[Matt_Cohn]

I've seen a couple of episodes of the Comedy Central show with Lewis Black - staged, semi-funny debates about whether, for example, weed or beer is the "root of all evil."

What is the root of all evil in golf course architecture?

In golf in general?

[Jeremy Rivando]

The unharnessed technological advances in equipment.

Or a chapter from Shackelford's 'The Future of Golf', Deregulation.

This is the evil that has affected architecture in a way that will continue to challenge the integrity of the game.

[Pete_Pittock]

stroke play

golf carts

[Gary Daughters]

Residential developments

[Jim Sweeney]

Celebrityism and avarice.

[Kyle Harris]

That golf architecture isn't perceived as a craft independent of other crafts like Landscape Architecture. I think golf has a specific aesthetic appeal that isn't met. A lot of architecture and construction is based around an attempt to make a golf course appear pleasing by some aesthetic standard other than those for golf.

Hiding cart paths behind containment mounds, uniform placement of bunkers to "frame" a shot and the use of water to provide a garden aesthetic are common examples, I believe.

[Dan Herrmann]

Trump waterfalls.

[Art Roselle]

television
(although, like most vices and evils, I love television)

[rjsimper]

Like every other context:

Money is the root of all evil

Without the need to be profitable, there'd be less "paint by number" and more outside the box thinking.

[Bill_McBride]

Hiding cart paths behind containment mounds, uniform placement of bunkers to "frame" a shot and the use of water to provide a garden aesthetic are common examples, I believe.

Kyle, since cart paths around greens are almost essential in these days of heavy cart use, don't you think it's a good idea to conceal them with grading?

[Bob_Huntley]

Like every other context:

Money is the root of all evil

Without the need to be profitable, there'd be less "paint by number" and more outside the box thinking.

The adage is "The love of money is the root of evil'. There is no shortage of the stuff, it's just a question of its distribution.

Bob

[Peter Pallotta]

My homage to Adam Clayman ("Ego", "Sophistication")....

Pride.

[Art Roselle]

Other candidates:

metal "woods"
graphite
launch monitors
square grooves
long putters (I have one)
three foot putts
flying right elbow
poor posture
alcohol
women

[Kyle Harris]

Hiding cart paths behind containment mounds, uniform placement of bunkers to "frame" a shot and the use of water to provide a garden aesthetic are common examples, I believe.

Kyle, since cart paths around greens are almost essential in these days of heavy cart use, don't you think it's a good idea to conceal them with grading?

I've never seen the "need" to conceal them, period. It's a golf course, not a picture.

[Lloyd_Cole]

Hiding cart paths behind containment mounds, uniform placement of bunkers to "frame" a shot and the use of water to provide a garden aesthetic are common examples, I believe.

Kyle, since cart paths around greens are almost essential in these days of heavy cart use, don't you think it's a good idea to conceal them with grading?

I've never seen the "need" to conceal them, period. It's a golf course, not a picture.

Kyle, I agree.

And while you're on the subject - are there alternatives to the typical asphalt which are cost effective, durable and look better on the course?

See Sean Arble's Notts thread - the red dirt paths look lovely, and I'm sure your ball wouldn't leap a mile if it landed on one..

[Art Roselle]

Like every other context:

Money is the root of all evil

Without the need to be profitable, there'd be less "paint by number" and more outside the box thinking.

The adage is "The love of money is the root of evil'. There is no shortage of the stuff, it's just a question of its distribution.

Bob

Careful, or somebody is going to restart the Fountainhead/Ayn Rand debate.

[Kyle Harris]

Hiding cart paths behind containment mounds, uniform placement of bunkers to "frame" a shot and the use of water to provide a garden aesthetic are common examples, I believe.

Kyle, since cart paths around greens are almost essential in these days of heavy cart use, don't you think it's a good idea to conceal them with grading?

I've never seen the "need" to conceal them, period. It's a golf course, not a picture.

Kyle, I agree.

And while you're on the subject - are there alternatives to the typical asphalt which are cost effective, durable and look better on the course?

See Sean Arble's Notts thread - the red dirt paths look lovely, and I'm sure your ball wouldn't leap a mile if it landed on one..

Lloyd,

That really depends on the ability of the club to maintain those paths. There are certainly alternatives with advantages and disadvantages. My preference would be to small stone paths around tees and greens. Those red dirt paths look great as well, IMO. The disadvantage to these types of materials are the weather tolerance. At one of my previous courses, there was usually a handful of areas that would washout during a storm requiring some repair. It certainly wasn't a headache at this place, but a smaller operation may suffer. Asphalt is advantageous in that the maintenance required is next to nothing.

With all of that comes the preface that the architect has in his/her power the ability to design a course where such considerations do not have such polarizing benefits. I'd really like to see intelligently built cart traffic areas that drain and function as a part of the golf course instead of having mounding or some other barrier built to conceal them.

[Bill_McBride]

Hiding cart paths behind containment mounds, uniform placement of bunkers to "frame" a shot and the use of water to provide a garden aesthetic are common examples, I believe.

