How the Clubhouse Relates to the Course

[Chris Kane]

Surely the imposing clubhouse at Royal Sydney has to influence perception of the 18th hole?

[Mike Vegis @ Kiawah]

We're building a new clubhouse at The Ocean Course that takes into account the local environment and the "feel" of course.  Here's some details:

Kiawah Island Golf Resort breaks ground for new clubhouse at its famed Ocean Course
 
Kiawah Island, SC (Thursday, December 15, 2005) – Kiawah Island Golf Resort officially broke ground today on a new clubhouse at its famed Ocean Course. Turning over the first few shovels of dirt were Resort Chairman William H. Goodwin, Jr., Resort President Roger Warren and Kiawah Island Mayor Bill Wert.  

The 24,000-square-foot clubhouse, which is costing in excess of $18 million, has an expected completion date of spring 2007. The Ocean Course will then host the 2007 Senior PGA Championship in May of that year. The layout is also the venue for the 2012 PGA Championship, the first of golf’s four “majors” to be held in South Carolina.

Situated adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean and 150 feet from the 18th green, the new clubhouse has been designed to augment The Ocean Course’s stature in the game of golf  and provide a stage befitting major professional golf events.

Noted architecture firm Robert A. M. Stern Architects has designed the clubhouse, which is part of the resort’s ongoing commitment to providing its guests with the finest amenities and services. The firm is familiar with Kiawah Island, having previously designed the island’s private Beach Club, located near The Ocean Course’s 14th tee.

Using wood shingles and brick as the primary building materials, the clubhouse’s weathered exterior with wraparound porches will make it appear as though the seaside structure has coexisted with the dunes for a century or more. Low-profile rooflines will suggest a compact sturdiness shaped by the ever-present coastal winds.

Prior to arriving at the clubhouse guests will pass through a series of dunes, building a sense of anticipation for what lies ahead. Only after entering the elevated clubhouse will the Atlantic Ocean become visible through expansive windows. The interior will feature a simpleyet classic approach to décor with the emphasis on comfort. Golf purists instinctively will know that the clubhouse has been built to enhance a traditional golf experience.

The upper floor will offer a locker room accommodating 164 players, as well as hospitality areas. The main floor will include another 36 lockers, a 1,700-square-foot pro shop and a well-appointed yet comfortable 80-seat American-style restaurant.  A golf-oriented bar will also provide spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean, golf and sunsets. An outdoor terrace overlooking The Ocean Course’s final stretch of holes will be able to accommodate another 24 seated guests.  

 “Golf on The Ocean Course has always been a unique experience steeped in the grand traditions of the game,” said Warren.  “As the only true links-style course in the U.S., this new clubhouse – with its rustic charm and outstanding views – will be the capstone to the experience our guests will enjoy.”

Located just a short 35-minute drive from historic Charleston, South Carolina, Kiawah Island Golf Resort lies along 10 miles of uninterrupted Atlantic Ocean beach, rated as one of America’s top 10 beaches by The Travel Channel. Guests can choose from 600 private villas and luxury homes or the ultra-luxury oceanfront 255-room hotel, The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island, which boasts a nature-based spa, fine dining and 18,000-square-feet of meeting space. The resort features two award-winning tennis complexes, a variety of restaurants and lounges, and five championship golf courses including The Ocean Course.  

[jim_lewis]

I agree that the clubhouse can have an impact on the overall experience, but the looks, size, charm, etc. should have absolutely no bearing on the rating of the course. When I am evaluating a course, I make it a point to ignore the clubhouse. I usually don't even go into the clubhouse beyond the pro shop and the men's locker room. I don't even care whether there is a permanent club house.

What I do care about, and do take into account, is whether the location of the clubhouse has an impact on the routing of the course. Just about anytime the 9th and 18th holes both return to the clubhouse, you can be sure that the location of the clubhouse presented some limitation on how the architect routed the course. That influence will likely be negative. There a many courses, including some very good ones, that might have been better if the architect could have ignored the club house. To name just two that most on this DG are familiar with, Augusta National and Bandon Dunes. In my opinion, these are two very good courses where the 9th and 18th are two or the poorer holes on the course. A flagrant example on an otherwise pretty good course is the 18th at Barton Creek Foothills course, which is a rediculosly steep uphill par 5 that finishes just below the hotel/club.

It is probably no coincidence that many, if not most, of the great courses do not return the ninth hole to the clubhouse.
Pebble Beach, Merion, The Old Course, Pine Valley, Pacific Dunes, Carnustie, Pinehurst #2 (nor #'s 1,3,4,5), Mid Pines, Pine Needles are just a few examples. Sand Hills goes one better as neither the first tee, the ninth green nor the 18th green are anywhere near the club house.

