Starting Tues., 5/11/10 - Get To Know Ben Stephens

[George Pazin]

Apologies to Ben and everyone for not getting this up sooner - crazy printin' day today, shoulda posted it yesterday.

Ben has been gracious enough to agree to do a thread, and since he's both an industry guy and a thoughtful poster, I know the thread will be a good one. Please welcome him with lots of questions, pointed, interesting, and otherwise...

 

Have fun, play nice!

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On Deck: Ben Sims (told you it was Ben Week)

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Dale Jackson

Jim Colton

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George Pazin

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[Ben Stephens]

Thanks George for the introduction.  


For those who don't know me but only know me by name on this thread.

I am in my early 30's and work as a self employed architect living in Rutland - the smallest county in England but always will be a proud Welshman.

I was born profoundly deaf, use a cochlear implant device and communicate in person by means of lipreading.

I am fully responsible for the design of Rutland Water's Normanton course (18 holes) over the last 10 years as well as masterplanning the course extension at Greetham Valley in the late 1990's

Golf is a great individual sport which has helped me to express my sporting talent where I have found difficult in team sports due to my disability.

I got to the point in my late teens that I was good at drawing and realised that I was a better designer than a golfer and started drawing up fantasy golf course layouts which got me my first job at Greetham Valley.

I regularly play golf with a fellow GCA'er - James Boon, who I used to work with in an architects office in Nottingham.

Look forward to answering as many questions as possible


Cheers
Ben

[Terry Lavin]

Thanks for playing.

How did you get hooked on the site?

Other than Boon, what other gca types have you run across?

What are your favorite courses in Scotland, England and Wales?

[Ben Stephens]

Thanks for playing.

How did you get hooked on the site?

I found it by surfing on the internet about 8 yrs ago and it really opened my eyes on GCA + courses such as NGLA! Did not join the forum til a few years ago!

Other than Boon, what other gca types have you run across?

I met a few at Swinley for the first time this year and played with Major Fotheringham Smythe (Mark Pearce) and Andrew Mitchell. I had brief chats with Gareth Williams, Tony Muldoon, Scott Warren, Mark Chaplin, Tom Birkert and Robin Hiseman (I have met his brother a few times). I have played with Mr. Red Wing Commander (Sean Arble) at his beloved Beau Desert

What are your favorite courses in Scotland, England and Wales?

I have been fortunate to play so many courses and my favourite from each country in the UK are

Scotland - Carnoustie (I was at University of Dundee for 3 years)
England - Royal West Norfolk
Wales - Royal Porthcawl
Northern Ireland - RCD

[JLahrman]

Ben, as far as the UK goes I've only been able to visit London.  Apart from some long hard-to-pronounce town names, tell me how I would be able to tell that I've crossed the border from England to Wales.

[Ben Stephens]

JLahrman

If you are coming from London - its a drive down the M4 and over water via the Severn crossing to arrive to Wales.
As I live in the Midlands and drive to Wales by land and there is always a sign at the Welsh border going into Wales which says:

Croeso i Gymru (Welcome to Wales)

My family is from the English speaking South East Wales! I know a few words in Welsh (not a lot)

The longest name for a place in the world is in Wales - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch try pronouncing this 

Cheers
Ben

[JLahrman]

JLahrman

If you are coming from London - its a drive down the M4 and over water via the Severn crossing to arrive to Wales.
As I live in the Midlands and drive to Wales by land and there is always a sign at the Welsh border going into Wales which says:

Croeso i Gymru (Welcome to Wales)

My family is from the English speaking South East Wales! I know a few words in Welsh (not a lot)

The longest name for a place in the world is in Wales - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch try pronouncing this 

Cheers
Ben

Well actually I meant, is the food different?  The culture?  Etc.
 
Is there a Royal St. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch CC?  Would love a round there!

[Ben Sims]

Ben,

Nice name, strong name.  Hebrew for "son of my right hand". 

To the questions.

1)  I ask this to many architects.  What is better about designing golf courses over playing golf courses?

2) Not including The Open Rota and some other obvious choices, tell me which golf course I need to take a look at in the UK.

3)  What is the hardest part about getting a great looking drawing into the ground?

4)  Course you'd most like to study, not neccessarily play in the US.

5) Dogs or cats...??

