Hale Irwin-Golf Course Designer

[Coral_Ridge]

Very good golf course in Prescott, AZ designed by Hale Irwin, callled Prescott Lakes.  http://www.golfarizona.com/saul2.htmI was very impressed by this golf course.  Every hole was truly memorable.  I believe he has talent here.  Has he built any more courses?  Will he rise above the more common, PGA star turned golf course architect?

[Tony Ristola]

Hale Irwin as the architect?  And Aunt Jemima makes pancakes.

Here's an excerpt from an interview with one of his staff.

Sometimes I wish it was my name on the project, but 95% of the time I realize that this is a great relationship and being with Hale has given me many opportunities I would never have had otherwise. I do have an ego, and I like my talents to be recognized, and he's great to work with. Very, very, very rarely do I think - 'Hey, wait a minute.'"

and later...it all gets back to marketing.

Too bad you don't know who the real architect(s) is.

("Very, very, very rarely"?... I doubt that because he thought of it and stated it during the interview, and I'm sure there are many, many, many other guys out there tired of others taking credit for their work because of the state of the golf architecture "game".)
          

[cardyin]

I have played two "Hale Irwin" courses--the TPC at Wakefield Plantation northeast of Raleigh, N.C., and Coyote Crossing in West Lafayette, Indiana.   A Buy.com event was conducted at the TPC last summer.  It is a demanding course that seems to follow the land, some of which is excellent for golf and some of which isn't.   After the first six holes, Coyote Crossing dives into the woods and stays there most of the rest of the way. I really liked the course--it is beautiful and presents interesting challenges.  A couple of tees were misplaced because of creeks crossing the holes and a couple of greens were too small to slope front to back, but overall Coyote Crossing is a fun day of golf.  I asked and was told that
Irwin was on-site quite often at Coyote Crossing, but I didn't get the specifics on the number of visits.  Based on those two courses, I would say Irwin and his associates should spread even more nationally very soon.

[RJ_Daley]

I really hope that Hale and his team of designers and the construction work of Wadsworth do a great job on the Prairie Sands property 11 miles north of Sutherland, Nebraska.  I hope Hale truly treats this as a special opportunity to give his input and shot making advise to the architect design/builders to do justice to the fantastic piece of property that they have.  If that requires an inordinate number of site time, so be it.  It is worth it.  I believe that one very important aspect of doing the best he and his team can do is to resist the temptation to over build the course.  I saw the land before they started in Oct., and it is right there for them to bring out the golf course as a journey of exciting strategy and another golf experience in the isolation and vastness of the land that exists there.  Respect for the native grass prairie and its majestic expanse of wide skies with cloud shadows moving across the rolling land is what is given.  It is up to Irwin and his team to not take anything out of that natrual world in the name of brand building or making personal statements with imposed construction overbuild.  The less that is attempted with the land and the more Irwin's golf intelligence is married to the land, the greater the result will actually be.

[redanman (Guest)]

Rick Phelps will hopefully comment on this one.

[Paul Daley]

Tony:

I know where you are leading to with this comment, and I love it!

[bdixon]

Irwin's lead architect is Stan Gentry (also a K-State graduate) who has been with Hale for over ten years.  He previously worked for Rees Jones I believe.

cheers,

bdixon