I would be interested in hearing the architects comment on this point. How much pressure do you get from the client to accommodate the club house in your routing? Do you resist?
How successful are you in changing the client's Mind?


Jim Lewis

[Mike Vegis @ Kiawah]

For course rankings, sure.  That's a good rule of thumb.  However, for the resort guest experience to be the best, there needs to be the total experience.  The current Ocean Course clubhouse was built for the Ryder Cup and was actually expected to be the permanent structure for only about 7ish years.  Here it is 15 years later and it's still there.  We were due....  

[Jerry Kluger]

Tom: My recollection is that the golf shop at Baltusrol, Somerset Hills and Plainfield are all located at the first tee.  I cannot say this is a general rule in many older courses but I do believe it is a very effective use of resources.  The courses have vastly different clubhouses from the huge clubhouse at Baltusrol to the very small one at Somerset Hills.  

A really cool clubhouse is the one at Burning Tree.  There is a large plate glass window at ground level in the dining area which is directly behind the tenth tee.  What is also special is that the dining area has long tables where you seat yourself at the next open spot which could be next to some of the most important people in Washington.

[jim_lewis]

Mike:

I agree that many resort guests expect a clubhouse that is consistent with the price tag of the resort. Bandon seems to do fine with a less-than-spectacular clubhouse and there is nothng special about the clubhouse at Pinehurst. I'm not sure how much the hard care golfers care, and those who pay the big bucks are often hard core. BTW, I like your present club house fine.

Jim

[Mike Vegis @ Kiawah]

The current clubhouse is held together with spit and bailing wire.  Our head pro out there won't be upset at all when the wrecking ball hits the front door!

[Philippe Binette]

One of the best I've seen: Beaconsfield GC in Montreal.

from inside of 60 yards of it there is:
1st tee
9th green
10th tee
11th green
12th tee
16th tee
18th green

You can appreciate this fairly big and magnificient clubhouse from three sides and it never feel too tight

[Scott Witter]

Mike Vegis:

Your new clubhouse scenario sounds exactly like what I was talking about.  For the complete total experience...especially at a resort setting, I think this component must be considered as an integral element in the overall development plan to be truly successful.. With that said, I would also agree with Jim Lewis regarding his comments about the affects on the routing of the course.

If at all possible, this shouldn't be compromised, but many times the site will in fact influence this condition if say the site is small, contains many physical constraints or oddly configured...also too are the costs for utilities from adjacent roads, etc, this too can influence the clients ability to remain affordable for the clubhouse and therefore the course may need to accomodate this.  Except for a handful of architects and the wonderful sites they are working with, normally, the golf architect can only do their very best given the many factors placed upon them and the site.  Nevertheless, one would hope there is consideration to this element all the way through the development process.

[PThomas]

Merion's aint bad!

[John Kirk]

Stanford GC has a beautiful setup.  The pro shop is adjacent to the first tee.  The clubhouse is behind the 18th green.  The two are about 60 yards apart.

As one walks down towards the 18th green, the extremely low profile adobe clubhouse awaits, surrounded by native oaks.  The clubhouse has limited locker facilities for the members.  It is essentially a public coffee shop, which is regularly filled with members, faculty and staff, and their guests at lunch time.  Very simple, and very nice.

Another west coast clubhouse often recognized is at the San Francisco GC.  I'll tell you one thing:  it's the oldest golf locker room I've been in.  It reminded me of an old high school gym.

[W.H. Cosgrove]

I'm a sucker for a feeling of intimacy, doesn't matter how large the total structure as long as the building provides niches.  

[Tony_Chapman]

Tom - I'm surprised you didn't mention Pasatiempo. Though, not a beautiful building, I love how the pro shop sits you right next to that first tee and then you can wonder into the clubhouse area and see all those pics of Marion, Bobby and Dr. Mac. Cool stuff.

I'd also put the house at Prairie Dunes right up there with my favorites I've seen.

Does Ben's Porch count??

[Mike Vegis @ Kiawah]

Here's an rendering of the new Ocean Course clubhouse set to open right before the 2007 Senior PGA Championship:

           

[Lawrence Largent]

Indian Creek is by far the best I've seen!

Lawrence

[John Shimp]

I like the setup at Palmetto.  They have an old Stanford White Clubhouse that is small and a separate shop.  The clubhouse, shop, practice greens, 18th green and first tee are all very tight and intimate feeling. Probably too tight, but nonetheless the place has a great feel.

