Medinah No. 3 Reroutes Holes for 2026 Presidents Cup Drama

Medinah Golf Club, about 25 miles west of downtown Chicago, will play a rerouted version of its No. 3 course for the 2026 Presidents Cup, shifting the order of holes so the most treacherous stretches come into play earlier in matches.

Why is Medinah reordering its holes?

The International side has not won the Presidents Cup since 1998, and organizers are betting that resequencing the course can help close that gap. Because fewer than 40% of team match-play matches actually reach the 18th hole, with many decided on the 15th or 16th, the traditional fifth hole will now play as the first and the traditional fourth hole as the 18th. That change guarantees players face several of the course's most risk-reward holes, many of which line Lake Kadijah, rather than risking them going untested if a match ends early.

What does the redesign firm say about the change?

Golf course architect Mike Cocking of OCM, which reimagined the course for this year's event, said routing typically follows a deliberate cadence “like a song or like an album,” and that renumbering holes risks losing that flow. Rerouting host courses ahead of team events has become common practice at both the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup in recent years.

With the changes in place, Medinah No. 3 will become the only club in the country to have hosted a U.S. Open, a PGA Championship, a Ryder Cup and a Presidents Cup, played in an order it has never seen before.