If Your Taste In Golf Course Architecture Reflected in Your Personal Residence?

[Mike Hendren]

I favor old golf courses as a general rule, yet live in a 4300 sf house in a suburban subdivision straight out of the 90's with zero exterior architectural appeal.   It's on the market and we've contracted to purchase a 2200 sf cottage built in 1911 within walking distance of a nearby small town's Main St.  I'll finally be in sync.

What about you?

Bogey

[Mike Schott]

Prairie style is my personal taste in a residence. My home is pseudo-Prairie style, a ranch with longer than normal eaves. Nothing fancy, all brick with restrained landscaping. I guess it is similar to my taste in courses. Build holes by using the natural features of the available land as much as possible. Nothing too fancy.

[Adam Lawrence]

I'd live in an Edwardian house on a heath I guess. Or an art deco property by the sea. Sadly both are beyond my means...

[Emile Bonfiglio]

In the spirit of minimalist golf architecture..., I keep my lawn brown and firm and  do no landscaping.  And with the recent mole attack on my artificial putting green it now mimics the green quality of some of our local courses.

[PCCraig]

We just moved into an "Arts & Crafts" style home. I believe the house was built in 1918. The house's style is similar to my preferred style of golf course...lots of charm, character, and quirk.

[BHoover]

I prefer old golf courses.  My wife prefers old home, which is why we own a 120+-year old home.  Personally, I would be content to live in a condo, so that I could avoid yardwork and any other form of renovation work.  But in order to play golf where I'd like, I agreed to live in an old house.

I prefer to keep my lawn firm & fast, so I try to do as little yardwork as possible and apply no fertilizer.  Come July and August, it really is a sight to behold.

[Ken Moum]

We just moved into an "Arts & Crafts" style home. I believe the house was built in 1918. The house's style is similar to my preferred style of golf course...lots of charm, character, and quirk.

I live in a split-foyer ranch, which at least owes it's roots to the prairie style and arts and craft houses of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

And my favorite golf course around these parts is the one I am a member of, built in that era, designed by Ross.

K

[Jason Thurman]

Things that reflect my taste in golf:
* 123 years old. I like classics.
* Recently renovated. I like conditioning and maintenance to reflect architectural intent.
* In a very walkable neighborhood
* A bit of quirk in the house, a lot of quirk in the neighborhood
* Enough hazards to keep you honest (it gets a little dingy and "cracky" if you go a mile west or south), but you're unlikely to find real trouble or lose a ball
* The regulars have pretty loud attire (it's a very alternative lifestyle and hipster friendly area)
* Local restaurants really emphasize the natural movement
* Easy to get a game (there are a couple pretty nice basketball courts nearby)
* Plenty of kids having fun. We’re right next to a great new school and I get to laugh at a kid falling off a scooter or bicycle on the street at least once a day.

Things that don’t reflect my taste in golf:
* Zero grass (Our entire lot is low-maintenance landscaped. I do no mowing, and no watering. I occasionally put down a few gallons of Roundup to make sure I never have to)
* Lack of cohesive style (walking around our neighborhood, it’s easy to tell that different streets were built at different times as you watch the architectural styles change. It’s a cool feature in a neighborhood, but I prefer a golf course to have a more consistent feel)
* Huge, dense, urban forests (We have two wonderful urban forest preserves with great hiking trails tucked right in the middle of our little area of the city. Again, awesome in a neighborhood, but not conducive to great golf)
* Horrendous service. My community could aptly be called Cincinnati’s “NorCaliTown.” I’ve become a huge fan of the gay community since we bought our house. We’re in a very gay-friendly neighborhood. I’m convinced that anyone who opposes gay marriage has just never gotten to experience the skyrocketing property values that gay people bring to their community. They’re the world’s best neighbors. They take great care of their property, they do wonderful renovations, they’re very friendly, they build strong and effective community councils, and they open businesses that make life better. The one downside: their customer service tends to be awful. You’ll get the most delicious brunch of your life if you visit my neighborhood on a Sunday morning. You’ll just have to wait 40 minutes after you order before you get to eat it.

[Mac Plumart]

I don't think my home's characteristics have anything to do with my golf course taste...