[Sean_A]

I really like some of the clubhouses that send the player off and greet him on return.  That compact feeling and knowing that the 1st tee is a few steps away.  It also lends itself to heckling and loud revelry. Burnham and Aberdeen are two good examples.

Ciao

Sean

[Brent Hutto]

I really like some of the clubhouses that send the player off and greet him on return.  That compact feeling and knowing that the 1st tee is a few steps away.  It also lends itself to heckling and loud revelry. Burnham and Aberdeen are two good examples.

Based on television during the Senior Open, I think the clubhouse at Royal Aberdeen seems ideally situated.

As for courses I've seen in person, the clubhouse/proshop combination at Palmetto mentioned by John Shimp (especially Tommy Moore's homey proshop) is hard to beat. The Cypress Point Club's arrangement is great, too. Proshop right up against the first tee and clubhouse overlooking the eighteenth green and that great view of the ocean, looking across seventeen.

[Lloyd_Cole]

Clubhouses may not impact on the rankings, but they sure impact on the experience.

You only have to drive into the West Sussex car park, and as soon as you clap eyes on that gorgeous old brick building, you know you're in for a fine day.

Same here, at Commonwealth.  

Conversely, as soon as you catch a glimpse of The National's clubhouse...

Mark - I was about to say I agree with you completely and I'm glad someone put it that way. The experience is directly affected. However I may go out on a limb here - The National clubhouse is far and away the best modern clubhouse I've seen. It is a daring piece of architecture. And very Australian, in the best possible way. And there is no need for a jacket and tie in any of the rooms, I'm sure.

[Pete Lavallee]

How about a Clubhouse that is so close to the field of play as to be very intimidating? I can think of no better example than the 14th at Woking; nothing like skulling your short wedge off Mrs Pinkerton Smythe's tea cup on the verranda just behind the green.

[Patrick_Mucci]

I'm not sure if it is (or should be) a factor in the rankings of golf courses, but a large part of the character of a great club is contained in how the clubhouse feels a part of the whole.

As Brad Klein mentioned elsewhere, the smaller operations seem better suited for intimacy than the massive clubhouses preferred by new private clubs.  (Although, amazingly enough, places like Riviera and Oakland Hills have an intimate connection despite their massive clubhouses.)

The only courses I've done where I'm really thrilled with the relationship to the clubhouse are the two at Stonewall, plus Cape Kidnappers and Barnbougle Dunes ... Stonewall because they are the only courses we've done where the clubhouse was already there for us to relate to, Kidnappers because the site was so small there wasn't any elbow room, and Barnbougle because it's the only course where the owner let me put the building exactly where I wanted to.

On most projects, the clubhouse doesn't start until we are basically finished, and I've rarely been given any input into the footprint of the building.  And of course we've got four or five courses which still don't have a real clubhouse ... Pacific Dunes' setup isn't bad for a temporary trailer.

One observation:  on nearly all my favorite courses, the pro shop is separate from the clubhouse, and in many cases that allows both of them to have an intimate relationship to the course, which they would not have had if combined.

Doesn't the answer lie within the vision and taste of the developer-founders ?[/color]

[Tommy Williamsen]

John Shimp, I agree about Palmetto GC.  They just renovated the clubhouse.  Have you seen it yet?  It was very well done.

[mike_beene]

The only clubhouse that really affects a course to me is Muirfield's simply because you see it from so many angles and it reminds you where you are,much like the town of St Andrews or the Rose Bowl.Maybe I am alone in this,but that presence affects how I feel and therefore becomes part of the course since courses are designed for humans,not machines.A mountain,or a building doesn't have to be on the course to affect your senses.

[Chris Parker]

I haven't been inside it, but I've heard great things about the intimate nature of the clubhouse at exclusive Donald Steel-designed Redtail G.C. near St. Thomas, ON.  I read somewhere that it's been mentioned as one of the better modern clubhouses.  Here's a couple of pics I took as a spectator at the Ontario Amateur this past summer:





Has anyone out there been inside?  If so, what are your thoughts?

[jeffwarne]

Funny thing about Palmetto-I've been a member there for 7 years and I've been playing semiregular there for 25+ years
They have a cool ,intimate,well placed classic old clubhouse-
And I've never been in it! Walked 15 feet from it a hundred times.
Not even sure what's there as they don't serve lunch and there's a locker room connected to the pro shop.

I do pop into the pro shop every time to say hello to America's greatest pro Tom Moore.
(the hot dog warmer and drink cooler are located in the back room off his shop-hard to imagine what you'd need besides that)
Shows you how much regard I have for clubhouses-even one of the most attractive in the country