[Tom_Doak]

I just got my new issue of GOLF INC. magazine, which devotes half its pages to "25 Big Ideas" that could stimulate and empower the golf industry into the future.  I won't scoop them on all their great ideas here. 

Then I turned the page, and see that they awarded the "Clubhouse of the Year" for 2011 to the amazing clubhouse at Martis Camp -- all 73,485 square feet of it!  There's an idea on how to power the golf industry, straight into oblivion.

[Mike Demetriou]

I've not read the issue, but perhaps one of the new ideas was to build clubhouses less than 2 acres in size? In which case, well done!

[Howard Riefs]

Then I turned the page, and see that they awarded the "Clubhouse of the Year" for 2011 to the amazing clubhouse at Martis Camp -- all 73,485 square feet of it!  There's an idea on how to power the golf industry, straight into oblivion

Because all clubhouses should be formally named the "Lodge."

http://www.martiscamp.com/luxury-spa-and-fitness/

And quite a virtual online tour, too. 

http://vtour.govtour.com/vtour.php?tid=8324

[Jonathan Mallard]

Should have gone ahead with the full Olympic Size pool. Seems out of proportion, no?

[Jim_Kennedy]

Ironic, yes, but they did bracket the "25 Big Ideas" w/an article entitled "A New Era for Architecture" featuring one from your stable, Gil Hanse.  
 
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/golfinc_2012spring/index.php?startid=22

[DMoriarty]

Ironic, yes, but they did bracket the "25 Big Ideas" w/an article entitled "A New Era for Architecture" featuring one from your stable, Gil Hanse.  
 
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/golfinc_2012spring/index.php?startid=22

Nice to see Gil get a mention, but again not without some irony.  What a joke is the golf industry when they go to the likes of Forrest Richardson to comment on minimalism. 

[Jim_Kennedy]

Not overly surprising for a magazine called GOLF INC.    

[John Shimp]

Martis camp is complete with a "Fazio golf experience" as well.  What does that mean?

[Melvyn Morrow]

Tom

Are you saying that ‘GOLF INC. magazine is not fit for purpose’ 

On a more serious note I had hoped that you would have listed the 25 Big Ideas with an informative viewpoint on each one, allowing other Members to try to follow your lead with their opinions. A sort of "Leading By Example", as many, well me anyway, generally likes and agrees with many of your posts.

Melvyn

[Tom_Doak]

Melvyn:

If I'd listed the 25 big ideas for golf that were presented you might have had a seizure and died, as several of them were completely antithetical to golf as we know it, and others were just marketing b.s.  It's at the office, I will go dig it out of the recycling bin if you really want me to. 

[Melvyn Morrow]

Thanks Tom, but no need. I just thought it would be a great topic for this site to get to grips with. Have a great conversation, play around with the ideas and then spit them out.

Sometimes the great ideas are crap, but somewhere within the thinking that created those ideas is at time something worth developing but requiring using a little lateral thinking.

With you knowledge, your input and others of note from this site plus us poor mortals we might just have a great topic to chew over. Perhaps even with the intention of forwarding a general consensus back to Golf Inc.

Melvyn

[Jason Topp]

I would love to see golf promoted as a weight loss activity.Tons of people go to early morning workouts and pay a decent price for them.  I could see a 6 am 9 hole shotgun on the back nine in 2 balls with the purpose being finishing in an hour and a half as a way to attract that crowd.  The purpose would be to finish on time and have nothing to do with score.

You could call it weight loss boot camp and have marshals with sergeant badges monitor play and require that individuals not on pace to finish in 90 minutes pick up and walk ahead for a while or even for the rest of the round.

If done with the right sense of humor, I could see a new type of crowd embracing the event. 

[Carl Johnson]

The best idea is no. 20: Golf Bars.

[Garland Bayley]

Melvyn:

If I'd listed the 25 big ideas for golf that were presented you might have had a seizure and died, as several of them were completely antithetical to golf as we know it, and others were just marketing b.s.  It's at the office, I will go dig it out of the recycling bin if you really want me to. 

You don't have to. Jim Kennedy provided an online link to it in reply #4. Now if Melvyn's eyes are better than mine he can actually read it.

[Jud_T]

IMO the best clubhouse needs to be smaller than your average McMansion and not look like one to merit serious consideration...

[Kirk Moon]

I think we are being hyper-critical of this place. I looked pretty deep into their web site and could not find an Equestrian Center, Runway or a Toddler's Impressionist Day Camp.......

Hate to break it to you, but there is an equestrian center at Northstar (the ski area right next door to the development) and a very nice airport capable of handling your Gulfstream just couple of miles away.  The Toddler's Impressionist Day Camp is a bit tougher to nail down, but I notice that they have an "Art Loft" in the "Family Barn" and lots of other activities to keep a nascent Master of the Universe busy and happy while mom and dad enjoy the Fazio Golf Experience™.   

Act now.  Quite a few homes are available in the never to be seen again  $5M - $11M price range.  Don't miss out!   

[Eric Strulowitz]

I just got my new issue of GOLF INC. magazine, which devotes half its pages to "25 Big Ideas" that could stimulate and empower the golf industry into the future.  I won't scoop them on all their great ideas here. 

Then I turned the page, and see that they awarded the "Clubhouse of the Year" for 2011 to the amazing clubhouse at Martis Camp -- all 73,485 square feet of it!  There's an idea on how to power the golf industry, straight into oblivion.

I know more than one club that has got into financial problems simply due to clubhouse issues.