[Phil McDade]

Ben:

With a few years in Dundee, did you ever get to some of the lesser-known links there like Monifieth or Arbroath?

[Jason McNamara]

Well actually I meant, is the food different?  The culture?  Etc.

The last names!   

Is there a Royal St. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch CC?  Would love a round there!

Best bet is St. Deiniol in Bangor, right across the Menai Strait from Llanfair PG.

[Richard Choi]

Ben, do you see any distinct traits that separate US architects from English or Scottish architects?

[Colin Macqueen]

Ben,
I lived in Dundee for 15 years just outside Boughty Ferry before I fled to Oz.  I caddied on Carnoustie many times and played Ashludie and Burnside as a wee lad.

Did you enjoy being in the heart of golfing country during this time?  Rosemount at Blairgowrie where Greg Norman won his first overseas tournament I believe.

Did you attend Duncan of Jordanstone - the art/design college?

Which of these small, delightful courses did you frequent most?

Did you get a different set of design ideas from the smaller courses than the "monsters"?

The Hielander.

[Ben Stephens]

Well actually I meant, is the food different?  The culture?  Etc.
 
Is there a Royal St. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch CC?  Would love a round there!

There are great food in Wales - they produce the best lamb in the world and also fantastic welsh cakes! - Mr Boon has a huge liking for Welsh rarebits!

The culture is different to England! As a small country of 3 million people, with its own language which is taught compulsarily in schools, who are very passionate in music! We have produced so many famous singers/music bands like Stereophonics, Dame Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones (who my grandad voted in 3rd place in a talent contest in the 1960s and thought he would not make it  ) the beautiful Katherine Jenkins, Duffy and Charlotte Church etc.
 
The National anthem - Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhaddau (Land of my Fathers) is the best in the world. Other than golf course architecture Rugby union is my other sporting love - I am massive supporter of Welsh Rugby! I get goosebumps when the anthem is sung in the Millenium Stadium. I hope to organise a trip to a local rugby match during BUDA this year.

There are a few clubs in Wales that are hard to pronounce as they have a few vowels!

Cheers
Ben

[Ben Stephens]

Ben,

Nice name, strong name.  Hebrew for "son of my right hand". 

To the questions.

1)  I ask this to many architects.  What is better about designing golf courses over playing golf courses?

How often are you able to design courses - I have been lucky with opportunity of designing and building one ot two. You get to visualise and ask the golfer many questions like - should I play safe or take a risk of cutting the corner etc. Also you can get creative with greens where most greens generally are boring and flat. Its great fun building them - you get to drive huge tractors etc 

2) Not including The Open Rota and some other obvious choices, tell me which golf course I need to take a look at in the UK.

There is a lot of choices of golf courses that is a must play in the UK. I have already mentioned my favourites in the UK but would suggest the following as a must go
Ganton
Woodhall Spa
Hunstanton
Swinley Forest
Notts
Lindrick
Huntercombe
St Enodoc

3)  What is the hardest part about getting a great looking drawing into the ground?

Trying to gain perfection out of a design – ‘No design is perfect’ What looks perfect/good in a drawing may not work well on the ground so therefore is adapted to look perfect/good. I try to blend in with whatever landscape in the best possible way. 

4)  Course you'd most like to study, not neccessarily play in the US.

NGLA
Shinnecock
Oakmont
Garden City
Myopia Hunt
This list could be endless but this is the top 5 I would love to play (which includes Pine Valley +  Augusta + Merion + Crystal Downs etc)

5) Dogs or cats...??

Dogs (definitely as I am allergic to cats fur and can’t stand them)

[Ben Stephens]

Ben:

With a few years in Dundee, did you ever get to some of the lesser-known links there like Monifieth or Arbroath?

I got to play Monifieth Medal a number of times - its the course where I have seen the most bizarre luckiest golf shot A great mate of mine hit a big slice off the opening tee and the ball was miles out of bounds and there was an oncoming high speed train on the far side of the railway track which borders the 1st fairway the ball actually rebound off the roof of the train and ended up on the middle of the 1st fairway 

I regret missing the opportunity of play Arbroath (where they make great smokies!) and Montrose - I played more links golf in Fife than Tayside/Angus 

[Ben Stephens]

Ben, do you see any distinct traits that separate US architects from English or Scottish architects?

