GolfClubAtlas.com is in the middle of its thirteenth season. Yes, that puts us behind the Queen as she approaches her Diamond Jubilee and the Simpsons as they head into their 23rd season but we are indeed starting to build history of our own, all the while continuing to ‘promote the frank discussion of golf course architecture.’
The number of kind emails, instant messages of support, impromptu gatherings with visitors to Pinehurst and voluntary donations set records this year. Certainly, the camaraderie displayed at GolfClubAtlas events like the Buda Cup remains as strong as ever with many friendships continuing to develop and flourish around the world. Requests from people to join the Discussion Group melee is constant with four or five new members added each week.
Ironically, the number of cat fights and hair-pulling contests also seems to be at a high, which is both flattering and problematic. Flattering in that people care so much to take the time to go berserk. Problematic in that good people are being chased away by boorish behavior. James Frank’s review in the Met Golfer this past winter said that GolfClubAtlas.com was a ‘noble idea now run by the inmates.’
Ouch – that hurt! Throughout the last several years numerous people have called for posting guidelines. These might be so obvious as to be unnecessary but here are four:
1) Before typing, decide if you are adding to the study of golf course architecture. If not, pause until you are, as this is a golf architecture web site. Sexy here are things like Little Aston, De Pan and Yeamans Hall.
2) While typing, take the time to explain fully the point or points that you intend to make. It is hard to imagine how blurting out incomplete sentences adds much value, either to your life or to those who have to wade past the morass to find the good stuff.
3) Before hitting the Post button consider the tone of your post. Does it encourage others to participate or is its purpose to prove that you are the World’s Smartest Man (the title of World’s Most Interesting Man is already taken)? If you are discussing a subject matter you are likely fine. If you are addressing the perceived ignorance of another human being then you are likely less fine.
4) Before typing your twelfth post of the thread and RESORTING TO ALL CAPS TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS AND THAT YOU MEAN BUSINESS, think of your loved ones and consider why you are embarrassing them by starting to rant like a lunatic in a widely read forum.
Everyone can be a critic – that is easy. Being accurate and offering insight are the real challenges. Some people post with a certitude that defies logic and constrains real debate. It is like stating that the best rock & roll band of all time is the Rolling Stones, that the best motivational speaker of recent times is Chris Gardner, that the year’s best movie is Of Gods and Men and the best book is our own Peter Mallalieu’s “The Artists of the Alpine Club”. Though correct across the board
, others might put forth the Beatles, Billy Graham, Barney’s Version, and Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness . Misguided opinions like these shouldn’t be scorned and ridiculed, only pitied
. Just kidding! So it goes with posting. Tolerance enables a greater exchange of ideas; which means that more information will be uncovered and disseminated. Meaningful discourse is at the heart of a successful discussion group. Of course, some posters may not care much about anything other than themselves and having a good time. They think they have a right to post here and they could care less in participating in a bigger purpose/picture other than their petty snide remarks. Though few, such folks should either alter their behavior or delete their account (or instant message me to do so).
Both content and tone matter. As an example, Mike Tanier profiles the NFL match-ups for the NY Times every Sunday. Two and three years ago, I thought that he offered some of the best writing on any subject. He was amazingly insightful and coupled hard facts with a blistering wit. As a guesstimate, I would say his game analyses were 80% info and 20% biting commentary. However, this year that ratio seems to have flipped and he appears more focused on being funny than providing useful information. Personally, I find him less funny and insightful but others might prefer today’s writing style. That’s an individual preference but the point is more how someone’s writing changes with time – and not necessarily for the better.
I use this example as part of the rub with GolfClubAtlas.com as it ripens with age. Long-time posters can fall into a trap of making lazy posts that are devoid of meaningful content. Since GolfClubAtlas began we have all become a dozen years older. Some of us are grumpier, some are wiser, some travel less, some travel more. Some are more set in their ways; others are more open to learning. Regardless, frequent posters (defined as those who average posting more than once daily year after year) dictate the tone and should zealously guard the content of the web site. Unfortunately, this is not the case. People become addicted to posting for the sake of posting and the quality of the content deteriorates. Additionally, a poor example is set for those who lurk and then post. The character of the Discussion Group deteriorates into an unctuous ramble and its allure is tarnished. Just like we did last year, some fifteen to twenty pages of meaningless and off-topic threads will be deleted in the month of January as we want the wealth of information found in the Discussion Group to be as tight and user friendly as possible.
