Brad Klein,
I believe that famous landscape artist, Donald Ross, stated,
"One of the desirable shapes for a piece of golfing property is that of a fan. It gives you an opportunity to place your clubhouse at the handle of the fan and
then lay out two loops of nine holes each on either side from it.With respect to clubhouse location he said.
"... a clubhouse location in the center of a course is decidedly bad,
while one on the edge has much in its favor."Both statements by "THE DONALD" don't seem to be nonsense.
Common sense would also seem to indicate that NOT routing the first hole into the morning sun and the last hole into the setting sun isn't nonsensical as well.
As to elevated clubhouses, in my neck of the woods, Mountain Ridge, The Knoll, Essex County, Montclair, Glen Ridge, Essex Fells, Plainfield, Arcola, Hackensack, Baltusrol, Roxciticus, Crestmont, Cedar Hill, Forest Hills, Suburban, Spring Brook, Somerset Hills, Colonia, Forsgate, Metedeconk,
Manhattan Woods, are just a few with elevated clubhouses where the land has elevations to afford them.
While not in my neck of the woods, Meadow Brook, Augusta, Cypress Point, Southern Hills, Shinnecock and NGLA come to mind.
While I haven't seen a clubhouse at Sebonack, I understand that they abandoned the stately mansion on the lower part of the property in favor of erecting it on one of the highest elevations on the property.
I never indicated that these conditions were rules or maxims, only patterns or guidelines which seem to be dictated by common sense when routing a golf course.
If those points were good enough for Donald Ross to commit to pen and paper, who am I to dispute them.
Before you go labeling something as "nonsense" perhaps a global review, rather than a specific review, would be in order.
