A primary reason golf is the greatest of games is its use of natural land features for its playing field. Playing a round of golf in the fresh outdoor air can be a major source of well-being. It will however, be enhanced by beauty in the course, and steadfast strategy.

It has been said that good golf design is subjective; however, without question, there are finite rules. The ideal golf course is one that presents a test of golf for both the everyday golfer and the first-class player. The aim is to bring out the best golf in each individual player. It should be a strong test of physical ability and mental focus. A top quality golf course will suggest the correct strategy to the player in a fair and perceptible manner, resulting in a 'challenge and reward' exercise, which will suit and satisfy all players regardless of their ability. Appropriate strategic advantages are the rewards a fair golf course presents to players who 'listen' to the course and apply their individual skills accordingly. On the other hand, though the consummate golfer executes whatever shot is necessary to put the ball close to the hole, for those not so gifted, the game must somehow be more than an endurance test.

"The strategy of the golf course is the soul of the game. The spirit of golf is to dare a hazard, and by negotiating it reap a reward, while he who fears or declines the issue of the carry, has a longer or harder shot for his second; yet the player who avoids the unwise effort gains advantage over one who tries for more than in him lies, or who fails under the test"

-George Thomas, Golf Architecture In America:
Its Strategy and Construction, 1927.

Therefore, golf course design is not based on arbitrary whim, but is a complex process involving careful calculation of every detail, from the location, size and shape of every bunker, to the location of each irrigation head to the daily placements of each flagstick in relation to the player's line of sight. The balance required to qualify a golf course as premier is that it be finitely planned, deftly constructed and painstakingly approved. As if the achievement of this delicate balance between art and science were not challenge enough, it is also crucial that the finished product appear natural and spontaneous, as if it were 'discovered' and always existed.