[George Pazin]

Mike has graciously agreed to be the 3rd victim in this ongoing series. He's been onboard on this site for quite awhile, so long I can't remember even when he started.

Here's a link to his architectural firm:

Mike Young Designs

I'm excited to learn what drew Mike into golf, gca, and this bunch of crazy fanatics. I believe he has been especially accommodating to folks around Dixie Cup time, so hopefully there will be lots of dirt to share (pun intended, no booing please).

Mike indicated to me that he has a morning meeting tomorrow, and that he'll start in on the fun shortly thereafter.

-----

On deck for early next week: Joe Hancock

Previous participants:

Jeff Brauer

Kyle Harris

[Bill_McBride]

This should be interesting.   

Will there be a ranking of..............Waffle House waitresses?

[Mike Sweeney]

1. Please name you three favorite Old Dead Guy architects, and why?

2. What are your favorite Seth Raynor courses and is he a distant cousin?



3. SEC football vs ACC basketball, pick one.

4. Is it true that you have a soft spot for Dean Vernon Wormer of Animal House after a GCAer threw up on you after playing Longshadow Golf Club?

5. If you move to South America to build courses in the new golf growth markets, which country would you move to?

6. How much Augusta juice do you have for 1500 friends ?

[Peter Pallotta]

Mike - if golf course architecture is both an art and a craft, what role do you see for art in the equation? What function does it serve as part of a satisfying and functional golf course?

Also, did I see a picture of you once wearing birkenstocks and reading Vanity Fair (or maybe Architectural Digest)? If so, what's that about?

Peter

[Garland Bayley]

Mike,

How come you get to build so many courses in Georgia, while Tom Doak hardly gets to stay home in Michigan to build courses?

[Joe Hancock]

Mike,

How come you get to build so many courses in Georgia, while Tom Doak hardly gets to stay home in Michigan to build courses?

Seniority.

 

[John_Cullum]

When are you going to send Kyle the belt he legitimately won at Dixie Cup in October 2007?

[Kyle Harris]

When are you going to send Kyle the belt he legitimately won at Dixie Cup in October 2007?

He's been in and out of Philly a few times, and I think will be moreso.

[Mike_Young]

Bill M,
Will there be a ranking of..............Waffle House waitresses?
The rankings for Waffle House waitresses vary.  Some rank them by number of teeth, others by what they weigh on the hoof.  I prefer the tooth method.

Mike Sweeney,
1. Please name you three favorite Old Dead Guy architects, and why?
answer:  From what I have seen of the ODG's Flynn is probably my favorite followed by Dick Wilson and McKenzie/Perry Maxwell.  I know I should say Ross, McKenzie, Tillinghast etc but I really have never seen that much Tillinghast  that would allow me to really know their work....I think Ross is very dependent on who built his courses and Tillnghast seems to change on each course I see of his....now I like Raynor but I am not sure of his creative side as much as the three I mention.
Why do I like Flynn.....I think his funadamentals were very solid, for example most all of his greens seem to be a basis of three mounds varying in location as to direction of play, height and size...his sheet drainage seems to be well thought out and his use of the land seems to be excellent.  His strategy is very good and it integrates into his aesthetics easily.
Dick Wilson......Someone said he worked for Flynn....I don't really know could have because his greens seem to come from the same thought process to me....I like his routing strategy and aesthetics as much as any out there.....
McKenzie/Perry Maxwell.....I don't know enough to separate the two..maybe some of you can...but I appreciate their green complexes much more than a Ross or some of the other "mass" ODG's....it seems to me that most of their greens moved from one side to the other with good internal work where many of the other ODG's had a much less complex green which "traveled" from course to course.  I enjoy their bunker work and (on the few course I have seen) their integration of tee complexes into the surronds....Does all of that totally confuse you?

2. What are your favorite Seth Raynor courses and is he a distant cousin?
Answer:  I think for me it would be Camargo and Mountain Lakes.....and he is not my distant cousin but I have played golf with his nephew Joe out on LI....

