Scott
A while back I took a crack at converting Colt's writings into principles a la Mackenzie. Note these haven't been vetted with anyone in a position of scholarly authority; however, as a rough guideline to Colt's philosophy maybe it will help.
You will note two groups of principles, the first taken from a 1912 essay, the second from a 1906 essay.
FYI, I added footnotes that contain the specific reference, as well as compare the "principle" to Mackenzie's own, specifically to see where parallels existed, and therefore how each might have influenced the other, but footnotes don't translate easily into the format of SMF.
Mark
Colt’s “Principles” of Golf Architecture: 1912
1. “I firmly believe that the only means whereby an attractive piece of ground can be turned into a satisfying golf course is to work to the natural features of the site in question. Develop them if necessary, but not too much; and if there are many nice features, leave them alone as far as possible, but utilize them to their fullest extent, and eventually there will be a chance of obtaining a course with individual character of an impressive nature….[T]he designer of a course has one clear duty: to try to create fresh holes of interest, and not reproduce with unsuitable materials holes similar to those already in existence.”
2. “First view the land and walk over it once or twice, and inspect it very carefully, but don’t yet lay out a single hole; then make a second visit, having considered the scheme in the meantime, and on that occasion settle, if possible, the framework, and take two or three days to do so, leaving the bunkering in great part for a subsequent visit.”
3. “The quantity of land required depends very largely upon its shape, as if square it will be very difficult to use up satisfactorily, but a strip two hundred yards in width is easier to deal with, especially if somewhat circular.”
4. “The first thing to do is to settle upon the site for the club-house, and this occasionally creates great difficulty. I always favour a fine view from the club windows, and have more than once done battle over this with those favouring only the utilitarian side – such points as nearness to a railway station or very easy access.”
5. “If the 10th tee is anywhere near [the clubhouse], it is of advantage, especially for a club to be used by business men, as there will be two starting-points, and in clubs of this description, where a large number arrive about the same time, this is an important matter.”
6. “Personally, I like a fairly long, plain-sailing hole for the first one, and think that a short hole is out of place, as if it is a good one it ought to be difficult, and it seems unfair to ask much of a man who has just stepped out of a train or motor-car.”
7. “A couple of long holes at the commencement get the players away from the first tee…After that the sequence of the holes does not matter, and what we have to look for are four or five good short holes, several good-length two-shot holes, varying from an extra-long brassie shot for the second to a firm half-iron shot, one or two three-shot holes, and two or three difficult drive and pitch holes. A fairly equal distribution between what I have designated as good-length two-shot holes and the others of all degrees seems to me about right…. If possible, the short holes can be divided between the odd and even numbers, so as to give the partners in a foursome a share of each”
8. “What we want to have is variety, gained by utilizing all the best natural features of the land, and alternating the holes of various lengths….And let us endeavor to avoid the zigzag backwards and forwards, and also holes of a similar character to each other, so that if a stranger come to our course he may go away remembering each hole by a distinctive feature.”
9. “If variety be strongly developed, we also promote the best feature of the game – different classes of strokes under varying conditions.”
10. “I personally dislike blind shots on a course….A really skilful [sic] player can so wonderfully control the movements of the ball after it reaches the ground. It is always entertaining to watch a great player’s methods when he is approaching the hole, and quite impossible to get the same amount of pleasure when 30 feet of sand blocks the view…Good play and bad play are, moreover, equalized to some extent, as there can never be quite the same chance for the good player to show his extra skill under such conditions.”
11. “It is impossible to give any definite rules on laying out a course, or to state what length it should be, as everything must depend upon the nature of the materials in each individual case…[L]ength has very little to do with merit. There is, however, one great feature that appeals to me – the elasticity of a course; and in designing the framework it is better to walk forward to the next teeing ground, and not to retrace one’s steps after playing a hole.”
12. “There is no doubt that a series of tees, whereby the length of a hole can be altered with varying conditions, is an advantage….The distance of a tee shot will vary enormously in summer and winter….In making the different teeing grounds it will be possible to gain a little extra variety by playing the tee shot at different angles to the course; thus a teeing ground made at some thirty yards or so to the right or left of the one in front will very likely create additional interest in the round, and be better than one made exactly behind it.”
13. “When cross-hazards are made for compulsory carries in playing the second shots, these are the occasions for [back tees’] use….If there were many examples of this class of hole on the links, long driving would be at a discount, but two or three holes of this description add to the interest of the game, and we cannot afford to sacrifice everything to the length of the tee shot.”
