Neat idea

[Jim Johnson]

I'm doing some research for a new golf course project here in western Canada. Jeff Mingay would know a bit about this  

Anyway, over the years I have seen a "neat idea" every now and then on a golf course which, at the time, would think to myself..."self, that is one neat idea...somebody was thinkin' ".

One that I can recall, some twenty years ago, was when I played a course called "Riverdale Dunes", north of Denver [I believe Tom Doak may have had a hand in building this; maybe he could correct me here if I'm wrong. This over-40-thing sucks sometimes].

Between the clubhouse area and the first tee was a wooden fence, and where the open gate was, a sign was posted on the fence stating that you were not to proceed through the gate to the first tee until the group ahead of you had teed off. Obviously to alleviate any first-tee jitters for those on the teebox. There was even a small practice putting green with 4 cups in it, to get in any last-minute practice strokes before starting the round. Anyway, I thought "self, what a neat idea". [I'm easily impressed sometimes, just ask my teenagers]

Another moment was golfing at a course called "Bootleg Gap" in southeastern British Columbia several years ago, four days after the Les Furber-designed course had opened. The starter suddenly appeared on the cart path at about the 6th or 7th hole. I wandered over after hitting my shot and asked what he was doing on the course. He replied that that was their policy, that they were supposed to get out on the course after an hour or two of "starting" golfers on the first tee, as a way of schmoozing with their guests. I remember thinking "self, what a neat idea".

And so I ask any, or all, of you...do you recall any "neat ideas" which you've come across on a golf course [related to the building and/or day-to-day operations of a new golf course]?

Thanks for any help.

JJ

[Jeff Doerr]

JJ

Lots of them!

A few for now...

Benches set back from the tee on par 3s. Pacific has a nice one between 16 and 17 - just in case there is a short wait for the group in front.

A nice weather proof box with scorecards, pencils and tees at the first - obvious, but missing on a lot of course.

Walking paths on cart courses - the ones that wind through a thicket or provide a walking only shortcut.

Out buildings for refreshments rather than roaming carts.

Mystery tee boxes - with those cool paths leading to them.

Rustic stairs out of tough bunkers.

Yardage books with yardage from landmarks, not sprinklers.

More to come...

[Adam Clayman]

that they were supposed to get out on the course after an hour or two of "starting" golfers on the first tee, as a way of schmoozing with their guests

I find this idea to be far from neat. Slowing down play to kiss a little butt is not my idea of neat.

The first example was very courteous though.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I agree out about the out buildings with refreshments.  My club has them and a refrigerator with cold drinks.  It works really well.

When it is really hot some clubs will bring out cold wash cloths.  Just a litle time on the neck and you really cool down.  Twenty minutes later and your hot again but for a while it feels good and it is something to look forwrd to.

Fifteen minute tee times.

Caddy walks.  It is amazing how many courses forget about the walkers.  

When it pours the pro shop sends someone out in a cart to pick up walkers.

[Tony_Muldoon]

A few bowls of water  on the course for members dogs.

[wsmorrison]

JJohnson,

I don't like the idea of a fence to alleviate first tee jitters.  Our first tee is one of the most intense on the planet because the terrace is within a few feet of the tee box.  Like the first at TOC and Royal Aberdeen, the opening shot can be a little nerve wracking, but think of the joy you have after hitting a crack shot right down the slot.  Isn't the reward for having your friends and others witness such a shot a greater positive than a foozle is a negative?  Life is hard and everyone's watching.  Golf should be the same.  If players crave insulation, let them go indoors and play a video game.  Tear down the wall!  Just my 2 cents worth and you probably got cheated  

Tony,

I love that idea.  It was so new to me to see players walking with their dogs while playing golf in the UK.  Now that is a neat idea that really resonated with me.

I would have no rakes in bunkers, no yardages on sprinkler heads, posts, paths, etc.  Play by feel or take a caddy.  

Walking and carrying is always an option for members and guests at all times.  

Save member-only times once every hour during the week and twice every hour on weekends.

Have a family guest rate that has no limit on numbers.  Have five friend rate rounds per year that are much lower in cost.

[TEPaul]

I agree with Wayne. First tee jitters is just part of the game and it seems to get to everyone and therefore is just ultimately something that's pretty cool and shouldn't be minimized.