3. SEC football vs ACC basketball, pick one.  
Answer: ACC Basketball  ( you knew that)
While I attended for varying amounts of time several different schools and never graduated from any of them...of course neither did Bill Gates or Steve Jobs...so I got that going for me....you know sort of like those of you that did graduate have something in common with Ted Kazincky  I live in Athens , Ga home of the Ga Bulldogs but I have always pulled for Ga Tech....my info tell me that the ACC has more ticket holders who actually attended a member school than any other major conference while over 70% of the ticket holders at SEC schools never went to an SEC school or the factoid may have been they never went to school....living in Athens and watching grown men communicate via barking can be interesting....but you have to compliment the SEC schools on their academic facilities....they all seem to have very well equipped remedial reading departments that offer courses all the way thru senior level where I have yet to find such a facility at an ACC school.

4. Is it true that you have a soft spot for Dean Vernon Wormer of Animal House after a GCAer threw up on you after playing Longshadow Golf Club?
Answer:   yes I do .....for those of you that don't know....at the Dixie Cup at Longshadow Mr. Sweeney snd I were sitting at a tall round table in the bar section of a nce restaurant about 8 o'clock one evening after everyone had played that day except for one participant that had gotten in later and had been hanging out sampling Vodka all afternoon.....he swayed over to our table which was surrounded by several other diners....did not say much...sat down...Sweeney and I looked at each other and the next thing I knew I had projectile vomit coming at me and the table behind us.....but I think it was the crabcakes ....we informed the waitress of what had happened but it took a few minutes for them to grasp the entire situation....the guy just had a bad day..I hope he is back at the next DC.....

5. If you move to South America to build courses in the new golf growth markets, which country would you move to?
Answer....I ain't moving...I like it here....if I moved it would be to Northern Michigan....but my favorite country down there is Nicaragua...got one going there now and hope for some more....good people and nice pacific coast....

6. How much Augusta juice do you have for 1500 friends ?
Most years I somehow get a couple of days play there but down here it is sort of a given that you never ask to play Augusta...you wait to be invited.....but I do think if all 1500 went down there at one time it would be a nice gesture..just show up in a few large buses and don't stop at the gate because it might back up Washington Road.....

Peter Pallotta,
Mike - if golf course architecture is both an art and a craft, what role do you see for art in the equation? What function does it serve as part of a satisfying and functional golf course?
I have always considered the ultimate test for a golf course is the Test of time.....in my mind when I think of all the great ones that have stood the test of time they all had strategy, good function and good aesthetics( which I consider the art aspect)...what was it one of the old guys said you needed to be a good architect?  "the heart of an artist, the mind of an engineer and the soul of a golfer" that's my answer...if one of those is missing...you can get in the business and you may gert some work but for how long I don't know....there are a lot of starving artist out there with Masters degrees in Art and some millionaire artist that never got out of school or never attended....but they had something people liked....I think golf is that way...the art part is the FIRST thing people like about a course.....

Also, did I see a picture of you once wearing birkenstocks and reading Vanity Fair (or maybe Architectural Digest)? If so, what's that about?
My wife had an outdoor/backpacking store in Athens for many years and we sold Birkenstocks....I still wear them...did you see me in a picture somewhere or were you joking.....I usually only wear them around the pine cone eating hippy freaks in my neighborhood  

Bayley R. Garland,
How come you get to build so many courses in Georgia, while Tom Doak hardly gets to stay home in Michigan to build courses?
I don't know.....I think Tom and I probably started in the business about the same time.....my business model was to get into the "upscale daily fee" before it was popular.....it sort of evolved that way.....I took what I could get in order to get started....I did not want to work for another architect just kept doing it one day at a time.  IMHO Tom marketed by writing books, writing magazine articles and getting national exposure and he also looked for pieces of land that would really give him exposure and meanwhile he was also studying the hell out of the architecture sutff.....not many know it but his big break came after he did the bathing suit shoot for GQ magazine out a Sleeping Bear Dunes....of course there was some airbrushing....but that was huge.....

[Mike_Young]

When are you going to send Kyle the belt he legitimately won at Dixie Cup in October 2007?

John and Kyle,
I have had the belt for sometime with the words "Dixie Cup Dork Award 2007" engraved but I just never got a buckle and have been thinking of the appropriate one while procrastinating

[Ben Sims]

A few questions for my buddy Mike:

1)  Is your best work in front or behind you, insofar as ideas go.  What I mean by that is, is there any new idea or wacky concept you're just waiting to throw at us when the timing and land is right?

