Revealing The Process and Inspiration Behind Designing TGL Golf Holes - with Agustín Pizá / Pizá Golf

When our host Colin Weston attended a TGL match (Tiger's Jupiter Links vs Rory's Boston Common) he quickly learned that several of the compelling holes played out on a 60' high simulator video screen and 360º rotating, undulating green where designed by previous guest Agustin Pizá, who is the creative force behind Pizá Golf Design.

First appearing on The ModGolf Podcast back in November 2021, Augie rejoins us to pull back the curtain on his design inspiration as he walks us through six of the fun and challenging holes he and his Pizá Golf team created for TGL.

Are you a watcher more than a listener? Then you can watch our video with Augie on The ModGolf YouTube channel as he walks us through his inspiration and process on six TGL hole designs. Click on this link or the image below as Colin and Augie discuss how their mutual backgrounds in architectural design influence their creativity in the golf space.

Here are images of all six holes that Augie shares with us for you to take in while listening to the podcast:

The Plank Teams will need to walk “The Plank” as they navigate this uphill hole with tricky diagonal bunkering. For this short 380-yard par 4, it could be tempting for teams to go for the driver, but 3 pot bunkers narrow the landing area adding risk to the aggressive play.

Agustín says: "For The Plank, we wanted to design something simple but also something that required you to think through your shots. To achieve this, we positioned the bunkers to create several dynamic diagonal lines across the hole."

"When you stand on the tee box, that positioning gives you the sensation of, ‘Oh, it’s full of bunkers, there’s nowhere to land my ball!’ But obviously that’s not the case, you have several landing areas and platforms to access. The Plank is designed to be a drivable par-4, depending on the wind, but the strategy will change if it’s a crosswind versus wind at the players’ backs. If less than a driver is chosen off the tee, a well-placed tee shot still leaves a short approach and great chance at birdie."

Pick Yer Plunder Set in Bounty Bay, this hole is the ultimate match play par 5. From the gold tee, players are faced with three options. The riskiest, and by far most rewarding choice, is going straight over the guardian bunker to a 27-yard-wide fairway, requiring a 300-yard carry.

Choosing the right option, the fairway is just 37-yards-wide and requires a 285-yard carry. With a solid drive, players will be left with less than 250 yards remaining. The safest play is to the left, where the fairway is 70 yards wide. But the further left you miss it, the more blind and long your second shot will be.

Agustín says: "A 590 yard par 5. The hole idea is you can take that middle section and you will be rewarded. You will only have a 200 yard shot to the GreenZone to get on in two. The alternative is to play the right arm or the left arm. You will have to play the second shot on a high cliff or a low cliff. This hole not only plays with your psyche on ways of playing it, but also where you land could create some blind shots and some other challenges that you probably were not expecting."