I'm pretty new to GCA,com (more about me below), but I've been reading and enjoying it. An idea I've been considering, lately, is how today's courses (built in the past 10 or 15 years) will be perceived a hundred years from now. Will people revere them the way we do courses built during the Golden Age? Will they consider most of today's designs to be strategically interesting? Will they find our construction techniques primitive? What about the aesthetics of today's designs? Will the courses be considered beautiful, ugly, boring, or something else? What do you think?
-----
About me:
Matthew Runde
St. Petersburg, Florida
28 years old
Marketer/Web Designer/User Interface Designer
BA in Visual Arts, from Eckerd College
I like anything creative, and once I learned a little about golf course architecture, I became fascinated by it. I've read Doak's Anatomy of a Golf Course, and I keep going back to it as I discover more of the world's famous holes. Currently, I'm reading Shackelford's Grounds for Golf and enjoing Thomas' designs. I like the way in which Thomas used massive bunkers to create options and make players think.
I want to gain some practical experience in course architecture, and I'm interested in working with an architectural firm as a marketer/Web designer/intern. I contacted the ASGCA about possible opportunities, and they promised to put a notice in their April newsletter. So far, I haven't heard from anybody (not surprising, considering the economy). I'll get some experience, one way or another.
Golf is big in my family. My father - despite being a Harvard grad - gained the approval of his future father-in-law only by beating him in a round of golf. So, I may owe my existence to the game!