Hard & fast rules of modern golf course design

[Matthew Mollica]

A recent conversation with a golfing friend got me thinking of the "not negotiable" rules pertaining to good modern golf course architecture.

Are there THAT many? Let me propose a few to start.


1] Thou shall not be enslaved to par of 69, 70, 71 or 72

2] When renovating a course, bunkering should be consistent across all holes, to the point where it is hard to tell what is new, and what is old

3] Back to back holes of the same par are permissable

4] Don't place a tee or green such that drives or approaches from another hole endanger other players

5] Keep sealed cart paths as far away from areas of play (especially greens) as practically possible


What else would you add in?

Matthew

[Mark_F]

1) It shouldn't close before officially opening.

2) Blindness is a better hazard than water

3)The architect shall pay as much attention to the par fives as the threes and fours.

4)The clubhouse should provide aiming points for tee shots, not the Airbus 380.

[Pat Brockwell]

I'll add, from a maintenance perspective,
1) No turf on vertical surfaces
2) No sand on vertical bunker faces

[Jeff_Brauer]

Matthew,

Good topic, however I suspect that after "you must have 18 holes" the disagreements might start!

I don't have time to pontificate on any such rules - and I did postulate my personal "ten commandments" (with the stipulation that I follow at least 8 in any given design) and ROBOTS - (Rules - Often Broken - Of Thumb) over on Cybergolf a few years ago.  Any of the "expert researchers" who care about my opinions can dig that up easier than they can go through the Merion archives.....

That said, one quick note - I would ammend your cart path rule to "as far away from greens as golfers will still use it."  At greens, I find that to be about 60'.  At 75' away, golfers simply pull off the path and closer to the green.

[Steve Burrows]

Jeff,

I wouldn't even submit that having 18 holes needs to be a hard a fast rule.  Convention, not some higher mandate or imperative, is the only thing that stipulates that golf courses be comprised of 18 hole.

So really, it's difficult to talk about rules for such a thing, as breaking the rules, particularly in a design profession, often leads to the most innovative and exciting contributions (e.g, Pine Valley breaks the "rule" that forced carries should be at a minimum; Merion breaks the "rule" that golf courses require a certain acreage for purposes of safety).

[Adam Clayman]

Pat. How does one use the exacting nature of angular gca without either or both of your caveats?

[Eric_Terhorst]

Matthew,

#1 rule in any service business is

"Be prepared to help your client achieve his goals, or find another assignment."


Those with "non-negotiable" rules may find a limited audience for their services. 

[Pat Brockwell]

Adam,
Verticality may be employed, just don't expect turf or sand to cover it, for long.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Steve,

Ya know, I even thought that as I was typing. Besides the 9 holes, I did run across a 12 hole course once and actually think that is the best solution to our time problem in golf.  I know club pros would argue that handicaps, etc. would be confusing, but I don't think its an insumountable problem.


Pat,

As to vertical slopes, the other day after a Langford discussion here, I put a protractor to some of the photos Langford bunkers and grass bunkers in the Lawsonia profile.  It appears to me that Langford bunkers steep banks vary from 1.5-2 to 1, with about 1.75 to 1 being average.  They seem to do fine in Wisconsin, and I wonder if your vertical slopes in New Mexico struggle more than that because of your climate.

I also suspect that sand bunker slopes could easily be steeper at your course than, say, Nuzzo's Houston course because of the dry climate.  For either, truly vertical is impossible, but steep may be workable in different climates.

Short version - your comment might be regional and not universal!

[Tom_Doak]

1.  Forget all the rules that anybody else has taught you.

2.  See rule 1.

[Mark_Fine]

The only rules of design are those that are for the most part "outside of the control of the architect" such as what you can do with wetlands, how close you can be to a stream, what you must do with your runoff, what trees you must get approval to remove (or are forced to keep), and the list goes on    Outside of ALL that, there really are no set rules for the design of a golf hole/course!  There are set backs for legal purposes but even those vary.