Why shorter rounds of golf could have a big role in the future of the sport
We’re delighted to see Eastwood Twelve featured in a new article from Top 100 Golf Courses looking at one of the biggest questions facing the game: could 12-hole courses become a more important part of golf’s future?
The article looks at how the traditional 18-hole round fits with modern life, particularly when so many golfers are trying to balance work, family and everything else that fills the week.
Eastwood Twelve was created with exactly that in mind.
The former Eastwood Golf Club closed in 2019 after more than a century of golf on the site. When Colin Whitelaw took over the land, the challenge was to find a different way forward rather than simply recreate another traditional 18-hole members’ club.
The idea for Eastwood Twelve began to take shape in 2021, with the new course eventually opening in June 2025.
Today, the course combines five par threes and seven par fours, with three sets of tees allowing it to offer a genuine test for experienced golfers while remaining enjoyable and accessible for higher handicappers.
But the biggest difference is time.
A typical round of 12 holes can be completed in around two-and-a-quarter hours. It’s enough golf to feel like a proper round, without requiring golfers to give up most of the day.
That approach appears to be striking a chord. Eastwood Twelve has already attracted more than 320 members, while around half of the rounds played at the course are by visitors.
For us, that’s what 12-hole golf is really about. It isn’t about making golf easier or reducing the quality of the experience. It’s about making a great game fit more easily into modern life.
And, as the Top 100 Golf Courses article suggests, Eastwood Twelve might just be part of something much bigger.
Read the full article on Top 100 Golf Courses: The Future of Golf: Are 12-Hole Courses the Way Forward?