The Interlachen Hole Review now has a clear before-and-after point: the Edina, Minnesota course closed in June 2023 and reopened in August 2024 after a restoration led by Andrew Green. Golf Club Atlas reported the closure and reopening dates, the expansion of greens back toward original fill pads, and tree removal used to restore sightlines and expose natural landforms in its Interlachen review. GreensVisited lists the restored course at 7,201 yards from the back tees, par 72 for regular play, with 104 bunkers, and records its post-restoration recognition in a course profile.
This review is cautious by design. Public research supports strong course-level conclusions and several specific hole notes, but it does not provide a verified modern yardage, preferred line, and green map for every numbered hole. Rather than inventing a full card, the analysis below focuses on the holes and strategic themes supported by the available reporting. For readers interested in strategic analysis, our network’s NBA Playbook provides similar insights where positioning and spacing are considered critical decision factors instead of mere catchphrases.
Interlachen Hole Review Framework
The restoration matters strategically because it changed the way a player must interpret width, angle, and short-side misses. Expanded greens do not simply create bigger targets. They can make hole locations more varied, widen the difference between a safe approach and an attacking approach, and make recovery shots more dependent on where the ball finishes on the putting surface. Interlachen’s reported green expansion—nearly 20 percent across many greens, with larger increases on the 12th and 18th—points toward a course that asks for more exact approach planning after a successful tee shot.
Why This Interlachen Hole Review Is Selective
The strongest public information concerns the restoration program, the shifted greens, the expanded putting surfaces, the bunker count, and the standout run from the 9th through the 13th. That is enough to form a sound playing framework, but not enough to publish false certainty about every pin, carry number, or landing zone. For this Interlachen Hole Review, I treat the course as a Ross-based test restored through Green’s work: tee shots should be judged by angle into the green, not only by distance gained, and approach shots should be planned with the next putt in mind.
Course-Wide Changes That Affect Strategy
The reported movement of greens at the 1st, 3rd, 8th, 13th, and 16th is one of the most meaningful strategic notes. A shifted green can change the preferred side of a fairway even if the tee shot appears similar from the box. Players who rely on memory from the pre-renovation course should be careful: old aiming points may not fit the new green angles. The par-4 10th is even more dramatic because its green was moved 50 yards back and placed on a raised embankment, changing both club selection and miss tolerance.
Bunkering also appears central to the restored identity. With 104 bunkers after the project, Interlachen presents many decisions where the best line is not automatically the most direct line. Some fairway bunkers were combined or removed on holes such as 1, 6, and 7, while original Ross bunkers were reinstated in other places, including examples short of the greens on holes 6 and 7. That mix suggests a course less about random punishment and more about forcing players to identify which hazards truly affect the next shot.
Front Nine Strategic Notes
The front nine should be read through the restoration’s two main lenses: altered green positions and renewed bunker pressure. Without verified public hole-by-hole yardage for each tee, the better approach is to study the architectural signals. If a green was shifted, the player should ask whether the approach now favors a different side of the fairway. If a bunker was removed, combined, or restored, the question becomes whether that hazard protects an ideal angle or simply catches a miss.
Holes 1, 3, And 5
The 1st and 3rd greens were among the surfaces reported as shifted. On an opening hole, that type of change can alter the value of a conservative tee ball. A player may still want a ball in play above all else, but the ideal side of the fairway may have changed if the green’s entrance or main contour now sits at a different angle. The 3rd asks a similar question: do not assume that the safest-looking drive leaves the simplest approach.
The 5th, a par 3, has one of the more specific restoration stories. Research notes that its green had lost shape and perimeter fidelity over time, and that the restoration used Ross’s 1919 blueprints to expand corners, reconnect the central transition slope, and restore nine surrounding bunkers. From a playing standpoint, that combination makes distance control and side selection more valuable. A larger, more faithful green does not remove danger if the bunkers and internal slope make the wrong section costly.
Holes 6 Through 9
Holes 6 and 7 are tied to the bunker restoration notes, including original Ross bunkers reinstated short of the greens. Those bunkers are not merely visual. A bunker placed short of a green can influence the second shot even when it does not sit directly at the flag. It may make a player choose between carrying the hazard, using ground contours, or laying back to a preferred wedge distance.
