A Timeline of the Rise of Minimalism?

[Jay Flemma]

Guys, can we start to put together a timeline of the rise of the minimalist movement in the modern era?  When would you say it began?  What have been the major milestones since it's resurrection and renaissance?

[Mark Saltzman]

Would it be fair to say that the 'minimalist movement in the modern era' is a resurrection of the Golden Era of Strategic Design? 

[Jay Flemma]

Ran calls it the "Second Golden Age" but I like calling this the Platinum Age, because it's even better! (I got that term from someone else, actually:)

[Lester George]

Bruce Charlton was the first I heard use the term Platinum.

Lester

[Jeff_Brauer]

Lester,

Yes, I've heard Bruce use it, with the first time I had heard it as Prez of ASGCA.

As to the original question, both Coore/Crenshaw and Renaisance Design formed in the late 1980's (abot 1989 for both as first comleted new courses) so I would put the start of the minimalism movement at the start of the two most successful firms using that style.

Granted, they must have gotten the idea somewhere before implementing it, but its what gets on the ground that counts. 

High Pointe was clearly different than other late 1980's design for TD.  For CC, they did a lot of restoration work before getting the big new commissions, honing their style in the mid 80's.  As I have stated here before, I was asked at an interview if I was a "restoration architect" about 1989 and hadn't heard the term before, so they were marketing that by that time. (I presume it was them, they got the job)

[Tom_Doak]

Lester,

Yes, I've heard Bruce use it, with the first time I had heard it as Prez of ASGCA.

As to the original question, both Coore/Crenshaw and Renaisance Design formed in the late 1980's (abot 1989 for both as first comleted new courses) so I would put the start of the minimalism movement at the start of the two most successful firms using that style.

Granted, they must have gotten the idea somewhere before implementing it, but its what gets on the ground that counts. 

High Pointe was clearly different than other late 1980's design for TD.  For CC, they did a lot of restoration work before getting the big new commissions, honing their style in the mid 80's.  As I have stated here before, I was asked at an interview if I was a "restoration architect" about 1989 and hadn't heard the term before, so they were marketing that by that time. (I presume it was them, they got the job)

Jay:

High Pointe opened in 1989, and Renaissance Golf Design was founded the same year [though I built High Pointe in 1987-88, before incorporating].

Other points on the timeline I think you should definitely include:

1991 - opening of The Dunes Club, New Buffalo MI, Mike Keiser's first golf project
1991 or 92 - opening of The Plantation Course, Kapalua, HI, Coore & Crenshaw's first big-splash project
1994 - Sept. 30 - Ron Whitten's cover story in GOLF WORLD, which was the first use of the term "minimalism" that I know of
   [they actually used the word on the cover]
1995 [I think] - opening of Sand Hills Golf Club
1999 - opening of Bandon Dunes Resort, and David Kidd's namesake course
2001 - opening of Pacific Dunes

After 2001, I'm not sure which projects qualify as most important.  If you're going to try to say minimalism has had an effect on many other architects, then I guess you ought to include Sebonack [which opened in 2006] as helping to spread the word.


 

[David Harshbarger]

Would it be fair to say that the 'minimalist movement in the modern era' is a resurrection of the Golden Era of Strategic Design? 

From the discussion before about Minimalism and Naturlism, I think there's a clear difference between the Golden Age and Minimalism.  Golden Era architects like MacDonald and Raynor (at Yale) were more than happy to blow up the land to build the course they envisioned.   This is contrary to the minimalist credo that Tom has described, where there's an appreciation that the constraints on process associated with Minimalism result in a virtuous outcome regardless of the associated playing characteristics of the course.

While their may have been a sentiment that using the features of the land to best effect, given the technological and financial limitations, that may be as much as Minimalism by budget as Minimalism by intent.  That may have seen to be a distinction without meaning at a time when there was little Maximalism, but that lack of distinction then makes today's conscious adoption of Minimalism in the face Maximal design distinctive.