It really depends what period the golf courses originated. Most courses in England + Scotland were built in the first half of the 20th century - with great designers - Braid, Colt and Mackenzie etc. A lot of the courses in America seem to be built in the second half of the 20th century where construction techniques have changed which enabled artifical shaping etc. I have noticed the courses in the UK are more subtle and used existing landscape forms. Also there is more variation in bunkering from UK architects for example bunkers 40 yards short of the green are rarely seen on many US courses but there are a few in the UK. The US have got it right on course distances with more teeing areas catering for different levels of golfers. I could go on and on, types of grasses, sand, irrigation techniques, buggy paths etc ... but its better to keep it simple 

[Ben Stephens]

Ben,
I lived in Dundee for 15 years just outside Boughty Ferry before I fled to Oz.  I caddied on Carnoustie many times and played Ashludie and Burnside as a wee lad.

Did you enjoy being in the heart of golfing country during this time?  Rosemount at Blairgowrie where Greg Norman won his first
overseas tournament I believe.

Yes - I have played both courses at Blairgowrie - what a delightful setting

Did you attend Duncan of Jordanstone - the art/design college?

Yes in the late 1990s

Which of these small, delightful courses did you frequent most?

Downfield (by CK Cotton) great first 14 holes but seriously let down by the last 4 holes

Did you get a different set of design ideas from the smaller courses than the "monsters"?

Yes I did - especially from Elie which influenced me how much fun it was playing short par 4's - it has 5 of them! A short par 4 is a must have on any course that I design in the future. Also green shapes on the smaller courses have influenced me as they are more quirky and fun to play on

[Jason McNamara]

Which of these small, delightful courses did you frequent most?

Downfield (by CK Cotton) great first 14 holes but seriously let down by the last 4 holes

Those are the replacement holes put in when the club got moved around?

[Ben Stephens]

Which of these small, delightful courses did you frequent most?

Downfield (by CK Cotton) great first 14 holes but seriously let down by the last 4 holes

Those are the replacement holes put in when the club got moved around?

I have no idea how much the of the original course was replaced by housing and which holes remain

[Scott Warren]

Ben,

A potential client asks you to take them to a course that sums up your design philosophy. Where do you take them?

A group of mates of varying handicaps put you in charge of organising two courses for a golf weekend with the directive to "choose somewhere fun". Where are they playing?

Were you at your beloved Millennium Stadium for Australia v Wales last November? Great game, that! (It's a really impressive stadium, I have to say)

If the R&A put you in charge of culling three courses from the Open Rota and replacing them with three of your own choosing, which three would go and which three are in?

Is Gavin & Stacey as funny if you're Welsh?

[James Boon]

Bam Bam,

4th post until Carnoustie is mentioned, you must be getting lazy 

A few questions...

1. Colt or MacKenzie?
2. "Where do these stairs go?"...
3. How frustrating is it for a Welshman to see no Geraint or Simon Jones in the England cricket team (which is now full of South African's instead)
4. As a Carnoustie fan, did you ever play the Carnasty version? And as such an accurate driver of the ball  what sort of a score did you or do you think you would have managed?
5. Foursomes matchplay or a large field medal tournament?

That will do for now, and I like Scott's questions as well, so I look forward to those answers!

I think you should tell everyone a bit more about Rutland Water, your design ideas there, any problems and how you overcame them etc. For those that don't know, Rutland Water is Ben's course just south of suprise suprise Rutland Water. Its a great setting with some great views, but the course itself is also one of the better new courses that I've played. Some great strategic options, some real challenges of skill, and some awesome green sites! Don't be too modest, go on, sell it to everyone!

Cheers,

Boony

[Ben Stephens]

Ben,

A potential client asks you to take them to a course that sums up your design philosophy. Where do you take them?

The only course I have designed from ‘start to finish’ is Rutland Water Golf Course this sums up my philosophy, ideas and influences which I got from playing links courses (mainly in Scotland). Ideally I would take the client to RWGC to explain how it evolved and why it was designed that way. I am flexible in terms of design views and will take client to another course if required. There are many different types of golf courses such as links, moorland, treelined, parkland etc. For example if the client is trying to build a links course I would definitely take him to a great links course wherever we are.

A group of mates of varying handicaps put you in charge of organising two courses for a golf weekend with the directive to "choose somewhere fun". Where are they playing?

