Why Study this Stuff?

[mventola]

What follows is a quote from a less than happy student in my golf course design course this fall.  The course is part of the curriculum for golf course management students that want to be golf course superintendents some day and is a history of golf course design from St. Andrews up to the present loosely following the first section in Cornish and Whitten’s Architects of Golf (The class would be easier for the students if the book was still in print).  On the final Which they are allowed a 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper with any notes on it I have 20 matching questions:  Famous Architects to courses they were the original designer of.  

“Knowing these courses and who designed them means nothing to me.  This information has nothing to do with golf course management!  I should not be penalized for not knowing who designed the original 36 holes at Doral FL, if I were ever to work there or anywhere else I would do research on the design.  I don’t care about any of this BS you are Feeding Me.”

I am happy that he did learn how to research a golf course in the class, write passionately on a subject and read a topography map but I am upset that he did not put the effort to at least copy his notes onto the sheet?  


My question to this group who obviously spends lots of time reading and writing about golf course design is why do you care about it?  
Does the subject have merit or is it just a bunch of BS?  

[Scott_Burroughs]

Thats student definitely has a long-winded way of saying "I don't know".  I took plenty of college courses having nothing to do with my major, but at least this course is golf-related.  It's not like you're discussing the symbolism and alliteration in The Scarlet Letter.

[BillV]

We study history, lest it repeat itself.

[mventola]

Bill
Perhaps old history professors cling to history because they long for the good old days?
Golden Age designs:  Architects that were stewards of great land, fun, ground game, affordable, not over-watered…

[David Wigler]

Why do we study?  How about why do we breathe?  We all have these masses between our ears that are built to learn.  A background in understanding architecture is critical for managing a golf course.  Use French Lick for example.  This course has some of the most severe greens Ross ever designed and held a Major Championship in the 1920's.  A superintendent without knowledge of history rebuilt some of their sand traps.  A manager without knowledge of history supervised him.  These were very nice guys and I liked them a lot but the sand traps are an abortion.  They do not fit Ross's style at all and are disorienting on the golf course.  Furthermore, multiple tee boxes were moved over time because people without knowledge of architecture did not understand cross bunkers and moved tee boxes to make them obstacles.  The course lost its flow in the process.  

I am not in the golf business but in the pursuit of learning, I begged Todd Eckenrode to allow me to play his course with him so I could learn about his design philosophy.  Todd's explanations of approach angles and recovery opportunities was invaluable and knowledge that I cannot thank him enough for.

We study so we know!

PS.  Just for giggles could you post the test on the site?  I am curious how many of us would pass.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mvertola,

Things must have changed drastically since I was in school.

Since when does a student question the nature of the material he's being quized on.  ZZZZTTT wrong answer pal.
And, as stated above, it seems like a question that could be fielded by a third grader.

More important than the matching issue might be the differences in their disinctive styles as evidenced by their work on the varioius courses you listed.

[John_Conley]

If he doesn't think he needs to know it, he's probably right.  He may not be a historian who holds the game and its history in the high regard we do, but if he can learn to maintain grass he'll be very employable.

That said... "Yours is not to question!"  The teacher holds the cards in the student-teacher relationship, so such a response is definitely unacceptable.

If I were the prof, I'd say, "That surprises me that you'd say that.  I know you're capable of so much more.  I can tell my course didn't make the impact on you that I hoped it would."  If he hadn't got the message yet, that last ditch effort probably won't change things.  But it'd be my last shot.