With the broad appreciation of strategic design elements, are there not non-Minimalist projects of today that emphasize strategic, i.e. non-penal designs?  However, those that have trail-blazed the Minimalst path have married their approach to the strategic school, which seems to bring some confusion into the conversation.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Where does a man like Eddie Hackett fit into timeline?

[Tom_Doak]

Where does a man like Eddie Hackett fit into timeline?

It would probably be better to keep the discussion to American golf course architecture.  Golf architecture in the UK never got very far away from its minimalist roots, except by American invasion.

When I went out with Donald Steel in 1982 to look at what he was building then [the Duchess course at Woburn], having worked on a construction project for Mr. Dye the year before, I was really shocked by how minimal it was ... I think they had a 350,000 pound construction budget for the whole course, which was spent almost entirely on greens construction and greens irrigation [no fairway irrigation on that course].  However, none of the shaping was what I would call "minimalist" at all; they would build greens entirely from fill, and maybe some mounds around the green, with no intent to try and make it look natural.

Eddie Hackett was a minimalist at heart ... he didn't move earth around at all if he could avoid it, although, the little shaping he had to do at places like Carne stands out like a sore thumb, probably because they used local talent with little golf experience.  None of that was an uncommon approach in that era.  All of the architects in the UK and Ireland were what Jeff Brauer described as "minimalist by necessity", and Mr. Hackett most of all.

[Jim_Kennedy]

So I guess that the title of the thread should add "in the USA"

[Terry Lavin]

So I guess that the title of the thread should add "in the USA"

Or maybe, "I'm working on a blog post about a Minimalism Timeline.". 

[Alex Castro]

Hello, all.

Forgive someone fairly new to the forum some rather simple questions. This thread gives me a chance to ask a question I've wanted to ask you all here for some time. Why do you call it the "Minimalism" style of design? Jeff_Brauer mentions Coore and Crenshaw's work. I am a big fan of Coore/Crenshaw and have studied their work with much interest. Doesn't "minimalism" sort of lessen a sense of how much work goes into one of their projects?  Myself, I would tend to think of it as "naturalistic" approach. Every hole, every shot really, is found in the natural features of the land, and then...enhanced, brought out to greater or lesser prominence as needed. So, I guess I just get a little confused over the choice of words.

Thanks, all, for answering a simple question from a newcomer.

Alex Castro

[David Harshbarger]

Hello, all.

Forgive someone fairly new to the forum some rather simple questions. This thread gives me a chance to ask a question I've wanted to ask you all here for some time. Why do you call it the "Minimalism" style of design? Jeff_Brauer mentions Coore and Crenshaw's work. I am a big fan of Coore/Crenshaw and have studied their work with much interest. Doesn't "minimalism" sort of lessen a sense of how much work goes into one of their projects?  Myself, I would tend to think of it as "naturalistic" approach. Every hole, every shot really, is found in the natural features of the land, and then...enhanced, brought out to greater or lesser prominence as needed. So, I guess I just get a little confused over the choice of words.

Thanks, all, for answering a simple question from a newcomer.

Alex Castro

Alex, if you haven't seen this yet, you can see quite a few different thoughts on the matter.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51509.0.html

[Jay Flemma]

Great stuff so far, and thanks for the thoughts.  Now what about other important milestones post 1995?  Obviously Gil winning the Rio gig is the end point...for now:)

[Alex Castro]

David_Harshbarger,

Thank you for the link! Definitely an interesting topic.

[Sven Nilsen]

I think DeVries needs to be in the conversation.

[Jay Flemma]

Dave: Nice job on finding that thread, that was an interesting one. D we have any new dates to throw on the list post 1995?

Actually Terry, that's not the idea at all, although someone I'm sure may want to use that for an article idea somewhere, I'm sure.

[Mike_Trenham]

Would Harbortown or The Golf Club fit into this timeline in any way?

[Jay Flemma]

Mike, why would you say they are minimalist?>  My buddy Mike Kelley plays out of The Golf Club!