Medinah No. 3 was not the same strategic test that many viewers remembered from earlier elite events by the time the Presidents Cup was played on September 22-27, 2026. The course had been rebuilt in 2023-2024 by OCM, the Australian design group of Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking, and Ashley Mead, with work completed in 2024, as reported by Golf Digest. Because those changes were in place before the matches, the useful question now is not what might happen, but how the redesign altered the choices presented to elite match-play golfers.
Medinah No. 3 Renovation Baseline
The Presidents Cup course setup measured 7,564 yards and played to par 72, according to the event’s official course overview. That number matters, but yardage alone is a blunt tool. The larger design story was the redistribution of playing space: wider fairways, larger greens, reduced rough, more bunkers, and a changed finish created a different rhythm from the previous version of Course No. 3.
Medinah No. 3 Width And Angles
The reported fairway expansion was one of the most significant changes. Fairway acreage rose from about 29 acres to 58 acres. That does not automatically make a course easier. In design terms, width can invite more aggressive driving lines while allowing architects to place hazards and green angles so that the best position is not always the most comfortable one.
For Medinah No. 3, that distinction is central. A narrow, rough-heavy course often asks whether a player can keep the ball in play. A wider course can ask a more layered question: which side of a broad fairway gives the proper approach, the better angle over a bunker, or the safer entry into a large green? The renovation appears to have moved the course in that direction.
Tree Removal And Meadow Character
The research record also points to extensive tree removal, especially around holes 6, 7, 8, and 9 on the south side, with the stated design effect of restoring a more meadow-like character. That type of clearing can change both appearance and strategy. It may open sightlines, expose wind, and make ground contours more visible from the tee and fairway. The evidence supports those design aims, though any claim about exact scoring impact would require round-by-round shot data from the event.
Width, Greens, Bunkers, And Rough
The renovation changed multiple playing surfaces at once. Greens increased by more than 40%, from an average of roughly 6,000 square feet to about 8,600 square feet. Bunkers increased from 70 to 117, and total sand area doubled to 204,000 square feet. Rough was reduced by two-thirds, leaving about 48 acres in total.
Larger Greens Do Not Mean Simple Targets
Larger greens can soften the visual demand of an approach shot, but they can also create more internal strategy. If hole locations sit behind bunkers, near falloffs, or across diagonal approach lines, then simply hitting the putting surface may leave a difficult putt or a defensive next shot. The reported increase in average green size suggests the architects had more room to separate safe sections from preferred scoring sections.
That is especially relevant in match play. A player who is trailing in a hole may accept a more demanding line to reach a better section of the green. A player whose opponent is in trouble may choose the broadest available target. The renovated surfaces appear suited to those contrasting choices, provided that the hole locations used during the Presidents Cup took full advantage of the added area.
More Sand, Less Rough, Different Penalties
The shift from thick rough toward more sand is a design statement. Rough often produces a relatively predictable penalty: less spin, less control, and more difficulty advancing the ball. Bunkers vary more by lie, angle, lip height, and distance. With 117 bunkers and doubled sand area, the course placed more emphasis on choosing the right driving line rather than only avoiding long grass.
That distinction changes how risk is priced. A player could take on a more direct line and still have room to miss, but the wrong side of that room might bring a bunker or a poor angle. For readers comparing this review with earlier pre-event analysis, our related strategy review tracked many of the same architectural themes before the matches were played.
Routing Changes And Match-Play Pressure
The renovation did more than adjust features within the old corridor. Several holes were removed and replaced. The former 14th, 15th, and 16th holes were taken out, replaced by two new par 4s at holes 14 and 15 and a new diagonal par-4 16th over Lake Kadijah. Two redundant par 3s, the former 13th and 17th, and the drivable short par-4 former 15th were eliminated, with three entirely new holes introduced in that portion of the course.
Why The New 16th Mattered
The new par-4 16th, with a diagonal path over water toward the green, was the clearest example of the renovation’s match-play intent. Water on a diagonal line is not just a penalty area; it is an angle setter. It lets the player decide how much of the carry or preferred line to challenge. In match play, that decision is rarely made in isolation. It depends on the opponent’s ball, the match score, and whether a half or a full point is realistically at stake.
Lake Kadijah therefore became more than scenery. It helped define the strategic exchange late in a match. A safer route could preserve a hole; a bolder route could pressure an opponent. The course did not need to force one correct decision to be effective. It needed to make both decisions defensible under different match conditions.
The Presidents Cup Routing Shift
The course order also changed for the event. The first six holes remained as before in the regular course sequence, but from the seventh onward the flow changed. For Presidents Cup matches, play started on what members play as the regular fifth hole, and the old holes 1-4 became Nos. 15-18 in the match-play routing.
That routing decision placed familiar ground at the end of matches while giving the competition a different opening cadence. It also meant that the closing stretch was not merely a product of the renovation’s new holes; it was a constructed match-play sequence. That matters for analysis because pressure at the end of a team match is shaped by hole order as much as by hole design.
What The Changes Did Not Prove
Course design analysis should separate supported observations from claims that require more evidence. The available facts show that the course became wider, larger in green surface, sandier, less rough-dependent, and partly rerouted. They also show that OCM replaced several holes and introduced a diagonal water carry late in the round.
Limits Of Design-Only Analysis
Those facts do not, by themselves, prove that the course favored one team, one playing style, or one type of ball flight during the Presidents Cup. To support that kind of claim, we would need verified performance data: driving patterns, approach proximity by angle, bunker recovery rates, hole-by-hole results, and how often matches reached the altered closing stretch.
Without that data, the fairer conclusion is narrower. The redesign created more choices. It reduced the dominance of rough as the main penalty. It increased the number of positional hazards. It expanded greens enough to make internal target selection more meaningful. Those are design conclusions grounded in the reported construction changes.
What Golfers Can Learn From The Rebuild
For club golfers, the lesson is not to copy tour lines. The useful takeaway is how space can create decisions. A wider fairway does not remove strategy if bunkers, water, and green angles reward one side over another. A large green does not remove danger if the wrong section leaves a defensive putt. The renovation is a reminder that difficulty can come from decisions, not only from narrow corridors and deep rough.
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Medinah No. 3 Strategy After The Cup
Medinah No. 3 now stands as a case study in how a major tournament venue can be reworked without relying only on length. The 7,564-yard, par-72 setup was long enough for elite play, but the more meaningful changes were spatial: doubled fairway acreage, bigger greens, more bunkers, less rough, removed holes, new holes, and a revised event routing.
The most persuasive reading is that the renovation shifted the course from a more linear test toward a broader strategic examination. Players were asked to choose lines, not simply avoid misses. Lake Kadijah, the new par-4 16th, and the late-match routing all gave the 2026 Presidents Cup a setting built around decisions under pressure. That is the strongest supported design insight from the completed event.