2) Good site, good client, good budget.  What is most important and why.  Don't cop out on this one.

3) When are all 1500 of us going to buy Longshadow and cut down that tree on #4?

4) Pick one of your courses to play everyday and explain why.

5) Where is your plane pointed to if gas and time and money are unlimited?

6) How many points you giving me for the UGA-Tech game this year?

[Kalen Braley]

Mike,

Nice to see you're getting a head start on the action.  Here are my questions.

1)  Based on what you've seen, which piece of property would you most have liked to work with/build a course on?  Obviously we can suspend reality and this includes going back in time as well.

2)  Which school do you think your work most favors?  Penal, Heroic, Strategic, or "its all right there in front of you"?

3)  If you could build a course with any current living architect, who would it be?

4)  50 years from now which component of architecture do you see having the most innovation?

5)  And last but not least, is it true you were the man behind the scenes in the formation of the "TD butt-boy" club?


Thanks in advance,

Kalen

[RJ_Daley]

Mike, would you rather buy Charlie Rhymer a new suit, or take him to dinner? 

What is the best piece of golf course design advice Charlie ever gave you?

[RJ_Daley]

Were you ever on the food channel with Bobby Flay?  I saw a feller looked and sounded a lot like you makin shrimp and grits. 

[Mike_Young]

Ben,
1)  Is your best work in front or behind you, insofar as ideas go.  What I mean by that is, is there any new idea or wacky concept you're just waiting to throw at us when the timing and land is right?
It had better be in front of me....I think we all have some wacky ideas and concepts but putting them out there just because they are wacky might not be the way to go.....the future of this business is an unknown right now....will we ever see the "excess" in golf design and construction that we have seen in the last 20 years.....I see no reason for it to come back that way....but there will be some opportunities for good solid projects that can hang around.

2) Good site, good client, good budget.  What is most important and why.  Don't cop out on this one.
Good client....usually a good client will understand when he needs a good budget....and a good budget may be 2 million on one site and 10 million on another.....from my past experience I can say that I have had some good land with an acceptable budget but a bad client who may run it in the ground or make changes himself etc.....let me take it a step further and say that what you really need is a good client that will hire the best supt he can find....whether people accept it or not..much of what they view as architecture is really maintenance level...I know I have some projects right now that would be really good projects if only the owner would hire the proper supt....BUT then I guess that makes hm a good client....right?

3) When are all 1500 of us going to buy Longshadow and cut down that tree on #4?
That would be good...I tyhink it is number 5..right?

4) Pick one of your courses to play everyday and explain why.

I would pick Beau Pre in Natchez Mississippi.  It is walkable with tees close to greens....stays in good shape...and overall gives me the feel I like....not a lot of homes all over the holes etc....

5) Where is your plane pointed to if gas and time and money are unlimited?
"My Plane" come on...don't let this come off like I got some big airplane or something.....there's a big difference in a Bonanza and all these big Gulfstream Jets etc....instead of having associates working with clients and then going out and possibly doing that clients next job it is much cheaper to have an airplane and do it yourself....so for clarification....it is not some big deal...
BUT....I would have two choices..  Philadelphia and Northern Michigan.....I think Philly is the best of golf towns and I love the golf courses, terrain of northern Michigan....

6) How many points you giving me for the UGA-Tech game this year?
Fan means fanatic....I am not fanatic about college football so therefore I am not a fan...does that make sense?  I am confident Tech will win.....due to the superior intellect of the players and coaches....and fans....I have enclosed a picture of the Ga/GT game from last year for your collection

[Mike Sweeney]

You have talked in the past about the difference in Northern grasses (and this probably extends to soils). Since many here have played Longshadow, how would Longshadow be different if was located in a 3 season environment such as Riverhead, NY (LI) and a four season climate such as the Monterrey Peninsula (inland)? Let's assume it has a similar business model to what you have in Georgia.

Who is the best basketball coach in the ACC today and all time?

[Mike_Young]

Kalen,

1)  Based on what you've seen, which piece of property would you most have liked to work with/build a course on?  Obviously we can suspend reality and this includes going back in time as well.
No doubt it would be the Crystal Downs area.....

2)  Which school do you think your work most favors?  Penal, Heroic, Strategic, or "its all right there in front of you"?

