Feature Interview with Kyle Franz is posted

[Ran Morrissett]

Conviction - not as in going to jail  , but as in strength of belief. Few people have it as it relates to golf course architecture. Of the thousands of people with whom I have spoken, Kyle Franz has as much as anyone.

As you read this month's Feature Interview, you'll see he comes about it the old fashioned way: He has worked in the field at a number of great courses, toured several hundred courses in the UK, and read exhaustively about the subject of golf course architecture. In addition, by rubbing elbows in the field with folks like Doak, Liddy and Coore, he has also had the invaluable opportunity of learning first hand from some of the best architects of this era. Is there any better training than working for great people on great sites? No.

This is the lengthiest  Feature Interview we have ever posted. Kyle provides many photographs to illustrate his points but more importantly, he makes LOTS of points. Be it from specific examples of tying in features to details on Coore & Crenshaw's work at Pinehurst No.2 (and a myth he debunks re: its crowned greens) to the merits of the ten hole at Tarbat Golf Club, Kyle has seen and done an incredible amount at the tender age of 30.

His impressions as to what was accomplished at the Dukes Course at St. Andrews and at The Dunes Course at The Prairie Club are enlightening. I had no idea that The Dunes Course has 100 acres of fairways AND more central bunkers than perhaps any other course in the world. Be it there or as epitomized at Barnbougle and evident at mighty Cabot Links, the common theme among the courses that Kyle describes is one of fun as these courses are option filled with lots of playing angles. This represents the new mind set of this generation of architects and shapers - and for that, we should all be very encouraged.

Kyle got into golf course architecture during a boom and was able to acquire a vast amount of practical experience in a relatively condensed period of time. Obviously, some shapers and architects are being forced out due to lack of work/opportunity but Kyle won't be one. He'll be around for a long, long time and I wager that this will be the first of several Feature Interviews with him.

Cheers,

[Tom_Doak]

I have known Kyle since he was 19, I think, and came to live with us for the last seven holes at Pacific Dunes.  My main early memory of him is keeping Jim up too late at night asking questions; he would literally go in and sit in Jim's room and ask him stuff while Jim was trying to rest his back.

After that, Kyle worked for us at Stonewall North and Barnbougle Dunes and Stone Eagle, the last of which we turned him loose on to build all those bunkers Tom Huckaby's dad thinks are too severe.  Kyle never met a bunker he thought was too big or too flashy, at least when he worked for us; perhaps Bill Coore and old age have got him to settle down a little bit.  That's really all he ever needed; the talent and drive are clearly there to do great work.

I've always said that there is a ton of young talent out there with the ability to build great courses, if only they had more chances.  By my count, I've worked with fifteen or twenty in the past twenty years (!) who have most of the tools.  Right now, most of them have to be content shaping for other designers, instead of on their own; but if it ever gets busy out there again, there is going to be a sudden boom of spectacular courses, and I'm sure Kyle will have something to do with them.

P.S.  He has stuck his neck out pretty far in this interview comparing the Dunes course at The Prairie Club to three of the best courses in the world!  I look forward to seeing whether he is really right, or just an over-enthused parent.

[Jason Topp]

Nice interview once again.  The enthusiasm emanates from the page.

I find the feature interviews are the portion of this site that I re-read more than any other.  Thanks to Ran for all of the work associated with creating this tremendous archive of interesting perspectives.

[Josh Smith]

Kyle is an amazing talent.  He has a real knack for making things look old and exciting.  I was amazed when I first met him to learn that he was still so young.  Making me feel old.  Bright future.  Want to get out and play more things that he has been a part of.

Josh

[Chris Buie]

This is a great interview. There has been a lot of really interesting, first rate material on here recently - Charlotte, Paraparauma, etc. 
I've had the pleasure of meeting Kyle and some of the others from that roving band of artisans. Very enjoyable chaps all around - and really bright, as well.

[rocket]

This was a great interview.  I enjoyed every section of the interview especially the tying -in.  This interview truely inspired me.  Keep up the great work Kyle.  I know there will be more to come from you.

[Tom Dunne]

Kyle gave me an informal tour of Pinehurst #2 when I was down there this spring. I felt fortunate to meet him as he proved to be an excellent resource in my reporting. He was just as full of enthusiasm and insight as he is in this interview. Spend some time in his company and you quickly realize the extent to which people who have dedicated their careers to real nuts-and-bolts architecture see the deeper dimensions of a golf course. And Kyle happens to be very good at communicating this. Definitely someone whose career I'm looking forward to watching in the years to come.

Great job on this interview to both Kyle and Ran.     

[Ryan Farrow]

I really really really am not that into golf course architecture, in comparison. I guess I'll just say we have philosophical differences. Or that my brain will only let me dedicate a small percentage to golf course architecture. From reading a little bit of this interview it seems like Kyle has a much, much larger allocation.

[Ron Farris]

I had the distinct pleasure of working with Kyle and Will Smith at the the Tom Lehman/Chris Brands designed Dunes Course at the Prairie Club.  Day-in and Day-out lunch with Kyle was a real treat.  His passion for what he does is to be admired.  At a young and unincumbered age he truly has a bright future and an already storied past.  He and will worked as a team and while I viewed most of their work from arms length, pulling together their work regarding the green complexes was interesting and fun at TPC.  Both Kyle and Will are beyond their years in the study of gc architecture and, as with many on this site, it is interesting to see, hear, and read their perspectives.

[Niall C]

"Conviction - not as in going to jail  , but as in strength of belief. Few people have it as it relates to golf course architecture. Of the thousands of people with whom I have spoken, Kyle Franz has as much as anyone."

Well, he certainly has a lot to say for himself and if you drew up an index for all the name dropping in this interview it would likely be a dozen pages long. Nothing wrong with that, young blood with forthright opinions help stimulate discussion. That said I did have a laugh at his hidden gem/underappreciated list. Everyone well lauded and a top course for visitors so whether they are "hidden" or the aforementioned visitors didn't enjoy there visit I'm not sure.

What however fair took the breath away was young Mr Franz's comments on the Dukes. First off he may want to note that St Andrews is a bit more than a "village". Second off he may want to think twice about passing off that bit of former agricultural land as heathland. And while he's sticking the boot in to Peter Thomson he may at least try to spell his name correctly. Young Kyle charges Thomson with designing the original course in a generic 90's faux links style that in his words didn't fit the property. Huh ?

While wondering whether future generations will be referring to this decade as the thrilly edged bunker age, I racked my brain trying to think of any inland courses that I'd played in Scotland over the last 30 odd years which had the type of bunkering now in evidence at the Dukes. Boat of Garten maybe, I can't recall, Granton on Spey, I don't think so. What I do recall is playing any number of similar parkland courses with revetted style bunkering with sandy faces, indeed the type of bunkering that was replaced at the Dukes.

Now I haven't yet played the new look Dukes but I have walked it. I agree that the routing has likely improved now that they have acquired the additional land. Hard to cry down Thomson on that one given he didn't have that land to work with. As for the bunkering it does look like it is simply a change of styles on the existing holes. As for the green complexes, I'll wait till I've played the course before commenting but I will say that what I recall of the originals they gave some interesting putts without being silly.

Niall

[Kyle Franz]

Greetings all,

Its been a long time -- some 5-7 years since I have posted -- I hope I am doing it right. I've been meaning to get on here for the last couple weeks but we have been hard at it trying to get finished up here at Cabot Links. I just wanted to thank everyone for the kind words and responses. Especially from some of you friends and associates I have not seen in quite some time. I just hope I didn't put anyone to sleep -- It was a long interview!

Cheers,
Kyle Franz