DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
We often refer to the human anatomy when defining golf architecture at its highest level. If someone likes or dislikes a golf hole or golf course, the answer as to “why” lies in one or all three design elements. They are Strategy, Aesthetics, and Conditioning.
STRATEGY
Using the human body as an analogy, strategy would be the bones, or skeleton of the golf course. It includes many pieces of the course design, such as hole directions (and how they are impacted by wind, sunlight, etc.); uphill verses downhill; number of dogleg right, left, or straight holes; placement of hazards such as bunkers, slopes, lakes, streams, and wetlands; angle of greens to the hole centerline; slope that you play your shot from or into; placement of strategic trees; choice of grasses for various course features; cutting height of those grasses… The list is practically endless. We believe that hazards are the true essence of the game.
AESTHETICS
If strategic quality is the bones of the golf course, aesthetics is the flesh. Every golf property is defined by its natural and manmade aesthetics. In the Golden Era years of golf development, designers were asked to assist in choosing the ideal property. This typically led to outstanding natural aesthetics. It then became a matter of producing the ideal routing to take advantage of the natural property values, and then incorporating a motif to key features such as greens, bunkers, mounding, and tees. The resulting aesthetics of this shaping of key features is strictly manmade. These shapes highly impact shadows and composition, but they also directly affect the cost of maintaining the course.
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CONDITIONING
The third element is conditioning, which directly impacts the quality of the playing surface, or turf. Grass responds directly to its environment. If that environment is well-drained, offers ample sunlight and airflow, provides a balanced nutrient and pest control program, then the turf should offer a very favorable playing surface. The conditioning element by far drives most of the cost of golf course construction. This is governed mostly by specifications chosen to construct various features (i.e., greens, tees, bunkers, drainage systems, irrigation systems, cart paths, bridges, abutments, turf types, etc.). We work to educate Owners on these requirements early in the design process to ensure the end product fits their market and operating budget expectations.
Perhaps the best definition of a well-designed golf course is a good balance of these three key elements, strategy, aesthetics, and conditioning. We can certainly assume that the best golf courses in the world would score nearly a ten in all three of these elements, and no doubt, every designer’s ultimate goal is to accomplish this. However, there are typically limitations, such as what the property does or does not offer, or there may be budget constraints that limit which specifications are affordable. Regardless, the designer’s job is to get the most by maximizing the property and the budget, and to offer players a fun, memorable golf experience.
