When John and I started this site in 1999, we did so with the hope of highlighting the finest aspects of golf course architecture. While much can be learned by discussing the negatives, the opportunity to dwell on the positives is more constructive as by definition, it illustrates doing something properly.
To that end, it is with great delight that we post the Friar's Head course profile. To say that Friar's Head embodies the best qualities of golf course architecture is not an overstatement. From the start, Ken Bakst did everything possible to set the stage for the best possible course to evolve over time. In return, when talking to the people at Coore & Crenshaw, the common theme is one of gratitude and of a sense of being lucky for working with such a unique site and for having an owner with the patience to let their work unfold. As Coore points out, 'If too much money and resouces are spent early in the project in a rush to get to the final product, it becomes too expensive to make these kind of changes in the field.' According to several who worked there, friendships were formed with Ken that will last a lifetime.
Importantly, the design at Friar's Head has every chance to realize its full potential in the years to come. The decision makers will never allow cart paths to mar the landscape, soft, spongy playing conditions to fester and ruin the ground game options, housing to exist which shifts the focus from the game's enjoyment, the course presentation to become unnaturally clean/pressed/starched etc.
Though fun to speculate on what this course may mature into, the course as it exists today is startling, even for those with high expectations. Fortunately, the site at Friar's Head is so different as to help people resist making immediate comparisons between this new course and the four all-world courses nearby. In theory, we should be content to accept it for being what it is, which is to say unique.
Unfortunately, this web site exists
and knuckleheads like us will debate the design merits of Friar's Head compared to these and other world class courses for years to come. Are its greens as diverse and fun (perhaps more so?) as those at NGLA? Are its less noted holes really of the same high standard as the less noted holes at Shinnecock Hills? Does the variety of shots that one can hit/invent over a round equal or exceed those at Maidstone? How does the sense of adventure as one wanders up and down the dunes compare to the wild topography at Fishers?
If true, if the design of Friar's Head does indeed stack up against such courses, then the best courses being built today rival the best ever built. However, with courses like Sand Hills, Pacific Dunes and Friar's Head so unique to their individual sites, one wonders what specific impact they will have on modern architecture. After all, these designs can't be replicated.
Still, common denominators can be sought and discussed and places like this web site that profile great designs can try to shed light in several other ways. First, that such a place as Friar's Head exists. Second, to congratulate and recognize those men who put so much time and thought and passion into the art form of golf course architecture. Third, as a way to highlight the process. Sure, the process is different site to site but the greater the understanding about what goes into the design of special courses, the greater the likelihood that others will follow.
Certainly, the bar was raised in golf course architecture with Friar's Head (one fan muses that a design so rich in architectural features hasn't opened since Riviera Country Club in 1927!). While such pronouncements are fine, at the end of the day, what matters for members of Friar's Head and their guests is simply if the course is fun and inspiring to play -does one relish the chance to return? As to discussing WHY it's so fun to play and the FEATURES that make it that way, we can only imagine the countless number of posts that Friar's Head will generate on those very topics for years to come!
Cheers,