Certainly, GolfClubAtlas.com must evolve and we are always looking at how technology can be best used. For instance, a feature exists whereby if you start a thread, you can ban a person from posting within it. Would that help in our case? Maybe/maybe not. There are certain pairs of people who just can’t seem to get along. Frequently, I know both and, individually, each is a fine person with something to offer. Put them together and disaster ensues. Maybe technology can help us head off such situations. Elsewhere within the site, streaming video certainly has a roll to play too. We started using a thing called SEOs
this year. Though we have always featured highly in Google searches for ‘golf course architecture,’ we were bizarrely on the second page for Bing. That has now changed. As our reach expands, so too must our conduct. We are already a niche subject and we are going to perhaps become even more niche because manners will matter here more so than ever, something that is frequently lacking elsewhere on the world wide web.
Mistakes have been made in running this web site. As there is no manual on how to grow a site error free, future mistakes will likely occur as well. Nonetheless, we trudge on, head down into the wind, doing the best we can. Thankfully, Ben and I received more assistance this year than ever with the majority of the heavy lifting done by Chris Buie and Joe Andriole. Chris assembled much of what was put on GolfClubAtlas.com and did a superb job of finding so many fine vignettes to put on the GolfClubAtlas.com Facebook page. His Halloween feature was truly the spookiest
photo I have seen in recent times. Joe vetted each and every course profile. I am convinced that ‘Why use twenty words when nineteen shall suffice’ is somewhere on his family’s coat of arms! Going forward more people will participate into the operation of GolfClubAtlas.com as we continue to expand and strive to offer the best experience possible.
If you heard the Queen’s Christmas Address this year, you heard a message of caring and of family and community. Her message particularly resonated with me during these hard economic times and it also made me think of us. We are all brought together here with the common bond of an appreciation in golf course architecture and for caring how man interacts with nature. We can accomplish more together than apart. We want the website to represent us and our stated goals and adhere to the highest standards. Set in a commercial free environment the core of GolfClubAtlas.com - lively interchanges with people/friends around the world, course profiles, Feature Interviews, In My Opinion pieces - will remain unchanged. Will someone step up in 2012 and profile hidden gems as thoroughly as Sean Arble did with Pennard and Burnham & Berrow or like David Stewart with his profile of the Kampen Course at Purdue? Maybe a monster piece like Kevin Mendik’s Dick Wilson treatise will appear. Let’s all hope! Chris Buie is presently finishing up an article on Pinehurst No.1 which we will post in January. Pictorials like the recent ones of Royal Ashdown Forest, Seacroft and Elie in the Discussion Group add much and are certainly encouraged. Next year the Feature Interview section gets off to a rousing start with a formerMarine in San Francisco, followed by a woman in NYC and then heads to the UK for March’s dialogue which will be rolled out in two parts during that month. Further out in the year, our own George Bahto will (happily and finally!) release his much anticipated follow-on Seth Raynor book. If all of us pitch in, the community that is GolfClubAtlas.com will continue to be the number one source for golf course architecture in the world. That is a true privilege and honor that we should all take pride in.
Fortunately, the janissary of GolfClubAtlas.com continue to support and care for it deeply. Why? Because they love golf and golf course architecture and they believe that good things emanate from this web site. As proof, I have hundreds of emails from club board members expressing their gratitude for this commercial-free resource as well as from people who have formed lasting friendships as a result of this site. Hopefully we can continue that tradition as we charge into 2012.
Happy holidays and thanks to everyone for making GolfClubAtlas.com a unique place to visit and spend time.
Cheers,
Ran & Ben