14. “It is by no means impossible to give a weak player every opportunity of enjoying the game within his powers, and at the same time to provide a test of golf for Harry Vardon or James Braid at his very best. To do this, the designer of a course should start off on his work in a sympathetic frame of mind for the weak, and at the same time be as severe as he likes with the first-class player. The more frequently he stamps on the mediocre shot of the latter, so much the better, provided that he does not become vindictive.”
15. “In designing the bunkering of a course the object should be to catch the bad or mediocre shot of the good player and punish the long-handicap man for bad strokes less than the former.”
16. “There must always be a certain amount of conflict between the various classes of players. In the one case the ripe veteran must be occasionally sacrificed…and, on the other hand, the committee may occasionally have no pity for the slashing young player of twenty or so, and provide him with a pitfall when he hits an extra long one under rather abnormal conditions. We have to accept this if we are to have interesting approach play for the vast majority of players under normal conditions.”
17. “If we are ambitious in trying to provide opportunities for testing the abilities of the real artist in approach play…we shall probably find that we need further materials than bunkers and hazards of the ordinary description. If we had to depend alone upon them, the course would be either too easy for the championship player or too hard for the ordinary one. There are two classes of difficulties which are most useful for our purpose—plateau greens and ‘hummocky’ ground. The vast majority of links need both badly. A narrow plateau for a green, or a few hummocks in front of one, will very likely cause just as much trouble and amusement to a player as a gaping chasm stretching right across the course.”
18. “Undulations and hummocks are of great value ‘through the green,’ as they provide difficult stances and lies, without which no golf course can be said to be quite perfect….[W]hat we want to do, among other things, is to extract the very best golf from a man, and nothing does this so much as difficult lies and difficult stances.”
19. “[Plant] judiciously off the course irregular clumps of whins, or broom, or rough grasses, or possibly small birch trees and Scotch firs. If we have to make bunkers – and no doubt they will be necessary – we can in great measure conceal their artificiality, and in any event we need not make them of a certain stereotyped pattern….[And] if we have all our margins cut so as to give the impression of the use of the measuring rod and garden line, we shall have a course which will satisfy only the strictly golfing portion of a man’s nature, and deprive him of considerable pleasure from playing the game amidst pleasing surroundings.”
20. “Eighteen flat greens are to me an abomination…on the other hand, two or three examples of the flat green are an advantage.”
Colt’s “Principles” of Golf Architecture: 1906
These come from an essay Colt contributed to Golf Greens and Green-Keeping.
1. “The sites of the putting greens will be determined, to a great extent, by the natural features of the course.”
2. “Blind shots should be avoided wherever possible. This more especially applies to blind approach shots and to blind short holes.”
3. “It is now urged that the compulsory carry for the second shot be dropped altogether. This does not advocate that there should be no hazards for second shots, but only that a route round them should be provided…In laying out the holes, first-class golf must, no doubt, be the primary consideration, but if you value the peace of mind of the Green Committee, have a regard for the long handicap player.”
4. There is “great value of bunkers cut close up to the holes. A bunker stretching right across the course should always be avoided, and, unless there are natural hazards, ‘pot’ bunkers are preferable to others.”
5. “In selecting a site for a putting green, if there is a choice of one facing due south or due north, use discretion in the selection.”
6. “Perfectly flat putting is uninteresting, but greens of a very undulating nature are not easy to keep in good order, as the grass growing on the banks is more difficult to feed, and, of course, such greens afford fewer positions for the holes, and ought, therefore, to be proportionately larger. Any sharp banks or hills will need to be modified, otherwise there will be some impossible putts.”
7. “It is, no doubt, the best plan to make as few [artificial hazards] as possible until the links have been played over for at least six months. Then nick out the proposed sites and play for a further three months.”
8. “If possible, use turf on heath land, or turves cut from the heather, for the sides of the bunkers, and not the refuse from the nearest railway station in the shape of old sleepers. If the face of a bunker needs raising it is advisable to avoid placing a grass bank or mound on the top, but in its place insert or slip, so to speak, soil between the turf and existing soil. Of course the turf will have to be first removed and afterwards replaced upon the added soil, which will be sloped in a low gradient to the surrounding ground. The face of the hazard will then appear more natural—in fact, as if it had been cut out of a mound.”