DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Every round of golf is impacted by three key
design elements, regardless of geographic location, topography,
motif, dimensions, or type of golf course. Those elements are
Strategy, Aesthetics, and Conditioning. Simply stated,
strategic quality is what one feels as he/she plays the course.
It has to do with the overall course routing, how holes turn left,
right, or straight, directions of holes as related to wind and sun,
how slope impacts one’s stance, how hazards are situated, varying
lengths of holes, uphill verses downhill, upwind verses downwind,
angles from tee to landing areas, how greens are designed for size,
shape, angle of centerline, and a host of other issues that greatly
impact the player’s experience. All of these conditions impact the
player’s level of enjoyment.
The phrase ‘risk and reward’ is often used to
define strategic quality for a golf hole. The degree of risk or
challenge should increase as you progress from front tee to back
tee. Regardless of player’s ability, he desires to be challenged by
hazards. One of the greatest pleasures in the game for any player
is to snug a tee shot up close to a hazard and realize the reward of
a shorter second shot, better angle, softer slope, or all of the
above. The key is to always offer a safe route that avoids forced
carries as much as possible, especially for the high handicap
players.
When studying the great courses around the
world, one would find diversity in hole directions, especially the
par threes and par fives. Wind can make a 165 yard hole play
exactly like a 200 yard hole, so it is imperative to manage the
routing to maximize wind impact. Regarding par threes, a good mix
would include one short iron and one near maximum length for par
three holes, and a couple holes of mid iron length. For par fives,
every level player would like to enjoy the option of reaching a par
five in two shots, and certainly it is ideal to have at least one
par five that represents three shots for the most powerful players.
In today’s world of high technology clubs and balls, this most
likely means designing that par five into the prevailing wind and
uphill if possible.
There is much controversy today regarding the
total course length and width required to challenge many back tee
players to the fullest. I question the validity of always feeling
this to be a requirement. If the owner intends to have tour events,
it is certainly justified. However, some of the greatest venues
today have not succumbed to the need to continuously add more
length, and yet any player drools to have the opportunity to play
such courses. Why is this? The simplest answer is great strategy
in hazard placement and design of green complexes. To this day many
Golden Era Period courses offer more than ample challenge from 7,000
for the best players, and yet the least of players realize
tremendous enjoyment on the same courses. It was during that period
of golf history (up until 1950, when Robert Trent Jones, Sr.
introduced the Modern Era of golf design) that such notable
designers as Donald Ross, Alister Mackenzie, Seth Raynor, C.B.
MacDonald, Perry Maxwell, A.W. Tillinghast, George Thomas, Robert
Hunter, and a host of others formed the strategic design philosophy
that is the essence of any great course ever built. I am a student
of that philosophy who has a great appreciation for the resulting
creations of great golf strategy enjoyed by all levels of players.
Everyone in the golf industry shares the common
goal of “growing the game”. Golf has always required more time to
play than many other sports that compete for people’s leisure time.
As courses extend in length they require more time to traverse.
Perhaps the best way to grow the game is to build more short courses
that allow play to move more quickly. This can be accomplished
without sacrificing the strategic components. We can design courses
shorter overall and still offer an array of golf shots that would
bring out every club in the bag. The total yardage might only be
5500 to 6000, but we could still experience a three shot par five
and very long par four. One difference could be more par three
holes overall, but create variety in length, thus placing emphasis
on varied club selection. The point of this information is to
clarify that golf does not have to be about who can design the
longest course, but rather lets find ways to grow the game by
offering a greater number of options for people to choose to play.
The design element of aesthetics has
many looks to offer. First there is natural aesthetics, with some
properties having more to offer than others. The greater the
natural aesthetics the more a designer should work to capture that
feel into the overall design scheme. Then there are the man-made
features that can offer another dimension of aesthetics to the
course. Primary features that must be shaped by man and equipment
are greens, tees, bunkers, and mounding. As golf evolved into the
Golden Era Period, we saw many bunker and green styles evolve. The
bunkers took on a rugged look around the edges, primarily due to
available grass types and mowing equipment. Some designers favored
high flashed sand and others grass rolling down the slopes to
flatter sand bottoms, and still others a combination of the two.
Today bunkers tend to take on a more manicured look, though we do
have grass options that would offer a more classic age appearance.
Regardless of the motif, it is critical that the designer understand
the overall composition of forms, and that he design those forms to
draw the eye to the target, be it fairway landing area or green
complex.
The last design element to discuss is
conditioning. It may well be the least understood by most
golfers, and is certainly the element that offers the highest
construction budget impact. This element represents the foundation
of the golf course. It is the antithesis of aesthetics, because it
represents what we do not see with the eye; however, it has a direct
impact on aesthetics as well as playability of the course. Grass
will believe anything you tell it. If you tell it there is ample
sunlight and airflow, and it has good drainage along with ample
nutrition in the root zone material, it will produce an excellent
surface. This element includes such items in the construction
budget as irrigation, drainage, topsoil medium, specifications for
greens, tees, bunkers, cart paths, and grass types. One must have a
strong agronomic background to maximize this conditioning element,
regardless of the construction budget. Most designers leave the
site once the grass is in place. Because of my agronomic experience
and knowledge, I stay with the owner and golf course superintendent
through the Grow-in Period until Grand Opening, offering expert
advice on how to maximize the course condition element.