How to Design a Championship Course That Doesn’t Make Average Players Miserable

hosts

Garrett Morrison

guests

Mike Cocking

It’s not easy to design a golf course that challenges elite players without making average golfers want to quit the game. That was the task OCM Golf faced in its 2023-24 redesign of Course 3 at Medinah Country Club. In this episode, OCM partner Mike Cocking sits down with Garrett Morrison to talk about how he helped reimagine Medinah No. 3 as a course simultaneously capable of hosting both the 2026 Presidents Cup and an ordinary Saturday four-ball.

POdcast

Designing Golf

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About the Hosts

Garrett Morrison

When I was 10 or 11 years old, my dad gave me a copy of The World Atlas of Golf. That kick-started my obsession with golf architecture. I read as many books about the subject as I could find, filled a couple of sketch books with plans for imaginary golf courses, and even joined the local junior golf league for a summer so I could get a crack at Alister MacKenzie's Valley Club of Montecito. I ended up pursuing other interests in high school and college, but in my early 30s I moved to Pebble Beach to teach English at a boarding school, and I fell back in love with golf. Soon I connected with Andy Johnson, founder of Fried Egg Golf. Andy offered me a job as Managing Editor in 2019. At the time, the two of us were the only full-time employees. The company has grown tremendously since then, and today I'm thrilled to serve as the Head of Architecture Content. I work with our talented team to produce videos, podcasts, and written work about golf courses and golf architecture.

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