Redan Hole
A Redan hole is a par-3 whose green sits at an angle to the tee and slopes away from the golfer, running from front to back and from right to left, with a deep bunker cut into the front-left. The design rewards a player who uses that slope to feed the ball toward the hole rather than firing straight at the flag.
What is a Redan hole?
The Redan is a par-3 built around a tilted, angled green rather than a straight, receptive one. The putting surface is set on a diagonal to the line of play, usually turned close to 45 degrees so the left side sits farther from the tee than the right. It falls away from the golfer in two directions at once, from front to back and from the higher right down to the lower left, and a deep bunker guards the front-left. On many Redans the approach plays slightly uphill, and part of the green stays hidden from the tee.
That shape exists for a reason. On the firm, windswept links where the design was born, golf is played along the ground as much as through the air, so a green that slopes away asks the golfer to bounce and roll the ball in rather than stop it on a direct line. The Redan is also the most copied “template” hole in golf, a repeated design that architects have borrowed for more than a century. What sets it apart from an ordinary green, which tends to slope back toward the player, is that a Redan tilts and turns away from the shot.
Where the name comes from
The word predates golf by a long way. A redan is a piece of military fortification, a V-shaped or arrow-shaped earthwork that points toward the direction an attack is expected to come from. Redans were built into coastal batteries in Malta during the 1700s, and the Russians used them in the field against Napoleon.
The golf hole took the name from the Crimean War. During the Siege of Sevastopol in 1854 and 1855, British and allied forces spent nearly a year taking a Russian-held fort known as the Redan. A returning officer, John White-Melville, is credited with remarking that one hole at his home course resembled that stubborn fortress, and the name stuck.
That home course was North Berwick, on the East Lothian coast of Scotland, whose West Links holds the original Redan. The club dates to 1832, and the hole took its place as the 15th after the West Links was extended westward in 1895. Its origins are a little murky. Some golf-architecture accounts credit Ben Sayers, the North Berwick clubmaker whose work shaped the course, while the club’s own history describes the green as a natural ridge in the land, with no single designer to point to.
How to spot a Redan hole
A Redan can be identified by a handful of traits that tend to appear together:
- A par-3, usually on the longer side. Copies commonly stretch anywhere from about 170 to 240 yards, which forces a longer club into a green that does not want to hold it.
- A diagonal green, angled away from the tee so the far side is longer to reach than the near side.
- A two-way slope that runs from front to back and from the high right down to the low left, carrying the ball away from a front-right entrance.
- A deep front-left bunker, sitting exactly where a pulled or short shot tends to end up. Extra bunkers may sit short and long on the right.
- A raised shoulder on the front-right, sometimes called a kick plate, that can bounce a well-judged shot down toward the hole.
- A partly blind target, because the green sits low and angled and shows little of its surface from the tee.
Redan vs. reverse Redan
A reverse Redan is the original turned into its mirror image. Every design idea carries over, but the green is flipped so it angles and slopes the other way, with the trouble waiting on the opposite side. The two play as opposites, and telling them apart comes down to which way the ground tilts.
| Trait | Traditional Redan | Reverse Redan |
|---|---|---|
| Green angle | Turns away right-to-left | Turns away left-to-right |
| Slope | High front-right to low back-left | High front-left to low back-right |
| Main bunker | Front-left of the green | Front-right of the green |
| Approach that fits the slope | A right-to-left shot (draw) | A left-to-right shot (fade) |
| Well-known example | 4th at National Golf Links of America | 7th at Chicago Golf Club |
How a Redan hole plays
Everything interesting about a Redan comes from the slope. Because the green falls away from the golfer, a shot aimed straight at a back-left pin tends to land hot and scoot over the back, leaving an awkward recovery. The design instead invites an indirect route: land the ball on the higher right portion of the green, or off the kick slope, and let the tilt carry it down toward the flag. Reading that intent from the tee is the puzzle the Redan sets.
Where you’ll find Redan holes
Every other version traces back to the 15th at North Berwick. The design crossed the Atlantic through C.B. Macdonald, who studied Britain’s great holes and rebuilt their ideas in America; his 4th at the National Golf Links of America is often called the finest Redan of all. Macdonald’s associate Seth Raynor built the design, and its reverse, on courses across the country. The 7th at Shinnecock Hills is a celebrated championship example, and modern architects such as Tom Doak and Pete Dye have kept the idea alive, with Dye’s water-guarded 13th at TPC Sawgrass among the boldest reworkings.
Related Golf Terms
- Reachable par 5 — A par 5 that can be reached in two well-struck shots.
- Out-and-back — A links routing running nine holes out and nine back.
- Drivable par 4 — A short par 4 that strong players can reach off the tee.
- Risk-reward hole — A hole offering a bold line that can yield reward or trouble.
- Routing — The sequence and arrangement of holes across a property.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the word Redan mean?
It comes from a French term for a V-shaped or arrow-shaped projection in a fort, angled toward an expected attack. Golf borrowed it from a Crimean War fortress.
Is a Redan always a par 3?
Almost always. The design is most at home as a mid-to-long par-3, though the same sloping, angled green complex has occasionally been used on longer holes.
What is a reverse Redan?
It is a Redan turned into its mirror image, sloping and angling left-to-right instead of right-to-left, with the trouble on the opposite side of the green.
Where is the original Redan hole?
The 15th on the West Links at North Berwick Golf Club in Scotland. Every other Redan is modeled on it.
Why are Redan holes considered difficult?
The green slopes away from the golfer and is guarded by a deep bunker, so a shot aimed at the flag rarely holds. Playing one well means aiming away from the pin and trusting the slope.
Sources
- North Berwick Golf Club. “The West Links history.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.northberwickgolfclub.com/the_west_links_history - Wikipedia. “Redan.” Accessed August 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redan - Golf.com. “What is a Redan hole, plus how identifying one can help your game.” Accessed August 2026.
https://golf.com/travel/golf-glossary-inside-redan-how-identifying-help-your-game/ - Top100GolfCourses. “Redan | Template Holes.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.top100golfcourses.com/news/r-is-for-redan-template-holes - USGA. “Seth Raynor’s Formidable Reverse Redan.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.usga.org/articles/2013/08/seth-raynors-formidable-reverse-redan-21474858800.html - Golf Digest. “The basics of a Redan hole, plus photos of the best ones.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/redan-holes-explained - The Fried Egg. “The Templates: Redan.” Accessed August 2026.
https://thefriedegg.com/redan-template-hole/
