Routing
Routing is the layout and sequence of a golf course’s holes across a piece of land: where each hole sits, which way it plays, and the order golfers play them.
What is a routing in golf?
A routing is the arrangement of holes on a golf property, from the first tee to the closing green. It covers three things at once: where every tee and green sits, which direction each hole plays, and the order golfers follow around the course. Architect Tom Doak sums it up as choosing the position of tees and greens for every hole (Fried Egg Golf).
The idea exists because a golf course has to fit real ground. An architect walks a site, studies its slopes and natural features, then works out which stretches of land make the best holes and how to link them into eighteen that flow. Golf.com calls the routing the bones of a course, the thing everything else is built on. Bunkers, greens, and hazards can be reshaped later. The routing, once holes are built, is close to permanent.
That permanence is why golfers rarely notice it while architects obsess over it. A player sees the shape of a bunker or the roll of a green. The choice to send the 4th uphill into the wind while the 5th runs downwind along a ridge is harder to spot, yet it shapes the whole round.
How golf course routing works
The process starts on foot. Architects walk the property and study topographical maps, which show elevation and let them see the entire site at once (Golf.com). From there, they hunt for natural green sites, landing areas, and tee positions, then connect them in an order that makes sense.
Direction matters as much as position. A routing that sends every hole the same way plays flat and predictable, so architects turn holes against each other and against the prevailing wind. One method is triangulation: three holes arranged in a rough triangle so the wind hits each from a different angle. William Flynn used it at Shinnecock Hills (Golf.com).
Distance between holes counts too. On the classic courses of the 1920s and 30s, the next tee usually sat a few steps from the green just played, keeping the walk short. A routing that forces long treks back to a tee, or up a steep hill between holes, wears on the golfer. Most courses also loop back toward the clubhouse at the ninth and again at the eighteenth, giving players a natural stopping point known as the turn.
Common types of golf course routings
Routings fall into a handful of broad shapes, driven by the land and where the clubhouse sits.
| Type | How it works | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Out and back | Holes run away from the clubhouse in a line, then turn and come home along the same corridor. | Old Course, St Andrews |
| Returning nines | Two nine-hole loops that each start and finish near the clubhouse. | Most modern courses |
| Nested loops | Two loops running opposite directions, one inside the other. | Muirfield |
| Core routing | Holes packed together across a compact site with no housing between them. | Sand Hills |
| Reversible | One set of greens and fairways played in two directions on different days. | The Loop, Forest Dunes |
The returning-nines shape is the most common today because it lets golfers play a quick nine and stop at the turn. Muirfield’s nested loops, usually credited to Harry Colt, send the front nine clockwise around the edge of the property and the back nine counterclockwise through the middle, so the wind never feels the same for long (Fried Egg Golf).
Routing vs. course layout
Golfers often use routing and layout to mean the same thing, and in casual talk they overlap. In architecture, the words split apart.
| Term | What it refers to |
|---|---|
| Routing | The specific arrangement and sequence of holes: tee and green positions, hole direction, and playing order. |
| Layout | The course design as a whole, including hole shapes, hazard placement, and green contours built on top of the routing. |
Put simply, the routing is the skeleton and the layout is the finished body. A course can have a strong routing wrapped in ordinary shaping, or clever bunkering laid over a weak routing that never quite works. Both words describe the same course, but routing points at the underlying plan.
Why routing matters
Architecture critic Brad Klein once wrote that routing is destiny, and most designers agree (Golf Course Industry). A badly placed hole stays bad. Pace-of-play problems, awkward walks, and safety issues usually trace back to routing decisions that are expensive to undo once grass is grown.
Good routing does a lot of quiet work. It keeps the walk manageable and spaces parallel holes safely, with architect Jeffrey Brauer recommending at least 70 yards between parallel fairway centerlines. It also handles the sun: Brauer suggests placing the clubhouse between the 12 and 6 positions on a clock face so morning and afternoon holes play away from low light (Golf Course Industry).
Variety is where routing earns its reputation. A good round asks for different clubs and shot shapes, and it mixes the pars up rather than grouping them together. Augusta National shows the idea: its front nine runs 4-5-4-3-4-3-4-5-4, so no par repeats back to back (Golf Course Industry). Par 72 became the informal standard. Yet par 70 and 71 are common too, and a few celebrated courses throw the convention out entirely, like Cypress Point, which plays back-to-back par 3s and back-to-back par 5s on the way to a 37-35 par of 72 and still ranks among the best courses anywhere (Golf.com).
Related Golf Terms
- Pitch and putt — A compact course of very short par-3 holes.
- Mountain course — A course routed through mountainous, elevation-rich terrain.
- Regulation course — A standard full-length course, typically par 70 to 72.
- Reversible course — A layout designed to be played in two different directions.
- Nine-hole course — A shorter layout of nine holes, often played twice for eighteen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does routing mean in golf?
It refers to how a golf course’s holes are laid out and ordered across the land, including where each tee and green sits and which direction every hole plays.
Who decides a golf course’s routing?
The golf course architect. Routing is often described as the hardest and most important part of the job, since it determines how well the design uses the land.
What is an out-and-back routing?
A layout where holes head away from the clubhouse in one direction, then turn and return along a parallel path. The Old Course at St Andrews is the classic example.
Can a golf course’s routing be changed?
Rarely, and not easily. Once holes are built, moving tees and greens is costly, so most routing decisions stay in place for the life of the course.
What does “returning nines” mean?
A routing where both the ninth and eighteenth holes finish near the clubhouse, letting golfers stop after nine at the turn or play a full eighteen.
Sources
- Fried Egg Golf. “Golf Course Architecture 101, Part 2: Routing.” Accessed August 2026.
https://thefriedegg.com/golf-course-architecture-101-part-2-routing-variety-naturalness/ - Fried Egg Golf. “The Impact of Muirfield’s Trademark Routing.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.thefriedegg.com/articles/muirfield-routing-harry-colt-old-tom-morris - Golf.com. “What is course routing and how does it affect your round?” Accessed August 2026.
https://golf.com/travel/what-is-course-routing-architecture/ - Golf Course Industry. “Good Routing” and “Does my course have a good routing?” by Jeffrey D. Brauer. Accessed August 2026.
https://www.golfcourseindustry.com/article/golf-design-good-routing/
https://www.golfcourseindustry.com/article/golf-course-routing/ - EIGCA. “The fundamentals of golf course routing.” Accessed August 2026.
https://eigca.org/the-fundamentals-of-golf-course-routing/