The first tee at Merion in a tournament probably is the ultimate that way. There's a whole patio of people dining within 5-10 steps of you and I doubt it's possible for anyone to block out the sensation of thinking about that on your first shot of the day. The thing that's even cooler is they are right behind you (not in front of you unless you're a lefty) and since you aren't looking at them you seem to be even more aware they're there. I recall the sensation of getting up over the shot and palpably listening to the din subside and then hearing a glass or a spoon drop before complete silence. It's very intense and requires the ultimate in concentration and trust in oneself as a golfer.

I've told this before on here but it's worth it again. In the 1981 US Open at Merion, as is traditonal the US Amateur Champion is paired with the defending US Open Champion. Hal Sutton was the US Open Champion and Nicklaus the defending US Open champion. Sutton crushed one right down the middle but walking out to the fairway he turned to Nicklaus and said: "Mr Nicklaus, I've never been close to that nervous in my life". Nicklaus said; "Hal, I get nervous too, and the only difference between us is I'm so much more used to it than you because I've done it a thousand times."

[Dan_Callahan]

When I was at Tobacco Road in March, they had a cooler filled with ice and fresh, crisp apples. Not sure if this was unique to that day or something they always do. It was set up near one of the tees next to the water and ball wash. Late in the round, maybe the 16th? It was a hot day and we were finishing our second 18. Really hit the spot.

[wsmorrison]

Dan,

That is a great idea.  Rolling Green has had a couple of coolers with apples on ice at the tee of the 13th hole for almost all of its 81 years of existence.  Very refreshing, but it does make for sticky hands.

[Jim Johnson]

I should mention....this "new golf course" is a public-access 18-hole course, possibly with an out-and-back routing.

Thanks for the notes so far. Anybody seen any more "neat ideas" in your travels?

JJ

[Adam Clayman]

jj- One neat idea I saw was at a hole, in the middle of the course, that notoriously slows down play to the extent that multiple groups could end up waiting for the tee. The management put in a small practice putting green to help people feel as though they won't lose their stroke and it helps pass the time. If I remember correctly it was at a Dick Phelps design "Racoon Creek" in Littleton, Co.

[Bradley Anderson]

I would look in to the cost of trenching water lines out to several tees on the course for drinking fountains. Most clubs are spending between $1,000 and $3,000 per year on servicing water coolers. So even if it cost $10,000 to install several fountains, they would soon pay for themselves in labor savings. The same company that installs the irrigation system, could very easily install drinking water lines, and power could even be pulled in the same trench for cooling the fountains.

We have 10 gallon water coolers on every third hole, and every day from April 15 to October 15 they are replenished with ice and water, and brought back out on the course. We are very dilgent with this task; if we weren't the subsequent criticism would be far worse than if we left the hole cups in the same place for a week!

[Daryl David]

At the Golf Club of Tenn. the first tee angles about 45 degrees away from the driving range.  They keep a bucket of balls on the tee box and players waiting for the group ahead to clear can hit a few back toward the end of the range.  Eliminates the need for a "breakfast ball".

[Jeff Doerr]

JJ,

A few more thoughts...

Sometimes a touch of true craftsmanship can go a long ways as a detail. It can be the style of the benches. It can be a stone bridge - just be original and don't copy TOC. It can be a bridge like the one at 18 on Witch Hollow (Pumpkin Ridge), which curves gently through the wetlands. There is a camp in the hills outside Santa Cruz where the bollards have a great vineyard design carved into each one. It can be walls like those at North Berwick. Indigenous items be it food or decor is always desired. If it is in Canada I don't want Coors Light and Bud on tap in the bar! Also, somewhere in the club house, show me the history of the land and people. Show the Construction and site plans....

[Jim Johnson]

This is a sample of the property we are currently looking at...



Adam, perhaps "schmoozing" was the not the best word to describe that. The course had been only open for 4 days, and the staff were all visibly excited about it, and I think he was genuinely curious as to how we liked the course so far. The conversation lasted 30 seconds. I bumped into him again while I was walking off the 18th green, and we chatted for a couple of minutes off to the side. Agreed, slowing down play is not a "neat idea".

Tommy, I've always thought it would be a "neat idea" to have the course marshal/"host" provide a small [disposable] cup of cold water from a cooler mounted on the back of his power cart, to golfers as he's talking with them on the course, wherever he may be. Kind of like your cold towel concept. Thanks for that. And sorry, we won't have 15-minute tee time intervals, but we will have 10 minutes.

