What Is a Golf Course Called?

A golf course is most often just called the course, but to truly understand and talk about the game like a seasoned player, it helps to know the specific names golfers use. These names describe the style of the course, who gets to play it, and even the individual parts you'll encounter on your round. This article walks you through all the essential terms, so you can feel confident whether you’re booking a tee time or discussing a shot with your friends.

What Are the Main Types of Golf Courses?

While an 18-hole green space might seem straightforward, courses are categorized by their architectural style and landscape. The type of course dramatically affects how you play it, from club selection to shot strategy. Think of it like a musician learning the difference between concert halls - each has its own unique acoustics.

Links Courses

The original and purest form of golf. Links courses are built on "linksland" - the sandy, undulating strip of land that connects the coast to the more fertile farmland inland. This is where golf was born in Scotland.

Key Features:

• Proximity to the Sea: They are always built along a coastline, making wind a major factor.
• Firm and Fast Ground: The sandy soil drains quickly, resulting in very firm, fast-running fairways. The ball will bounce and roll significantly after landing.
• Few to No Trees: The coastal landscape is naturally barren and windswept.
• Deep Bunkers: Known as "pot bunkers," these are typically small, deep traps that are punishing to escape.
• Natural Undulations: Expect hilly, rumpled fairways and greens that follow the natural contours of the land.

How to Play It: A links course is all about the "ground game." You'll often hit lower, running shots a that use the firm turf to your advantage. Imagination and creativity are essential. Don't be afraid to putt from 30 yards off the green or use a hybrid to bump-and-run the ball along the ground. Controlling your ball flight in the wind is the name of the game.

Famous Examples: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Royal Birkdale, Bandon Dunes.

Parkland Courses

This is likely the type of course you see on TV most often and is the most common style in the United States. As the name suggests, parkland courses look like a beautifully manicured park, typically found inland.

Key Features:

• Lush, Green Turf: The fairways and greens are soft and well-watered.
• Tree-Lined Fairways: Missing the fairway often means punching out from behind a line of mature trees.
• Softer Greens: Approach shots will often stop quickly on parkland greens, rewarding high, accurate shots.
• Man-Made Hazards: While links courses are shaped by nature, parkland course hazards like lakes, streams, and bunkers are often strategically placed by the architect.

How to Play It: Parkland golf is an "aerial game." The strategy is to fly the ball over hazards and land it softly on the green. Accuracy is paramount, as the trees that line the fairways serve as harsh penalties. Here, distance control with your irons is your best friend.

Famous Examples: Augusta National (home of The Masters), Baltusrol Golf Club.

Desert Courses

A visually stunning and unique style of golf, desert courses are built in arid climates. They present a different kind of challenge, replacing traditional rough with native desert landscape.

Key Features:

• Target Golf: You'll see dramatic contrasts between the thin ribbons of bright green fairway and the surrounding sandy waste areas, rocks, and cacti.
• No Conventional Rough: If you miss the fairway, you're in the desert. This can mean a rocky lie, being stuck in a cactus, or facing an unplayable shot.
• Forced Carries: You often have to carry your shots over large expanses of desert to reach the fairway or green.

How to Play It: There is almost no room for error. Desert golf demands precision more than anything else. You have to be smart about your targets and avoid being too aggressive. The goal is simple: keep the ball on the grass at all costs. Often, playing to a specific yardage and leaving yourself a full shot into the green is a better strategy than trying to hit it as far as you can.

Famous Examples: TPC Scottsdale, Wolf Creek Golf Club.

Heathland Courses

Often considered a beautiful blend of links and parkland, heathland courses are inland but feature many links-like characteristics due to their sandy soil. They are most commonly found in Great Britain.

Key Features:

• Heather and Gorse: Instead of thick trees, the defining features are often low-lying, purple heather and prickly gorse bushes. These are beautiful but difficult to play from.
• Firm Conditions: Like links courses, the sandy soil makes for firm, bouncy playing surfaces.
• Strategic Bunkering: Often feature thoughtful, picturesque bunkering that frames the holes.

How to Play It: A heathland course requires a bit of everything. You need the imagination of links golf for the ground game and the precision of parkland golf to navigate the strategic design. Avoiding the heather is top priority, as it can grab your club and often hide your ball.