Kyle, since cart paths around greens are almost essential in these days of heavy cart use, don't you think it's a good idea to conceal them with grading?

I've never seen the "need" to conceal them, period. It's a golf course, not a picture.

To me it's a Hobson's choice.  A bit of unessential shaping, or an overly visible cart path.  I don't care for either choice, but on balance think I'd rather have a gentle slope that shields the cart path. 

I'd like to hear what others think.  IMO there are few less desirable sights than a cart path, even if conditions suggest it's necessary.

[Scott Weersing]

What makes a bad golf course bad? They didn't intend to build a bad golf course but it ended up that way. Why?

Pride. People think they can design and build a golf course even though the land is very poor. For example, The Ranch or The Crossings. Poor choice of a site, usually built in the hills with long distances between holes. Nothing else could be built there except a golf course.

Greed. Hire a big name architect (Rees Jones, Gary Nicklaus) to design a course and then charge $150 per round.

PGA tour player. Why design a course that tour pros like? They play it for a week once a year and then everyone else is stuck with it. For example, the course that hosts the Byron Nelson. Or the Classic Club in  the desert.

[Eric_Terhorst]

Matt, I hope your question, like Black's commentary, is offered with tongue firmly implanted in cheek.  Some of the comments suggest it wasn't taken that way.

The unharnessed technological advances in equipment.

This is the evil that has affected architecture in a way that will continue to challenge the integrity of the game.

Jeremy, technological advances have been part of the game since inception.  Exactly when did they cross over to "unharnessed" and "evil?"

Celebrityism

     Meaning we shouldn't allow PGA stars to be "architects" or ?

That golf architecture isn't perceived as a craft independent of other crafts like Landscape Architecture. I think golf has a specific aesthetic appeal that isn't met. A lot of architecture and construction is based around an attempt to make a golf course appear pleasing by some aesthetic standard other than those for golf.

Kyle, Perception is in the eye of the beholder isn't it?  I have a right to my "perceptions."  How does the mis-perception that you have apparently perceived rise to the level of "evil" even with tongue in cheek?

There's an interesting comment here, perhaps deserving of another thread, but I'm having trouble connecting your lament on aesthetics to something evil that men do.

Without the need to be profitable...

 Ryan, please tell us more about your world. 

I guess the St Andrews Links Trust is a non-profit, but do you consider the   Old Course visitor rates not "evil" only because they're..ahem...self-sustaining?  Or do they accept non-evil Ryan Simper currency at St. Andrews?

[Kyle Harris]

Eric,

Aesthetics can be used to hide incompetence or problems. An architect can use eye-candy and visual clutter to distract the golfer from an otherwise banal golf experience. To me, I took the question as evil for the game and for the advancement of golf architecture as a thoughtful and artistic media.

It's certainly not evil to want to look at pretty things, but pretty things can distract from a lot of evil. The root is using those things as a crutch or distraction.

I can pay $100 for a walk in a park, or I can donate $10 to a city park and use it year round.

[Chip Gaskins]

What is the root of all evil in golf course architecture?

- Pro V1 (man do I love them though )
- ANGC Maintenance Budget
- USGA rough
- Trump ego
- Launch monitors
- Toro's super low green mower
- Grasses that can be cut to .0000000001 inch heights and live
- HDTV
- Limited copies of Doak's Confidential Golf Guide
- Gas powered golf carts strong enough to traverse steep hills

[Matt_Cohn]

Residential developments

But isn't this the thing that allows many of those golf courses, some of them good, to be built in the first place?

[Matthew Mollica]

What's the best Residential development golf course Matt?

Other potential candidates for mine-

The love of green grass
Vast pools of pro prizemoney
Perimeter weighting
Graphite and titanum
Elevated green speeds
Stroke play
Golf carts
The advent of the "Tournament Course"

MM

[Sean_A]

Jeepers, where do you start a list?  I spose I would start with the reaction of people to events in the game.  Specifically, the reaction of owners, developers and archies to to build stupidly long courses because pros hit the ball further than previously.  Talk about a knee jerk reaction that has backfired in so many ways.  I can't say that building long courses caused the following, but the mentality is more or less the same and I suspect linked to the idea fairness.

-designs which don't respect the land, loads of dopey shaping

-designs which encourage cart use, they don't flow well from green to tee

-designs which road map the route to the hole - endless amount of bunkering which reveal just how uninspiring so many courses are

-maintenance which requires the ultimate in machinery and knowledge and in the process encourages the dumbing down of great features

-designs which try to maximize beauty rather variety

Not to place all the blame on those that finance, design & build courses, the golfer is ultimately the root of all evil because he accepts and in many ways encourages the recent trends in the game.  Its his mentality which has led to crazy maintenance, faux golf in where the amenities are as important as the golf & an arms like proliferation of equipment to gain yards and measure distance.  Why is the golfer guilty?  Because he is vain - all in the name of competition.  Golfers are too afraid of being left behind in the race to win a friendly fourball or even a club championship - its disgraceful and to be honest we deserve what we get.   

Ciao

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