Sean, I agree with you, I really liked the idea of the small intimate putting green by the gate opening at Riverdale Dunes. It gave the 4 of us a chance to get in several minutes of practice before teeing off. And because of the dunes in the property as shown above, it wouldn't be difficult to build some kind of shelters into them. Neat idea!

Sorry Tony, no dogs on the course, just deer.

Wayne, I personally love the idea of no rakes in the bunkers. Neat idea! [maybe once a week take a SandPro through them?]. And the idea of a 'Family Rate' is an interesting one, thanks.

TEP, worst shot of my life....in my mid-twenties, golfing with my wife at Banff Springs [before it got turned into a 27-holer], first teebox immediately below the dining area of the clubhouse and the impressive Banff Springs Hotel, and a busload of Japanese tourists peering over the railing, the tee markers on the back portion of the twenty yard long tee-box, and I wind up and give it a mighty wallop of, oh, about 17 yards. I can still hear the snickering.

Jeff, Dan, Adam, Daryl, some "neat ideas"! Thanks. Any more out there, guys [and ladies]?

JJ

[Mark Arata]

So far, the neatest thing I have seen is the Sheep Ranch, but there a few other things I though were neat over the years.

I really liked the break area on the back 9 at Stone Eagle, like a little sanctuary to get out of the 300 degree heat...

I though the 3 hole warm up course at World Woods was pretty neat at the time, good way to kill time before a round and to get warmed up instead of pounding drivers on the range.

I also liked the par 3 courses on the RJT Trail, I thought that was pretty neat the first time I went to one of the sites.

The grill after the 10th at Olympic for a burger was very neat!

[Jim Johnson]

Just reading Jeff Mingay's website, and an article he wrote about "Golf Course Claustrophobia and Clutter". In it, Jeff says...

At Roaring Gap, a classic Donald Ross-designed course in North Carolina, metal hardware pails, painted green and filled with water, are placed on the tee to provide golfers with opportunity to wash their balls and clubs. The pails are a unique touch, different from the ball washers most golfers are accustom to, and add to the “Roaring Gap experience”.

Would this be considered a "neat idea"...something that would add to a newly-built golf course? Definitely cheaper than a $600 ball washer.

JJ

[Norbert P]

 The weathergoats at Lahinch.

 or,  Eddie Hackett's idea to hire a town's drunkest dozer operator to shape fairways.

 Crail's cups.

[Jim Johnson]

Bump.

Anything to add to this, anybody?

JJ

[Jim Nugent]

Back when I caddied in the 1960's, the club sponsored a men's event where a pair of Playboy bunnies, in uniform, drove around the course in a cart stocked with beer.  The golfers seemed to think that was a neat idea.  

[Michael Dugger]

I always appreciate a good periscope.  War periscopes on golf courses, it is a safety feature after all.

And I guess for that matter cow bells are good.  Nobody likes to fire a long iron into a blind green.

[Mike Policano]

Tom,

I haven't teed up at Merion's first tee as a righty, but I have as a lefty. I find it hard to believe it is harder for a righty. As a lefty you are making eye contact with people ordering lunch. As you are putting the ball on the tee, you look and wonder who Buddy is lunching with. You then think, please let my shoulders turn so the ball doesn't cause glass to hit the patio floor. Then the big sigh when my tee shot goes anywhere but left.

[Jim Franklin]

Mike -

I never thought of the "lefty" point of view. That has to be tough. One drive off the toe and Buddy needs to visit the Dentist.

JJ -

Hawk's Ridge outside of Atlanta has a cup cut into the tee box of the par threes in case you have to wait a little.

[redanman]

I didn't read the whole thread, but at Riverdale "The Good Course" (CGTGC), there was always a little stream to cross before going to the tees.  

The first and tenth were  flip-flopped a couple of times by the management and when the current tenth was #1 (You would finish on the "Dell" - also the way they finished the Hogan Tour event)  the crossing over from #9 to #10 could get congested if more than the group teeing off would collect iin the area.  

I never had the impression that the "stay behind the fence" was for anything except to reduce congestion.

[Jim Johnson]

Guys, I appreciate these comments. Please keep 'em coming.

Thanks,
JJ