Famous Examples: Sunningdale Golf Club, Walton Heath.

Understanding Course Access: Public vs. Private

Beyond design, the name of a course can also refer to who is allowed to play on it. This is a practical distinction you'll need to know when looking for a place to play.

Public Courses (Municipal & Daily-Fee)

As the name implies, public courses are open to the general public. Anyone can call and book a tee time.

• Municipal Course: Often affectionately called a "muni," this type of course is owned and operated by a local government (city, county). They are typically the most affordable option and a great entry point into the game.
• Daily-Fee Course: This is a privately owned and operated course that is still open to the public. They generally have higher green fees than a muni and often offer better playing conditions and more amenities, like a nicer clubhouse or practice facility.

Private Courses

Access to a private course is restricted to members and their invited guests. To play here regularly, you must purchase a membership, which often involves an initiation fee and monthly dues. These courses typically offer the highest level of upkeep, amenities, and service, with less crowded playing conditions.

Semi-Private & Resort Courses

These are hybrid models that offer the best of both worlds.

• Semi-Private Course: A club that offers memberships but also allows non-members to book tee times, though members usually get preferential treatment (better rates, priority tee times).
• Resort Course: Part of a hotel or resort property. These are usually high-end daily-fee courses openprimarily to guests of the resort, but often to the public as well for a premium price.

The Anatomy of a Golf Hole: Learning the Lingo

When someone asks, "what is a golf course called?", they often also want to know what to call the specific parts of it. Here’s a quick tour of a typical golf hole, from start to finish.

Teeing Ground (or Tee Box)

This is where each hole begins. It’s a designated rectangular area where you take your first shot, or "tee off." You'll see different colored markers (tees) here, which indicate different yardages. As a rule of thumb, the forward tees (often red) are the shortest, while the back tees (often black or gold) are the longest and most difficult.

Fairway

This is your target off the tee. The fairway is the short, manicured grass in the middle of the hole that offers the ideal lie for your next shot. It's the "path" that leads from the tee box toward the green.

Rough

The longer grass that borders the fairway. If you miss your target, you'll find your ball in the rough. It’s more difficult to play from because the long grass can get tangled around your clubhead and affect the quality of your shot.

Green

This is where the hole is located and where the "short game" takes place. The green has the shortest grass on the course, allowing the ball to roll smoothly when you're putting.

Hazards (Bunkers & Penalty Areas)

Hazards are obstacles designed to make the hole more challenging. The two main types are:

• Bunkers: Sand-filled depressions, also informally known as "sand traps."
• Penalty Areas: This is the modern term for any body of water, like a pond, lake, stream, or ocean. The rules allow for specific relief options if your ball ends up in one.

The Hole Itself

The ultimate goal on every hole is a small, 4.25-inch diameter cup cut into the green, which holds the flagstick. Sinking your ball into the hole completes your play for that hole.

Putting It All Together: Common Slang and Nicknames

Finally, as you spend more time around the game, you'll hear golfers use informal language to talk about the course.

• "The Track" or "The Links": Common, casual terms for any type of course, even if it’s not a true links design.
• "The Club": Refers to a private country club as a whole, including the course, clubhouse, and its community.
• "Front Nine / Back Nine": The 18 holes are split into two halves. Holes 1-9 are the "front nine," and holes 10-18 are the "back nine."
• "The Turn": The period of time after completing the 9th hole before you start the 10th hole. This is often where you'll grab a snack or drink.

Final Thoughts

While a golf course is most simply just called "the course," knowing the difference between a parkland, links, and desert design will deepen your appreciation for the game. Understanding whether a course is public or private is practical knowledge, and learning the terms for its different parts will help you think and talk about your round with confidence.

Knowing these terms is the first step, but executing a smart strategy on any type of course is what truly lowers your scores. For the moments when you’re facing a tough shot on an unfamiliar track, from navigating blind shots on a links layout to judging a forced carry on a desert course, a tool like Caddie AI delivers on-demand strategic advice. It helps you analyze any situation - from planning a tee shot to escaping a tough lie - so you can play with more confidence, no matter what the course is called.