I think it would be strategic with as much subtlety as I can obtain...bunkers mainly for strategy and in some cases alignment....but I get much satisfaction out a very simple hole that doesn't have much flash to the player when he first plays it but grates on him the more he plays..an example would be a very wide fairway such as #3 at Longshadow..the player is lulled into a comfort zone e would not have if bunkered yet the left fourth of the fairway will allow the ball to roll into or towards the pond while at the same time allowing him to reach the green on his second shot if he is successful....yet the high handicapper may never know or appreciate such...does that make sense?

3)  If you could build a course with any current living architect, who would it be?
Like all architects I know....I would not want any part of building a course with another architect...I would be completely frustrated for years....and that is not meant in a cocky way or in a disrespectful way towards any architect.  BUT if I had to choose a living architect to work with on a project I think I would choose Mike Hurdzan.  I have read and watched this guy since the late 70's and I sense he is loaded with facts and knowledge that all you would have to do is get him started....

4)  50 years from now which component of architecture do you see having the most innovation?
That's a really good question.....I think each era has always thought that maintenance conditions were as good as they could ever be, yet they continue to improve...so let's don't consider that....
But if I had to say one thing after just thinking for a few moments here I would say the use of lateral movement...whether t be fairways or greens complexes....first we had the basic green falling back to front where the object was to play golf by keeping the ball between you and the pin and not going long...which meant you would often play short of the hole..then it seems to me tha JN introduced the "tiered" green complexes where exact distance was more important....for example if the pn was 162 yards and you hit it 162 yards, you could be a few yards to either side of the pin and have a pretty straight putt....AND in the future with greens speeds as they are now and who knows what they will be.....it makes sense to me to have lateral movement....it makes hole high putts move more...it makes approaches where often they need to be away from the pin and it really brings into play the "short side"....in the fairways it can be used in landing areas to create strategies for that "lull" a player...for example a left to right slope that is extremely wide in the 300 yard area for the big hitter which will move his ball to an extremely difficult angle if he is not just right off the tee yet the movement in the 275 range may promote a much more acceptable angle.....now none of this is to say we don't have this now..I just think we will see more in the future.....

5)  And last but not least, is it true you were the man behind the scenes in the formation of the "TD butt-boy" club?
I wish I could take credit for that but I think the real guy there was Fred Muller at CD.  He told me he and Tom had met in some body sculpting classes in Traverse City and began discussing architecture......it seemed to blossom from there

RJ,
Mike, would you rather buy Charlie Rhymer a new suit, or take him to dinner?
The suit would be much cheaper.....here's a story....Charlie did a charity benefit for a childrens hospital in ATL a few years back and the guys that own the Longhorn Steak House/ Capital Grill chain gave him $5000 in $100 gift cards.  He was so excited that he wated to take myself and a friend to dinner and see how much we could eat....now neither of us drink...we had lobster, steaks,you name it ad all kinds of desserts...before tip right at $950....

What is the best piece of golf course design advice Charlie ever gave you?

You know charlie is actually pretty interested in this stuff.  As to advise.....he feels you should let the average golfer play...distance is not that much of a factor and be able to adjust fairway widths and green difficulties w/o building them into something that cannot be changed....he has always said that if you gave Tiger the weakest drive of any player on tour and gave that player Tiger's drive ...Tiger would still beat him due to short game and putting...I think he's right....so let people play....don't make it so hard they don't enjoy such...

[Mike_Young]

RJ,
Were you ever on the food channel with Bobby Flay?  I saw a feller looked and sounded a lot like you makin shrimp and grits.
No..but can you get me on there......have you seen the Neely's yet....they got it going...all the sauces and bbQ's....Flay ain't sh*t....

Mike Sweeney,
You have talked in the past about the difference in Northern grasses (and this probably extends to soils). Since many here have played Longshadow, how would Longshadow be different if was located in a 3 season environment such as Riverhead, NY (LI) and a four season climate such as the Monterrey Peninsula (inland)? Let's assume it has a similar business model to what you have in Georgia.
Riverhead?  Man Bob Crosby and I were going to Shinny and National one weekend and he got a hotel room over the internet....great deal...until he went prissing in the lobby in one of those little southern lawyer sport coats with the penny loafers....I thought I was going to have to kick some ass....there were some dudes there..the clerk suggested we go somewhere else so we went to South Hampton....

