I was reading Desmond Muirhead's book on how to play TOC, and one of the comments by Tip Anderson states:
"All the greens have been enlarged lately to accommodate increased play."
The book was published in 2000, but the remarks were made prior to that, I'm sure.
As I'm thinking through this, and quite frankly liking the idea of a moldable, movable course as it pertains to mow patterns and such, I'm wondering what the limitations are of doing this. My list, as of now, looks like this:
* A climate in which a turf species that is suitable for both fairway and green height is a must.
* Irrigation would need to either be nonexistant or situated such that future expansions don't require large sums of money and effort to move irrigation.
* Sandy, well drained soils such that greens can be wherever the mower goes. Today's greens are too dependent on the modern "welling out, importing soil" method.
* Natural land forms that allow interesting incorporation of surrounding areas without subsequent earth moving.
I'm sure there is other limitations or criteria. Is it even a feasable or desirable trait in a golf course? On the shrinking side of things, I think a course could start with smaller greens and tees, and expand them as play increases. Or, things get smaller in dwindling economies.
Has a golf course ever been intentionally designed to handle the potential changes of the long term? To think 50 years out isn't my forte, but has it been done?
Joe