Making a golf course map with the Golf Course Map preset

Difficulty: Easy. Time: under an hour of design time, then your printer's run. Best method: full-colour / UV print (it's a course-palette poster design). A laser version works as a single engraved tonal tile.

This is a poster-first preset for golfers. The Golf Course Map draws the Old Course at St Andrews in a true course palette - bright green fairways set against a lighter rough, sandy bunkers, blue sea and water hazards, and near-white cart paths threading between the holes. Everything is solid colour fill, so the whole design rides on that crisp, fresh-cut-grass look. It's made for full-colour and UV prints, framed clubhouse pieces and golfer gifts rather than for cutting into layers.

St Andrews is the perfect match: as the home of golf, the Old Course gives the palette its most iconic shapes - the wide double fairways, the Swilcan Burn and the famous links edge meeting the sea anchor the whole frame.

Open the Golf Course Map preset

What You'll Need

UV print / sublimation

The exported high-res PNG (4096 px)
UV flatbed printer, or a sublimation setup with a coated blank (wood, hardboard, aluminium)
Light wood or white blanks let the green fairways and blue water stay vivid

Poster / paper print

The exported high-res PNG sent to a photo lab or printed on matte or textured art paper
A frame; clean wood or dark framing suits a clubhouse wall

Laser (optional, single tile)

A light-toned wood or coated tile that engraves with contrast
Any diode or CO2 laser
Note: the course palette won't survive a laser - use it for a monochrome engraved version

Step 1 - Start from the preset

Open the Golf Course Map preset. It opens on the Old Course at St Andrews at zoom 14.4 in a square (1:1) frame, which frames the full links from the clubhouse out to the turn and back along the sea. Pan so the fairways and the famous edge against the water sit centred; that green-and-blue meeting line is what gives the design its anchor. Zoom in a touch for a tighter read of individual holes, or out slightly to take in more of the town and coast around the course.

Step 2 - Tune the layers

The preset is a single layer group, "Golf course", and every feature is Solid fill or Solid line - there are no cut or score layers, so the course palette is your only dial:

Land background - Solid fill, light rough green #E4ECD6. The pale rough that the whole course sits on. It sets the fresh, grassy base tone.
Water (sea and hazards) - Solid fill, blue #4DA0C4. The sea along the links and the water hazards become a clean blue block - one of the boldest shapes in the frame.
Golf course fairways - Solid fill, fairway green #6FA84B. The mown fairways stand out brighter than the rough, drawing the eye down each hole.
Bunkers - Solid fill, sandy tan #E9D7A6. The bunkers read as warm sand spots scattered through the green - a signature detail at St Andrews.
Primary roads - Solid line, warm grey #B8B09A (width 2.5). The main streets around the course edge.
Streets - Solid line, light grey #C9C2B0 (width 1.5). The finer town streets framing the links.
Cart paths - Solid line, near-white #FBFCF8 (width 2). The pale paths winding between holes; they add the crisp detail that reads as a real course map.

The palette is balanced to stay fresh and true to a real course. If you recolour one layer, keep the greens, sand and blue in their natural family so the whole map still reads as a fairway rather than turning into an abstract.

Step 3 - Export

UV / sublimation: export the high-res PNG (4096 px). Keep the Background toggle on so the rough green base prints as a solid field, or turn it off for a transparent background to let a natural wood blank show through behind the course.
Poster: same high-res PNG, sized to your paper. The square 1:1 frame suits a 12x12 or 20x20 print for a clubhouse wall.
Laser (optional): export the per-layer SVG ZIP, ignore the colours, and engrave the fairways, bunkers and paths as a single tonal pass.

Choose Your Build Method

UV print / sublimation

Export the high-res PNG. Turn the Background off and print onto a natural wood blank to let the grain show behind the course, or leave it on for a full rough-green field.
For sublimation, mirror the image and press onto a wood, hardboard, or aluminium blank per its spec. White blanks keep the green and blue at their brightest.
On a UV flatbed, print straight onto wood, acrylic, or hardboard. A white underbase keeps the fairway green and sea blue opaque on darker stock.
A matte or satin finish keeps the greens looking natural rather than glossy and artificial.

Poster / paper print

Send the high-res PNG to a photo lab or print on matte or lightly textured art paper - texture suits the natural grass feel.
Frame in clean wood or a dark surround to suit a clubhouse or study wall.
The 1:1 square crop is set for you - keep it square, or re-export after switching the aspect ratio for a portrait format that follows the links down to the sea.

Make It Yours

Map the course that matters to you: Pebble Beach, Augusta National, St Andrews, Pinehurst or your home club all suit this palette - a course you actually played makes the best keepsake.
Print on natural wood with the background off so the grain shows behind the fairways for a warmer, more rustic course piece.
Deepen the fairway green toward a richer turf #5A8F3C for a bolder, more saturated look.
Cool the water from this blue to a deeper sea #2F7FA8 for coastal links courses that meet the ocean.
Add the course name, hole count and coordinates under the map for a complete commemorative-poster look.
Print large (20x20 square) framed for the clubhouse or pro shop, or small as a set of golfer-gift coasters.
Turn down the town Streets layers for a cleaner version that leans entirely on the fairways, bunkers and cart paths.

Open the Golf Course Map preset

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