I play a lot of sports, mens basketball,  tennis, running, swimming,  and we do just fine without any type of clubhouse to speak of.  It is totally unnecessary.  Why do golfers need clubhouses anyway, I think the whole thing is incredibly silly.  Most clubs would do just fine with a double wide trailer.  If you really need a clubhouse, maybe a locker room, a few showers, a basic pro shop, and a few basic refreshments, what more do you need?  Are we so spoiled that we actually THINK we need more than this.   I know that for many years clubs had looked at the clubhouse as a source of revenue, with weddings, graduation parties, etc, I can't believe with this economy that these are any longer a reliable revenue stream.

Building large clubhouses is silly.  Beyond silly.  When times were better, sure why not, but why continue this practice when most clubs don't even have enough members to even play golf, let alone hang around the clubhouse.   I guess some clubs try to outdo others with all this, I guess you can see where it got them.   I guess some clubs try to use the clubhouse as some type of selling point, I am more interested in the golf.  I played a course last year, my jaw dropped when I saw the clubhouse.  And it was even more elaborate inside.  Yet, the course was one of the worst I ever played.   It was virtually empty, a few cars in the parking lot.    Several of the greens were dead or close to dead, and many of the tee shots had forced carries that made the course almost impossbile for my wife, even at the ladies tees.  And many blind shots and sidehill lies that presented unnecessary challenges.  I know this club is very much hurting for members.  So, what good is an elaborate clubhouse?

I have had a few post round drinks  sitting on a bench or picnic table , even out in the parking lot, and enjoyed it no less than doing the same in some palacial clubhouse.    Do we come to golf or what?

 

[Ben Sims]

Tom,

Once again, I wish to ask someone in a position of power or media influence (specifically those at the magazine in question), "just when did you sell out?"  

That article is beyond ridiculous and frankly, a bit depressing if educated individuals think some of those ideas are the way forward.  What ever happened to simplifying end objectives and streamlining a paradigm through genuine innovation instead of cheap excuses for evolution.  I thought we were smarter than this as a species.  Everyday I'm reminded that people who think outside of party lines are outliers and dangerous to establishment.  Therefore they are effectively neutralized through indifference.  Saying you are thinking progressively is more important than ACTUALLY DOING IT!.  Carefully scripted press releases are reality in our society, so when Exxon Mobile says they spend more than anyone else on "going green", they neglect to mention that they enjoyed $850B+ in revenues last year alone on the back of sky high petroleum prices.  Same with this article, as it cheapens and dilutes many issues with golf going forward.

By the way, I applaud you for recycling the magazine.  

PS--I did like Josh Lesnik's take however. 

[Jud_T]

"Retool to show off your golf, not your menu".  When you look up stating the obvious in the dictionary....and what if you then realize that your golf course sucks?

[JC Jones]

Martis camp is complete with a "Fazio golf experience" as well.  What does that mean?

It means, "awesome."

[Kyle Harris]

I could see a 6 am 9 hole shotgun on the back nine in 2 balls with the purpose being finishing in an hour and a half as a way to attract that crowd.  The purpose would be to finish on time and have nothing to do with score.

Right, and how exactly would the golf course get prepared and mowed for regular play?

[JMEvensky]

I could see a 6 am 9 hole shotgun on the back nine in 2 balls with the purpose being finishing in an hour and a half as a way to attract that crowd.  The purpose would be to finish on time and have nothing to do with score.

Right, and how exactly would the golf course get prepared and mowed for regular play?

You must be a Superintendent.

There is a guy at my place who does this every Saturday.He jogs the golf course playing his own 2-ball scramble.He and the Super have an understanding--if the maintenance crew are on the hole,he skips it and comes back.Still,it's a pain in the ass and the only upside is that only this one guy does it.

[Greg Tallman]

Related adn ironic:

Two of my best friends on the planet designeda nd built what was a pretty decent track for the local area and was easily the best public access facility within an hour at the very least.

THE BANK dictated that they build the clubhouse prior to opening. Millions later and saddled with debt they opened the facility. They made a go of it for a few years but the debt created by the clubhouse construction was simply too much and they lost the project... back to the very people who forced them to build the damn thing to begin with.

[Mike_Young]

I just got my new issue of GOLF INC. magazine, which devotes half its pages to "25 Big Ideas" that could stimulate and empower the golf industry into the future.  I won't scoop them on all their great ideas here. 

Then I turned the page, and see that they awarded the "Clubhouse of the Year" for 2011 to the amazing clubhouse at Martis Camp -- all 73,485 square feet of it!  There's an idea on how to power the golf industry, straight into oblivion.

TD,
As you know the object of Golf Inc is to sell ads and thats about it.  All of the Crittendon events are nothing but gathering places for the various executives of the larger management companies that are on expense account and feel the need to be there because they don't have to justify the cost to any of the clients they split the expense among. One can buy basically "best new" in anything they have there....
I was in a day long meeting with some business people( large corp) who had acquired a very large golf company (not a course) and all they could talk about was how backwards the industry was and how they could not believe how decisions were made....it will continue...

[Tom_Doak]

Related adn ironic:

Two of my best friends on the planet designeda nd built what was a pretty decent track for the local area and was easily the best public access facility within an hour at the very least.

THE BANK dictated that they build the clubhouse prior to opening. Millions later and saddled with debt they opened the facility. They made a go of it for a few years but the debt created by the clubhouse construction was simply too much and they lost the project... back to the very people who forced them to build the damn thing to begin with.

You must not have been reading about our financial crisis the past four years.  This is exactly how banks operate ... lend you money for something you can't really afford, and then TAKE IT FROM YOU when you finally figure it out ... unless you do SO well that they only keep their 6% plus the fees they made for securitizing your mortgage.

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