New to golf, gca, and this site, I'm being introduced to many new terms I have to look up. I was recently reading news about Doak's new "Old Macdonald" course at Bandon, a tribute to Charles Blair Macdonald, which will draw inspiration from Macdonald's celebrated design elements, like Alps and Redan holes, and Biarritz greens.
Alps, Redan and Biarritz were all new terms to me... Here's what I found online:
Alps - Specifically refers to the par-4 17th hole at Prestwick; also generally refers to a hole mimicking the “Alps” hole with an approach shot that must carry a very large mound that blocks the view to the green.
Biarritz - A biarritz, or biarritz green, is a green that features a deep gully bisecting its middle. The gully, which is manicured the same as the rest of the green, usually runs from side-to-side, but sometimes runs from front to back. A biarritz is especially challenging when the hole is cut on one side of the gully and your ball is sitting on the other side, requiring a long putt that must travel down the gully then up its other side to reach the hole. Some golfers choose to pitch over the gully rather than putt through it. The name "biarritz" come from the golf course in France where the first-known biarritz was constructed, Biarritz Golf Club. The club's La Phare Course is home to the original biarritz.
Redan - A redan hole - or, simply, redan - is a type of golf hole that is among the most copied on golf courses around the world. The key is the green and greens complex. A redan hole is typically a par-3. Its green is wider than it is deep and angles diagonally away from the tee box right-to-left (that is, the left side of the green is farther from the tee box than the right side). A redan hole's green slopes from front-to-back and from right to left, and is protected by bunkers on the left and right fronts. Redan holes are so-called because they are all copies of the original, which is No. 15 on the West Links at North Berwick Golf Links in Scotland. That hole is named "Redan."