[Mark_Rowlinson]

...and the rest of us are opinionated observers.

Question for the professional architects: If you could get the contract to rebuild a big name course, which would it be, what would you do to improve it and how much would it cost?

OK, so the professionals will not dare to put their credentials on the line (and who would blame them?), so we opinionated observers can have a free shot:

Question for the opinionated observers: If you had the power to award the contract to an architect to rebuild a big name course, which course would you choose, which architect would you choose, and what kind of brief would you give him/her?

[Kalen Braley]

Sure I'll throw an opinion out there..

1)  Sand Pines
2)  Devries
3)  Only brief would be..."go do what you do, make it hum"

[Greg Tallman]

Torrey Pines
and
Pacific Dunes (only joking for the groupies in the house)

[Tom_Doak]

Greg:

Got a bug up your butt today or something?

Mark:

That's not a question that most professional architects would answer, as it's downright rude to both a) denounce a relatively famous course and b) suggest yourself for the job when there is most likely someone else already consulting there.

There ARE a couple of jobs where I wish they would have hired me in the first place, but most people here already know which those are.

[Kyle Henderson]

Course: Spanish Bay

Architect: Phillips

Orders:
-We (The Pebble Beach Company) will tear down the Inn and move it to the northeast corner of the property (would never happen).

-Use the extra land to create a course with wider corridors between the environmental areas.

-Use fescues to promote fast and firm conditions (we promise we won't be pressured into switching to bent grass as is used on the other company courses).

-Try to keep the shaping as naturalistic as possible with respect to the existing dunes.

[Paul Nash]

Caversham Heath (opened about 1999) near Reading is a course which could be great if money and design were put into it. It currently occupies well over 200 acres of some of the best free-draining chalky soil you could find. They have approval for another 18 and plenty of space to build it. It is a great place to play but some of the design (par 3s are poor) is not great but you can just see the potential and it has the most wonderful fairways to play from - shame that the bunkers are still poor after 3 attempts (on the cheap) to rebuild them, the greens are awful and they don't have the investment to fulfill its potential. A potentially great opportunity here for a top 36-hole complex

[Dan Herrmann]

1)  Pebble Beach
2)  Tom Doak
3)  Do what you did up north here

[Greg Tallman]

Greg:

Got a bug up your butt today or something?


Tom,
Obviously a joke... and thus acutally a compliment. Sorry if the groupie comment was taken to heart.

[Lester George]

I agree with Tom in that it would be more than presumptuous to suggest yourself for a job and which club you would like to do.  There are, of course, those projects that I have missed and visited after they were finished by someone else that I was sure I would have done differently (implies better), but thats just part of the business.

I have been hired to come in behind some pretty significant names on some pretty significant (to me anyway) courses and I always feel that is some sort of validation of our other work.

Lester

[Garland Bayley]

Thanksgiving Point
Rees Jones

Anyone could do a better job than Miller.

Note, this is just a good hearted jab at Kalen since I have not seen the course and he nominated a Rees Jones course.

[Jeff_Brauer]

The only big name course I can recall that I would really like to have had a shot to redo was Medinah No. 3, for personal reasons.  It was the first course I played and where I fell in love with golf. 

I think Rees did a nice job there, and it was probably what they wanted or needed for their major tournaments, but somehow, would have liked the chance to perhaps keep the essence of the place while improving it.

Generally, I think the big name remodel jobs are minefields!  There is something to be said for remodeling something that no one has any expectations for (like the Weeks Park course in Wichita Falls, TX we are opening up tomorrow) and pleasantly surprising them. 

And, its always a little nerve wracking to go to some club that I generally think is nearly perfect and start suggesting changes in hopes of making it more perfect.  I mean, there is no where to go but down sometimes.  They can often be made different, seldom a heck of a lot better. And with high expectations, its harder to pleasantly surprise and easier to dissapoint.

[Kalen Braley]

Thanksgiving Point
Rees Jones

Anyone could do a better job than Miller.

Note, this is just a good hearted jab at Kalen since I have not seen the course and he nominated a Rees Jones course.

Garland,

Its all good, not a problem. 

But Lehi, UT is definitly no Florence, OR....not even close.  With what Johnny had to work with to start with, I think he did a fine job.  And it'd be even better if the housing hadn't invaded the back 9.

But I suspect Rees Jones had a infinitly better piece of property to work with when he made Sand Pines.  JM took an OK chunk of land and fashioned a pretty good gig out it....can you honestly say the same for what Jones did with Sand Pines?

P.S And yes, I did see what was there before Johnny built Thanksgiving Point.

[paul cowley]

Pebble Beach.

I'd start by reversing  the play of the holes 9 thru 13 ....ie; the new #9 would play in the old #13 corridor but in reverse, and finishing with the new #13 playing back thru the old #9 corridor.

I would also try to return the course to the play and appearance that it had in the late 70's/ early 80's.....but with a little more length.

I'd think long and hard about #5.

I'd probably want to do it for about 8M....but being what it is, I'd say 12M when factoring in all the "needed" bells and whistles.

[JMorgan]

I can think of several courses that would benefit from some GCA match-making -- or at least the sound of my one hand clapping. 

One of these courses: Congressional

I'd take it back to 1930, and would include a few of the Ross routing ideas to the original Emmet course, but keep the "Emmet" alive throughout. 

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