multiple times over the following decades.

Bay Hill, which has been the site of the Tour event since 1979, ranks No. 5 in Florida on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access layouts in each state. It also ties for No. 191 on Golfweek’s Best list of all modern courses in the U.S., and it ties for No. 58 on the list of all resort courses in the U.S.

Bay Hill will play to 7,466 yards with a par of 72. The layout is one of the toughest on the PGA Tour each year.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week at Bay Hill.

Check the yardage book: PGA National’s Champion Course for the 2024 Cognizant Classic on the PGA Tour

StrackaLine takes you through the Bear Trap and the rest of PGA National’s Champion Course.

The Champion Course at PGA National – site of this week’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches on the PGA Tour – was designed by the team of Tom Fazio and George Fazio and opened in 1981. The course has been renovated by Jack Nicklaus over the past two decades.

Located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and home to a stretch of holes dubbed the Bear Trap – Nos. 15, 16 and 17 – the Champion has major history. It was host to the 1983 Ryder Cup, in which the United States beat Europe 14 ½-13 ½, and it hosted the 1987 PGA Championship won by Larry Nelson in a playoff over Lanny Wadkins. Now PGA National is the first stop on the PGA Tour’s annual Florida Swing.

The Champion ranks No. 7 in Florida on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access courses in each state, and it ties for No. 69 on the list of top resort courses in the U.S.

The course will play to 7,147 yards with a par of 71 for the Cognizant Classic. No. 6 plays as a par 5 for resort guests (and is marked as such on the following yardage map), but it counts as a par 4 for the PGA Tour pros.

PGA National Resort is home to six courses, including two nontraditional layouts that include the new Match Course by Andy Staples, which features holes that can be played from a multitude of lengths with no set par, and the new nine-hole, par-3 Staple Course.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week at PGA National.

Golden Gate Park GC reopens in San Francisco with fresh course, big plans as community asset

Architect Jay Blasi shares how he reshaped Golden Gate Park Golf Course into a community treasure.

Editor’s note: Architect Jay Blasi works with Golfweek as a rater ambassador and contributes occasional stories.

Golden Gate Park Golf Course is what is right about golf. It is accessible, affordable, playable, sustainable and charitable.

Most importantly, it is repeatable. Every city in America, big or small, could have its own version of Golden Gate Park, and our communities and our game would be better off for it.

The course officially reopens Friday, Feb. 16 after The First Tee of San Francisco invested $2.5-million in a 2023 renovation that I had the good fortune to design.

Perched on a small parcel packed with sand dunes and majestic cypress trees just a few hundred yards from the Pacific Ocean, the course is expected to host 40,000+ rounds a year. Highlights and results of the work include each of the following:

Accessible: The course is located in San Francisco, within Golden Gate Park, a few hundred yards from the beach. Golfers can arrive on foot, by bike, by bus or by car. The course is nine holes of par 3s and is an easy walk for all. The clubhouse and practice greens will be open to all and are certain to become a community hub.

Affordable: The course will cost between $20 and $25 for locals or around $40 to $50 for out-of-town guests. Children – including those who participate in First Tee or Youth on Course programs – will pay even less. That’s compared to $75 to $120 at several other top par-3 layouts.

Playable: The tees, fairways and surrounds are all maintained at fairway height, and there are no forced carries. The course plays firm and fast, so balls roll – even topped shots. Players of all skill levels, including first-timers, will be able to enjoy the course. It can be played with just a putter if golfers want to try it.

Sustainable: The smaller footprint and use of fescue turf will make Golden Gate Park Golf Course one of the most efficient users of water and chemicals in the U.S. golf industry. The single height of grass allows the maintenance team to mow the whole facility quickly. The use of only one formal bunker means all raking can be done in one minute.

Charitable: The First Tee makes the course available to its students for practice and play. The kids are learning valuable lessons that will enrich the community for decades to come. By investing in the course and offering an architecturally interesting layout, beginners will get hooked on the game.

Repeatable: Golden Gate Park Golf Course sits on only 20 acres of land. It was designed in a way that the man-hour equivalent of 2.5 employees can maintain the course. The money invested in the course came from wealthy local golfers and corporations that wanted to support underprivileged kids through golf. This formula can work in New York, Dallas, Denver, Seattle and Atlanta. It also can work in smaller towns in every region of the country.

Must-see video: Bandon Dunes’ new par-3 course, Shorty’s, opens in May

Already home to one of the best par-3 courses, Bandon Dunes will open a new layout on wild dunes.

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, to a large degree, reinvigorated par-3 courses at resorts around the U.S. – and the world. The Oregon resort’s Preserve – opened in 2012 with a design by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw on cliffs above the Pacific Ocean – has proved to be a massive hit with guests looking for a non-traditional layout that promises plenty of fun. All five of the 18-hole courses on the property are among our top 11 resort courses on the Golfweek’s Best 2024 list.

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”https://cdn5.anyclip.com/0hfpm40BDdpiwYpCZ8HV/1707718071700_248x140_thumbnail.jpg” playlistId=”undefined” content=”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”][/anyclip-media]

In May, the Preserve will have a sibling. Bandon Dunes’ new 19-hole par-3 course, named Shorty’s, will open in wild dunes not far from Bandon Trails. Built by the WAC Golf team of Rod Whitman, Dave Axland and Keith Cutten, the layout will play down a large hill, around and through the dunes and back up to a new clubhouse. Holes will range from 60 to 160 yards.

Check out the accompanying video to learn more:

Check the yardage book: TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course for the 2024 WM Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour

No. 16 is famous, but how does the rest of TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course shape up?

There’s a lot more to the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale than the famed 16th, the par 3 lined by grandstands and site of this week’s party at the WM Phoenix Open. Here’s your chance to see how the rest of the course sets up for the 2024 version of the PGA Tour event.

The Stadium Course opened in 1986 with a design by the team of Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish. It was renovated in 2014. The site of a Tour event since 1987, the layout will play to 7,261 yards with a par of 71 this week.

The layout ranks No. 4 in Arizona on Golfweek’s Best list of top public-access layouts in each state. It also ties for No. 83 on Golfweek’s Best list of top resort courses in the U.S.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course.

Check the yardage book: Pebble Beach Golf Links for the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

How well do you know Pebble Beach? StrackaLine offers a detailed look.

Pebble Beach Golf Links in California – the main course to be used in three rounds of the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am –was designed by amateur architects Douglas Grant and Jack Neville and opened in 1919.

Pebble Beach Golf Links is one of two courses to host the Pro-Am. Also in play for the first two rounds will be Spyglass Hill Golf Club designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. Each player has one round on each course before the cut, then the final two rounds will be at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

The famed Pebble Beach layout on cliffs above Stillwater Cove and the Pacific Ocean has seen many renovations over the decades, including work done by William Herbert Fowler, Alister MacKenzie, H. Chandler Egan, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and others.

Pebble Beach Golf Links ranks No. 10 on Golfweek’s Best list of classic courses in the U.S., and it is No. 1 in California on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access layouts in each state. It is also No. 1 on Golfweek’s Best list of all public-access courses in the U.S.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week at Pebble Beach Golf Links.