I can suggest a large number of pairs to play on as they are great fun! But only given one pair I would definitely go for Hunstanton and Brancaster. They are so underrated and great fun to play on. The greens are improving at Hunstanton which is becoming like its old self again! Brancaster has the best Spike Bar/Lounge in the world and 3 rounds a day is no probs!
In a perfect world it would be St Andrews and Carnoustie. (The Tay Bridge helps!)

Were you at your beloved Millennium Stadium for Australia v Wales last November? Great game, that! (It's a really impressive stadium, I have to say)

Great game for Australia especially Giteau who had an absolute stinker in Edinburgh the previous week – Wales were bloody awful that day! We beat you in the previous year but Mr Gatland is building up for the 2011 World Cup. Barring injuries we could potentially reach the semis at best. Wales have the youngest squad in the Six Nations so it should also look good for 2015. The Millenium Stadium is the best Rugby Union venue in the world and and perfect for the Welsh singing Bread of Heaven  

If the R&A put you in charge of culling three courses from the Open Rota and replacing them with three of your own choosing, which three would go and which three are in?

Royal Lytham and St.Annes
Royal Liverpool
Royal Troon

I would replace them with to give the R&A and the Open a better spread geographically

Royal Portrush
Royal Porthcawl
Saunton

Is Gavin & Stacey as funny if you're Welsh?

It’s one of the most popular TV series in Wales they love it and want to bring it back. Yeah I think it is very funny! It was on TV in Wales way before it came to the rest of the UK  

[Ben Stephens]

quote author=James Boon link=topic=44227.msg963202#msg963202 date=1273651982]
Bam Bam,

4th post until Carnoustie is mentioned, you must be getting lazy 

A few questions...

1. Colt or MacKenzie?

Mackenzie

2. "Where do these stairs go?"...

Dr. Peter Venkman: "They go up!"

3. How frustrating is it for a Welshman to see no Geraint or Simon Jones in the England cricket team (which is now full of South African's instead)

Not at all there are a few good players coming through the ranks at Glamorgan like James Harris. Anyway I am looking forward to the Aussie monster bowling sensation - Shaun Tait starting at Glamorgan in the next few weeks. 

4. As a Carnoustie fan, did you ever play the Carnasty version? And as such an accurate driver of the ball  what sort of a score did you or do you think you would have managed?

Carnoustie in 1999 is what Carnoustie is normally is the pros could not hack it at the time with the exception of the rough being extra thicker thanks to a fertilization programme 2 weeks before the Open which they panicked as the course grass was not growing due to unseasonal weather at the time and then it got warm and sudden growth happened.

In 2007 The R&A upset a few local Carnoustie golfers by making the course easier for well pampered golfers who were scared to look bad.  After the Official film of the 1999 Open there was a local golfer, after finishing his round after the Open took place his comment was something like this ‘what was all this fuss about this is what we play every day!’

I would rather call Carnoustie the Tayside Terror rather than Carnasty as it is not nasty just bloody hard! I have broken 80 there a couple of times of the 6900 yard medal tees

5. Foursomes matchplay or a large field medal tournament?

Foursomes matchplay definitely! I too often have a bad hole that wrecks my medal card! I recently got in the final of the East Anglian Spring Foursomes at Hunstanton

That will do for now, and I like Scott's questions as well, so I look forward to those answers!

I think you should tell everyone a bit more about Rutland Water, your design ideas there, any problems and how you overcame them etc. For those that don't know, Rutland Water is Ben's course just south of suprise suprise Rutland Water. Its a great setting with some great views, but the course itself is also one of the better new courses that I've played. Some great strategic options, some real challenges of skill, and some awesome green sites! Don't be too modest, go on, sell it to everyone!

Thanks mate! Here is a thread I did on Rutland Water GC just after the completion of 18 holes there. The course has improved in terms of condition and maintenance. I hope to add a few more tees in the next year.

Rutland Water thread on GCA - http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,31427.0/

Golf Magic article on RWGC - http://www.golfmagic.com/news/rutland-water-normanton-course/5298.html

[/quote]

[Bill_McBride]

Ben, really looking forward to meeting you at the Buda Cup!  Are you joining James Boon and the rest of us at Burnham and Berrow on the day before?

[Jason Topp]

Ben:

I also look forward to meeting you at BUDA.

Are there unique challenges associated with playing given your hearing?