The Golden Age of Golf Architecture

[Doug Ralston]

Do you recognize it?

Tiger Woods rose in the late 90's to stand in the public sports consciousness. Nearly simultaneously, the incomes of average Americans [and to a certain degree in other countries as well] went up quite dramatically. These two events made golf much more accessible. It also created a demand for building courses and money to be made. Since opportunities abounded, architects got a bit more freedom to try ideas.

When my friend and I think about the courses we most appreciate as far as architecture is concerned, virtually all of them are 1995 to now.

We, unlike many here, but very much like the golfing general public, do not have opportunity to play the great classics. They are to me pictorial information of what I shall call the Classical Age.

But now we have actually accessible public courses by architects, and with ideas, that in any other age would likely belong to private courses only. And I think it will diminish over the years from here.

The Tiger Woods phenomenon has about reached it's point of diminishing returns when it comes to influencing new people to play. Simultaneously, the money is in the hand of fewer people [yes, it is!], and that means less for the average golfer to spend on golf courses. I think public courses will suffer a big loss of new material in the years to come from here. Those who do get contracts will likely be more limited in budget, and their ideas will become more straighted.

This is likely not true on private courses, where money will still be there. But for public golf, this IS The Golden Age.

Here on GCA, we love to debate ideas for how courses could be. It is a learning process, for architects and for those of us who just try to appreciate what is there.

I point out this period in order that those of you here who work in this field appreciate your luck. You where there.

Tom Doak, Jim Engh, you will be among those whom, 100 years hence, will be consider leaders of this age. Many more of you here will likely have some note in golf history too, IMHO.

I have suffered here a certain lampooning by people who say 'You know nothing'. Fine. I can live with that. If 'knowing' means being intimately familiar with coursework I could never get to, I accept that. What I DO know is this: I have been priviledged to see some of the best of architect ideas on courses that just 30 yrs ago would never even be accessible to most private clubs. And I found much to appreciate about it's many, many aspects. My mind has never been limited to ideas accepted here, or on GKL, or any other group of golf afficianados. I am NOT dogmatic, in any way.

I will be sorry to see this time go. But it will. Sad.

The Golden Age of PUBLIC golf course architecture. No doubt about it.

Doug

[Garland Bayley]

I suspect there have always been great architects doing great public courses. However, the dynamic has been that their greatness has not been preserved. Go play Bethpage. That is a place where the dynamic has been better than elsewhere.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Perhaps credit for Doug's Golden Age should go to Bill Clinton and the 103rd US Congress, who phased out the country club membership deduction.

In which case I propose this age be renamed as the "OBRA-93 Age."

Has a nice ring to it, yes?  The OBRA-93 Age of Golf.

[Doug Ralston]

Mark;

I was careful not to go too far into politics in this concept. Perhaps you are at least partly right, though. Since the Clinton Balanced Budget, some for everyone Age, gave way to the Bush, borrow and spend, sell our soul to China, plutocratic fascist, give neocon multi-nationals all your money Age, I guess you have a point. 

Doug

[Jason McNamara]

And there (right there) is the difference between when politics are relevant to a golf discussion, and when politics are not (smileys or no).
---

Doug, one thought... if the funding drops, is that automatically bad?  On this site we're always talking about smaller clubhouses, fewer (and better placed) bunkers, no steenking waterfalls, less earth moved, fewer tees, etc.

So it is more a matter of being able to convince the relevant folks that there are certain ways to channel the dollars which not only result in a cheaper course, but perhaps even a better one?

[Doug Ralston]

And so we come full circle. We see others recognize, politics not withstanding, that this a A golden age for golf. I think that most especially applies to public golf, because of those politics, and is clearly receding already. But never have public players had access to such quality. Not even 120 yrs ago.

[Melvyn Morrow]

Doug

Learn your history - what happened 120 years age?

Public course TOC, to mention just one

Stick to what you know

Think you have lived through the Golden Age - Dream On.

[Tom Yost]

I won't comment whether we are experiencing a new golden age, but I think Mark's point has a lot of merit - the changes in the tax laws undoubtedly sparked growth in upscale public golf and the introduction of the so-called "CCFAD."