Elegance in architecture

[Philippe Binette]

Hi,

just a little update on my website on one of my favorite course

http://www.inspirationgolf.com/Wild_Horse.html

[Jeff_Brauer]

Phillipe,

Some one once called elegance putting every thing there that needs to be there, and nothing more, or something to that effect.  Wild Horse could qualify in that regard as elegant.

[Adam Clayman]

Philippe, Could not agree more. The rugged elegance seems to be for serious golfers, only. I was humored by the recent thread that asked for travel tips for some group of some posters friends and how Wild Horse wasn't considered worthy.

I happen know of one highly regarded modern architect who is there today. Perhaps we could get him to post his impressions?

[Mark_Rowlinson]

I've not been to Wild Horse, so I cannot make comparisons, but I think some of the our heathland courses have an elegance, such as Sunningdale Old, New Zealand, The Berkshire Red, Woking. They each feel as if they have always been there in exactly this form and that all the architect had to do was tell someone where to place the tee markers and pins.

[Jeff_Mingay]

I should add Wild Horse to the thread about the best courses you haven't played. Rod Whitman and I walked it a few years ago, and both really regretted not teeing it up there. We were both very impressed with the course.

Garden City's another course I'd describe as elegant, along the lines of Mark's description of those lovely heathlands courses named above. I wrote an essay for Paul Daley's Golf Architecture, A Worldwide Perspective Vol. 4 titled, "Could We Successfully Build Garden City, today?" Sadly, I'm not sure we could due to the expectations of so many golfers and developers, who expect to be visually "wow'd" by superfluous features.

[Peter Pallotta]

For a different kind of elegance, my goodness but Donald Steel's Redtail sure seems elegant to me, in a Quaker furniture sort of way.

Peter

[Gene Greco]

     Friar's Head is a course I've always described to those who have asked as "elegant".