The 8th green was also shifted, which again puts emphasis on approach angle. The 9th is identified as a par 5 and part of the highly regarded 9-through-13 sequence after restoration. For most players, the practical lesson on a restored par 5 is to treat the second shot as a positioning shot unless the green is clearly reachable with a controlled miss. The best layup is the one that leaves a full, comfortable approach into the correct green section, not just the one closest to the hole.
Middle Stretch And Closing Green Work
The course’s central run is the best-supported stretch in the available research. Holes 9 through 13—especially the par-5 9th, par-4 10th, uphill par-4 11th, and ridge-line 12th and 13th sequence—were described as the strongest part of the restored course. That does not mean each hole should be attacked. It means each asks a different strategic question, and a player who carries one fixed plan through the stretch will likely lose efficiency.
Holes 10 Through 13
The 10th is the clearest example of the renovation changing the shot values. The green was moved 50 yards back, set on a raised embankment, and is described as sharply back-to-front. The penalty for finishing above the hole is severe enough that the correct approach may be less aggressive than the yardage first suggests. On this hole, controlling the ball below the cup may matter more than firing at a back or tucked location.
The 11th is identified as an uphill par 4 within the strongest stretch. The information available does not support a full shot-by-shot script, but uphill holes often make distance control a central challenge; here, the supported point is simpler: it belongs to a sequence where renewed contours and framing matter. The 12th green was expanded by roughly 40 percent, while the 13th green was shifted. Together, those facts suggest that players should separate target size from target quality. A bigger surface can still punish an approach that finishes on the wrong tier, edge, or side of a restored contour.
Holes 16 And 18
The 16th green was among the surfaces shifted during the work. Late in the round, that makes pre-shot discipline especially valuable. A player working from old memory may aim at a familiar visual cue that no longer produces the best angle. The correct question is where the ball should finish to leave the safest approach and the most manageable first putt.
The 18th green was expanded by roughly 30 percent, one of the larger reported changes. A finishing hole with more restored green area can create a wider range of hole locations and recovery demands. For match play, stroke play, or casual scoring, the same rule applies: do not let the visible size of the surface tempt a shot that brings the worst miss into play. The target should be the section that fits the player’s shot pattern and the day’s conditions.
Interlachen Hole Review Strategy Notes
The Interlachen Hole Review points to a course where renovation has not made strategy simpler. It has likely made old assumptions less reliable. Expanded greens, shifted putting surfaces, restored bunkers, and tree removal all push the golfer to read the course in three dimensions: line from the tee, angle into the green, and likely putt after the approach. That is the heart of useful course management.
How Better Players Should Read The Restoration
Better players should begin with the greens. If the restoration expanded corners and edges, the pin sheet matters more, not less. The difference between the middle of the green and the correct quadrant can be a full shot in practical scoring terms when slopes are active. The 10th is the warning label for the entire course: a ball above the hole may be technically on the green but strategically out of position.
For developing players, the lesson is not to copy elite aggression. It is to choose misses with purpose. If a restored bunker guards a direct line, decide whether that line is worth the carry. If a shifted green favors one side of the fairway, play for that angle only when the tee shot fits your normal pattern. The value of a hole-by-hole habit is explained well in our related course-planning piece on hole-by-hole analysis, and Interlachen is a strong case study for that method.
What Remains Unverified Publicly
Several details remain outside the verified public record used here. I have not assigned modern yardages to every hole, claimed specific green speeds, or named preferred targets for holes where the available sources do not support them. What can be stated is that Interlachen’s post-restoration standing rose sharply in public recognition: it was awarded Golf Digest’s Best Renovation of 2024, and as of May 20, 2025, it was recorded at No. 64 in the United States and No. 1 in Minnesota by Golf Digest rankings as reported in the available course profile.
That recognition fits the strategic evidence. The restored course asks golfers to reassess familiar ground, especially from the 9th through the 13th and around the expanded closing green. The safest plan is to study the new green locations first, then work backward to the tee. At Interlachen, the best shot is often not the longest one; it is the one that leaves the next decision simplest.