Best Performance by a Modern Golf Architect?

[David Kelly]

Now that the Golfweek Top 100 Modern list has come out everyone has had a chance to debate the rankings and where certain courses should be ranked I would like to throw out a related question - Which golf architect has done the best job in building a single course since 1960? Which is not the same thing as what is the greatest modern golf course.  

For example Sand Hills, Pacific Dunes and Friar's Head are ranked #1-3 on the Golfweek modern list and then there is a large gap to the #4 course on the list.  But almost everyone who has ever played or seen those courses will say that the architects were blessed with fantastic land and all three courses have knowledgeable owners with very good reputations. So at least in one sense it could be expected that great golf courses would result from those circumstances and that is not to take away anything from Coore or Doak both of whom are favorites of mine.

I am thinking more about who did the best with what he was given. There are many things that go into the designing and building of a golf course that we will never be aware of.  Things like size of the budget, environmental restrictions, mandates by owners or government, skill of the labor force, weather, etc.  In fact maybe the greatest job ever by an architect was by some guy who was given a horrible site, a miniscule  budget and a clueless owner and managed to make an enjoyable course out of it. Something like that we'll never know but based on what we do know which is basically the high profile projects in the last 45 years which architect did the best?

Some well-known possibilities:

Whistling Straits - Dye was given an absolutely flat and barren site and managed to build a golf course that has been wildly successful.  But didn't he also have carte blanche from Kohler and then there was that big scenic lake sitting right next to the site.

Shadow Creek - Fazio fashioned a golfing oasis out of another flat, rocky, desolate spot.  But he was given an unlimited budget and exceeded it and wouldn't a lot of guys been able to do the same with the level of support he was given?

Harbour Town - Dye built a course that  ushered in a new era of golf course design while simultaneously introducing a fresh new style of golf course architecture.

World Woods  - Actually two courses at once. Apparently it was a great site but Fazio delivered a very interesting  golf course in Pine Barrens that I still don't think he has topped as well as another highly regarded course with a completely different style and look in Rolling Oaks.

Kapalua Plantation - Coore and Crenshaw took a site that many would have thought unworkable and fashioned a big overscale golf course that called for and allowed all kinds of creative shotmaking.

and finally my pick, Apache Stronghold - This is a highly subjective pick that a lot of people may not agree with.   It has fallen off the radar in recent years which is a shame because of all the modern courses I have ever played I don't think I was ever more aware of being in the presence of golf architectural genius as I was with this course.  I was consistently surprised and impressed by the design choices Doak made throughout the course.  I am sure the site was very good but it was in the middle of nowhere and Doak was working for people that did not have the deepest of pockets as far as I am aware, still I believe it is in this course that Doak showed his true talent as an architect.

[TEPaul]

For my taste, and from the little I know, I'd have to say Sand Hills, the entire Bandon resort, and public course Rustic Canyon are break-through architecture. All of them appear to be really fine courses to play and all of them really caught the "natural" look far more than had been done in many decades. So those, for starters should all be considered some of the Best performances of Modern Golf Architecture.

The question then becomes how to they stake up against some of the best of the "natural" look from the old days. I'd say really well to that too!

[Tom_Doak]

David:

I think you'd need about two dozen categories for this award.  Apache Stronghold would be a strong contender for "Best Course Built by a Bunch of Native Americans."  Barnbougle turned out pretty good for a bunch of interns.

Really, though, I don't know how you can compare the value of designing under different circumstances.  Just like most architects would say that anyone could have come up with a great course at Sand Hills or Pacific Dunes, most would say that anyone could build a great course with $37 million, as at Shadow Creek.  [Imagine if I'd had FIVE TIMES as much money as we did at The Rawls Course!]

I do think that Kapalua is one of the more original designs I've seen ... I don't know anyone else who would have come up with that.  Pinehurst Number Two is another, although it's not modern.

[Mike_Cirba]

For my taste, and from the little I know, I'd have to say Sand Hills, the entire Bandon resort, and public course Rustic Canyon are break-through architecture. All of them appear to be really fine courses to play and all of them really caught the "natural" look far more than had been done in many decades. So those, for starters should all be considered some of the Best performances of Modern Golf Architecture.

The question then becomes how to they stake up against some of the best of the "natural" look from the old days. I'd say really well to that too!

Tom Paul;

Are you rating courses again??  

Wouldn't you rather just give about 50-100 or so modern courses the full Monty of Rich Goodale's *** point system without attempting to seek any differentiation of quality or artistry between them?  

[A_Clay_Man]

Wild Horse represents a real break through, albeit on the heels of it's relatively close neighbor.

But, the Rawls course definitely takes precedence because of the site given.

Other difficult sites that are worthy of mention include Black Mesa, Pinion Hills and Talking Stick Norte.

[Matt_Ward]

Adam:

You mentioned the course but got it backwards.

It is far easier to "create" a course like The Rawls in Lubbock when you can simply move turf to get the desired result. I salute Tom Doak for a job well done because frankly The Rawls is miles beyond much of the rest of the stuff that dares call itself "public golf" in the Lone Star State.

What Baxter Spann did Black Mesa is even more incredible since he had to tie both nines to get back to the clubhouse and his routing through the severe terrain without compromising hole quality or the native New Mexico landscape is a stunning achievement.

[A_Clay_Man]

Matt

Let me see if I have you correctly, creating a course out of dramatic terrain, is a better design acheivment, than moving a bunch of dirt, that looks natural, on a flat nothing piece of terra firma. Is that right?

[Matt_Ward]

Adam:

Think about the site in New Mexico -- yes -- the site is awesome but Baxter Spann had to route holes through a more demanding site with all the pre-conditions that were there -- either by Mother Nature or by what the Santa Clara Pueblo would permit.

A blank canvass in Lubbock is easier -- getting a routing through the site Black Mesa occupies is far more demanding in my mind -- few architects would have achieved the synergy of superb holes that Baxter Spann accomplished without a major disruption of what Mother Nature mandated / provided.

Think of how the two nines connect back to the clubhouse. How superb is the manner by which Spann ties the front
nine -- through the "pass" at the 8th hole and the unique creation fo the 16th hole (stairway to seven) back up the hill to the final two holes.

Yes, Adam -- IMHO working with a demanding site and making it appear so easy -- so natural -- gets my nod over a site that was completely empty and simply filled in with details by Tom Doak. Let me say this again -- The Rawls Course is well done so I'm not hear to lower what was accomplished there --I'm simply here to elevate what Spann did with the site he had in New Mexico. End of story.

[Chris Munoz]

Guys, what about TPC at Sawgrass and maybe the Bridge out on Long Island, Sag Harbor.  Not that many people talk about that golf course on this site....

Chris Munoz (Muni)

[George Pazin]

Few things annoy me as much as the dismissal of Sand Hills, Pac Duines, Friars Head, etc., as "anyone could have built a great course on that site."

[TEPaul]

"Wouldn't you rather just give about 50-100 or so modern courses the full Monty of Rich Goodale's *** point system without attempting to seek any differentiation of quality or artistry between them?"

MikeC:

Absolutely, why not? I think ultimately it's much better than the 1,2,3....method of ranking courses (that noone really understands the inherent architectural reasons for anyway) that we have now! But I would not agree that there should be no explanation attempting to differention quality of artistry between them. I believe it's just much easier to do that with categories like *** than it is with the 1,2,3.... method!

[Mark Brown]

Tobacco Road, front-nine of Royal New Kent,
PGA West-Stadium