Feature Interview with Jim Engh is posted...

[Mike_Sweeney]

Ran drops a "NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW" meta tag into the code and I think many of us gladly will. You're not an idiot Mike.

Mark,

You are right and I am smart enough to know that if you post your name as, "Marknoindex Guinivennofollow" it will satisfy your needs and worries of search engines and email spam finders picking up your name and keep to the spirit of Ran's request. See the profile button.

[Adam Clayman]

Personally, I am an Idiot and would appreciate knowing where and what Mark finds so awful? Unless he's using the literal form of awful; full of awe?

You may not care for Jim's work but give him the respect of detailing what exactly you take exception with.

Jim's interview espouses the big world theory as well as other fundematals that illustrates that his work is sound. The fact that he pushes the envelope implies he knows where that edge exists. I find it quite illuminating.

[Michael Dugger]

My goodness this is hysterical.

It's only a website, and Mr. Guivwhatever obviously does not like Jim Engh's work!!!!!!


Take it easy Hux, tell us why you are so offended

[Paul_Turner]

Portrush has a lack of variety?  That's a first.

[Jack_Marr]

Personally, as a member of Carne, I'm delighted Jim Engh is designing the new holes there. I think he's obviously passionate about the place.

I don't think many Irish golfers even know the name of most architects, even those who built their home courses. All they care about is getting out for a game on an interesting course. Despite not having ever played an Engh course (although I've played the Portmarnock Links), I'm confident that he'll deliver something very interesting and in keeping with what's already there. In fact, one of the most exciting things about the project is that I haven't a clue what Jim Engh will deliver.

I don't object to moving earth, but I believe that Jim Engh is going to build holes without doing this much, which is also a feature of Carne. That said, I have been told that 14 holes in the old 18 at Carne were just there, and Hackett had to move heaven and earth to build the other 4. It's a credit that I don't know which four these are.

And finally, although maybe it's not appropriate to mention this, and maybe it's not even true, but also in keeping with the original designer, I think Jim Engh is designing this course because he honestly believes that it's a privilege to be given the opportunity to work with such a site. I think (again I'm not sure) that he's doing it for little or nothing.

[Bill Satterfield]

I love this quote:  "Golf is the only ' art form' whereby the viewers of the art can not only move within the artwork but also 'compete' against it."

Golf design truly is an art form in which there is no "standard" in which designers should feel confined to.  Engh's art/design style happens to really fit my eye.  His ability to create drama off the tee, shape bunkers that strike fear, and form greens that require creativity truly is brilliant and make his courses flat out fun to play.

I've had the opportunity to play quite a bit of Engh's work (Black Rock, Sanctuary, Pradera, Redlands Mesa, Lakota Canyon, Red Hawk Ridge, Fossil Trace, and Columbia Point) and would be happy to post a couple of pics but I'm new to posting on the site and not sure how to do it.  He can truly create some visually stunning holes.

By the way, I have to agree with Jim on how awesome #7 at Pradera is.  My golf partner and I must have hit about 5 tee shots each in order to play that hole from the different options presented on that hole.  Great hole, great fun!

[Jay Flemma]

Well dont forget how many options you have on 10 and 18 too!!

[Jerry Kluger]

I think that anyone going to the Phoenix area should try and get to Engh's Blackstone as it is a great course and far more interesting than some of the big name courses in the area.  Many of the holes give the golfer the opportunity to try different means of attack and there are great risk/reward holes.  The greens have significant undulations and some of them are enormous and as I remember more than 60 paces deep.  

[Jay Flemma]

Yes, Blackstone is really interesting and fun.  It also features a "front 10" and "back 8" routing!

[Jordan Wall]

Jay,

The pictures of Pradera look fantastic.

Even better than what I had imagined.

wOw!

[George Pazin]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses, Mr. Engh.

I'm hoping Carne will be my first brush with your work.

 

[Jay Flemma]

Jay,

The pictures of Pradera look fantastic.

Even better than what I had imagined.

wOw!

Yeah, she is something special.

[RJ_Daley]

Wow, this site moves too fast and the pages fly by.  I had to go back 4 pages to find this thread.  And, I put off reading the interview for more than a month.  My loss, but I'm glad I skipped the boring NFL today and finally got a round tuit.

Mr. Engh has given a great interview, and even the questions were very good, Ran.

I felt like this was one of the best interviews to reveal the architects development of a core ideal.  Does anyone get a sense that Mr. Engh and Mr. Strantz have some sort of shared big canvas vision in creating their art?  I don't know the nature of the relationship between Forrest Fezler and Jim Engh, but I'm guessing there are some shared visions that Forrest and Mike developed, and possibly being comparable to the place where Jim Engh has arrived.  

I regrettably haven't yet played any of Engh's work.  I'll really make it a point to seek out an opportunity to do so next time I can get west.  

Engh is obviously a man with a strong path of growth and learning, as he has been at his profession for a significant amount of time and has worked in various capacities within the overall profession.  He really seems like a man that embraces the possiblity to evolve and I'm sure the golfing public will benefit greatly from a man that might be more likely than most to come up with something "new" in golf course design.  I think he may run the risk to lay a few more eggs than most because he appears to be a risk taker.  But, while he says he would rather see less than his most brilliant work evolve on its own, for its own sake and trust the forces of time and maintenance approaches, I do also feel that if he went out on a limb on a particular hole concept - that a revisit and rework of some aspect isn't or shouldn't be out of the question.  In that regard, I think of the Mike Strantz design at Tobacco Road, and the very early reworking of the approach mound at hole #15.  It seems Jim also has some similar blind or semi blind approaches into shallow or shallow angled greens that he has "experimented with".  I'm not sure if the jury has spoken on those yet, and I surely can't having not played them.  But, I can't help but recall visions of Strantz work that I have seen and played, upon seeing photos of some of Engh's work.  Not the proper way to compare, but that is all I have to work with at this time.

Great interview, thanks to Engh and Ran.