As for grasses and soils....the south was not really meant for golf and if it had begun here it might not have endured....first it is hot in summer when people play in the cooler climates....I do think the sandy soils have quite an advantage whethe rit be in shaping, natural bunkers vs. manmade bunkers and drainage....we don't have much of that.....as for grasses...the long roughs at Longshadow are not playable...in the North you could get the same look and be playable....same for some of the bunker surrounds in long bermuda....

Who is the best basketball coach in the ACC today and all time?
Coach K.....and he might be all time....so many of those guys are such really good guys and great salesman and closers....and so often the actual coaching is so assistant that we never hear from....the key for all those guys nw is getting players that are good enough to win at that level and at the same time hang around for 4 years....one or two leave on you and you are screwed for a few years....look at GT....

BUT the smoothest of all time, anywhere is Coach Wooden.....

[Anthony Gray]

   Mike,

  1 Boxers or Briefs?

  2 Have you ever golfed with Billy Shaw?

  3 Is the Redan overused?

  4 Can you speak spanish?

  5 What do you think about the rating system?

  6 What is your favorite childhood memory?

   Anthony

[Mark Pritchett]

Mike,

Which of your courses do you feel had the best piece of property for a golf course?

Why does Long Shadow seem to get discussed more than Cateechee? 

Thanks,

Mark

[John Mayhugh]

Mike,

1.  Have you been able to do things in south America that wouldn't work here due to environmental restrictions?

2.  You seem to take pride in building courses that offer a great deal of sublety and therefore lots of enjoyment for repeated play.  Do you think this means your courses will age well?  Do you think this hurts single play assessments, including rating?

3.  Mike asked about the advantages of building courses with different grasses.  If you were to build a course in northern Michigan, what sort of features would you like to use that you haven't been able to do in the south?  (I know you have partially answered this already, but would like a bit more

4.  Favorite classic and modern courses (Golfweek definition). 

5.  Best book on golf course architecture?

6.  Biggest mistake you made when you first started designing courses?

Thanks!

[Lou_Duran]

Like with Jeff Brauer, I wasn't aware when I've been around Mr. Young of his great celebrity and renown.

Questions:

1) Do you consider playing ability to be a great asset in your work?  Can the heart and the mind overcome a hole in one's soul?

2) What are the advantages and disadvantages in working in places like Costa Rica and Nicaragua vs. the U.S.?

3) In marginal areas where bent and bermuda can both be used such as Atlanta and Dallas, assuming you had similar budgets to maintain both in very good playing conditions, which would you prefer using on a course you designed?  If bermuda is your preference, which strain would you use in Atlanta?

4) Relative to personal hygiene and golf course design, holding everything else equal, are the psychological factors which predispose a knowledgeable architect to a high maintenance, mostly hairless regime help or hinder his work?  Would the otherwise well-coifurred architect's work reflect similar close attention to detail, cute little design features, aesthetics, and an orientation toward nuance and mind over force?
 

[Tim Bert]

Mike - Do you think that Wolf Creek is a terrible golf course or just pretty bad?

[Kalen Braley]

Mike - Do you think that Wolf Creek is a terrible golf course or just pretty bad?

Great question Tim,

Sort of like the good old classic....."Do you still beat your wife?"   

[Bill_McBride]

(Mike Sweeney said)
You have talked in the past about the difference in Northern grasses (and this probably extends to soils). Since many here have played Longshadow, how would Longshadow be different if was located in a 3 season environment such as Riverhead, NY (LI) and a four season climate such as the Monterrey Peninsula (inland)? Let's assume it has a similar business model to what you have in Georgia.

Riverhead?  Man Bob Crosby and I were going to Shinny and National one weekend and he got a hotel room over the internet....great deal...until he went prissing in the lobby in one of those little southern lawyer sport coats with the penny loafers....I thought I was going to have to kick some ass....there were some dudes there..the clerk suggested we go somewhere else so we went to South Hampton....

Mike Young, you owe me for a new wireless keyboard, this is the second time I have spit coffee all over mine after one of your stories, and now my computer is t y p i n g    v e r y   s l o w l y.    Thanks a lot.

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()