Hiking Trails and Golf Course Architecture

[Tim Bert]

I spent much of yesterday hiking with the family at a State Park.

I began to think about the routing of the trail.  I read somewhere on this site recently a comment that someone attributed to Doak.  Something to the effect of the best routing it one that follows how a person would walk the land if there were no golf course.  I probably butchered that.

My point is that this seems no different for a hiking trail.  Usually with hiking there is a more defined start and end point that drives the creation of the trail, but it seems like there are good routings and bad routings.

Any avid hikers on the site?  What do you think?  (other than the fact that I should spend less time on hikes thinking about gca.)

What's the best routing for a hiking trail you've ever experienced?  I would vote for the trail that leads from Lake Louise up to the glaciers in the nearby mountains.  I think the trail does a splendid job of hitting the points of interest, and giving you a near-the-edge experience up toward the top of the trail.

[Kyle Harris]

Tim,

Having hiked most of the well-known PA trails (and a few not-so-well known) and the Appalachain Trail north of Kentucky I definitely agree with you Tim.

Much like golf courses, trails should emphasis the highs and lows of a site and take the hiker over, under, around and through the best of the terrain along the trail.

There are also many engineering considerations that are similar to golf, especially when dealing with mountains, hills and other extended crimes so as not to distrupt water flow and other natural occurances.

I often feel that golf courses should "feel" like a hike.

I also want to pitch an idea to the Golf Channel where I would hike the Appalachain Trail with a special backpack rigged to carry 5-6 clubs and I would play courses along the way. I think that would make a great series.  

[Tom_Doak]

Tim:

That was close enough to my original quote that I won't bother to look it up.

The one part you didn't mention about trails is that ideally (I suppose) you would hit the highs and lows without too many strenuous climbs.  At least that is what we're trying to do in golf.  We don't want it to be too much of a hike.

[Tim Bert]

With the hikes, the more strenuous climbs are an acceptable option if the trail intended to be moderate to high difficulty.  Ideally, you'd have two (or more) trails leading to the same point, which showcase different levels of ability.  They may overlap in some of the more manageable areas.

I'd fully agree that in golf you want to hit the highs without making the golfer feel like he is working to get there.  I think that the walk from 13 green to 14 tee at Bandon Trails is about the most huffing and puffing one ought to have to do with a golf bag on the back.

I love looking the the subtle winds of a hiking trail and considering whether it would have been more interesting 50 feet over that direction.

I've got a firend at work that actually uses some vacation time to assist the TN Hiking Association (or something like that - I'm too lazy to look for facts this morning) in creating trails.  I'd like to try to get out and do that at least once.  That seems a bit more accessible than getting out and piddling around on a golf course that is being designed.

[Matt_Cohn]

I used that quote in my IMO piece to describe New South Wales in Sydney. Tom, I didn't realize that it was yours!

[Tom_Doak]

Matt:

It isn't often that you say something about golf course design that hasn't already been said better by Darwin, Hunter, Simpson, Thomas or MacKenzie ... but I don't think I paraphrased that from any of them.

[Doug Ralston]

Distantly related topic to my own thread on golf history and the golf cart.

My heart is a golf course and my soul is the Mountains. When they unify in a satisfying mannor.......then I have reached Nirvana.

Doug

[Doug Ralston]

Sorry;

My life has taken a strange turn recently, and I am feeling philosophical.

Doug