Terrain & Land Planning for Golf Course Communities
By Doug Carrick of Carrick Design, International award winning, golf course designers and master / land planners.

Golf courses and golf course communities can be built on all types of terrain from flat agricultural land, to mountain settings, to deserts, to coastal areas and river basins. The ideal topography for a golf course is gently rolling terrain, with moderate changes in elevation; enough to add interest to the golf course without requiring excessive climbs for golfers that enjoy walking the course. The ease of walking a golf course is an important factor for first home communities, where the higher frequency of play from regular members and residents necessitates the option to walk the course. At golf resorts and second home communities, visiting golfers are more conditioned to accepting a cart only policy.

Golf fairways and greens require two important topographical elements, width and relatively flat terrain that will accept and contain golf shots. There is nothing more frustrating to golfers than to hit a good shot only to have it bound off line into a trouble due to excessive cross slopes or narrow playing corridors. There is nothing more difficult to overcome in the marketing of a new golf course community than a golf course that is unplayable or excessively difficult for golfers of average skill. On sites that have dramatic elevation changes and / or excessive cross slopes, it is not unusual for the golf course and the residential development to compete for the same terrain. When faced with a site of this nature it is important to remember that it is easier and more cost effective to build homes on steep terrain than it is to build golf fairways on steep terrain. While it is undoubtedly more costly to build roads and homes on steep terrain as opposed to flat terrain, the cost of building a flat fairway, 200 feet wide, on steeply sloping terrain is far more costly.