My home is 6,500 yards square feet, however it is over 7,000 square feet if you include our deck;

has 18 rooms;

the foyer eases you into the round house and from there the rooms get more challenging;

the only water hazards are the toilets, but the seats are diagonal...so you can cross at shorter points or go for the longer carry;

every approach to the house utilizes the ground game;

and there are multiple routes to each green room.

[David Bartman]

Not at all

I love traditional golf courses and live in a modern house with modern furniture and artwork.  A house is a house and golf well that is my mecca, if done correctly ( though my eyes )

[RJ_Daley]

We'll be adding on a family room with a 72" HD-3D TV and spa this fall when the work's all done...

[Carl Johnson]

Really like Ross courses.  Live in a rather plain but solid 1925 two-story brick house.  Not exactly sure what style you would call it.  Not sure about the Ross connection, either.  It does not look like either his Pinehurst house or the one he grew up in in Dornoch.  (I don't know what his other houses looked like.)  If you know my street address, you can check it out on Google Map.

[Dan Herrmann]

Nope. I live in the same small townhouse I bought in 1994.  Simple and almost paid off.   Which will enable me to play more golf!

[Mike_Trenham]

My caddy just painted most of the interior of my house, does that count?

[Sam Morrow]

I prefer my golf courses subtle and at first glace simple. That kind of matches my taste, my girlfriend decorates everything in our apartment because she said if she didn't there'd be a couch, a TV, a bed, and the nicest room would be the bathroom, there is some validity to that. Last time I lived alone I think the only thing I had on the walls were a picture of a mutt I grew up with and Ben Hogan. I also grew up playing on classic housing development courses and a our house was on a course and I think it was around 6000 square feet.

[Scott Warren]

My apartment smells of rich mahogany. I have many leather-bound books.

[JLahrman]

I rent.

[Ken Fry]

My caddy just painted most of the interior of my house, does that count?

Smails:  "Danny, I'm having a party this weekend.  I'm christening my new sleuth.  What are you doing this afternoon?"

Danny:  "No plans sir...."

Smails:  "Great!  How'd you like to mow my lawn?"

[Eric Smith]

http://classicajays.tumblr.com/post/5532701730/the-quotable-caddyshack-snl-sketch-from-when

[Mac Plumart]

Top notch!

[Lou_Duran]

Eclectic.  And cheap.  Includes a 9-hole par 3 course with pushed-up, clay base greens, mown three times a week whether they need it or not.  Suburban paradise.

[Mike Sweeney]

It is cold and rainy in Connecticut so no golf today and I will jump in.

Similar to golf courses, I like to have a perpetual renovation and tinkering of our NYC apartment.

First part was 3 bedrooms, 2 baths RTJ style apartment in a 1960's building that is very nice, but lacking in architectural style. Red brick building with stamped out apartments and brown colored windows that was very very popular in the 60's  . When we moved in, the kids were small so we did a paint job with some minor upgrades to the interior like upgrading the kitchen, baths and sanding the floors. Kids destroy apartments in NYC, so did not want to do too much.

Second part was buying the attached studio and combing it with the main apartment. This became the master bedroom for Mom and Dad. We hired the Ian Andrews of Architects (up and comer, renovation expert without the Tom Doak prices   ) to lay out the entire floor plan. Approvals from the Condo Board and NYC are really simple!   We then took the studio down to its bones, and combined the kitchen and small bath of the studio into a master bath that has a kick-ass Pine Valley/Merion style shower that makes me feel like I am in heaven every morning   Plasma screen TV and my home office in this studio is as close as I can get to a man cave as my wife sleeps in there too!

For quirk, due to our family relationships with CAMBA and www.TheCaribbeanProject.com, we have some interesting art (not expensive) from Africa and The Islands:

http://www.camba.org/Support/ShonaSculptures/tabid/222/menuheader/101/submenuheader/101/Default.aspx

The result is a classic New England mishmash 18 holer. 9 holes by Styles and Van Kleek that have been redone by Ian, and a mess of a now beat up RTJ that needs a restoration.

When the older one goes off to college, the goal is to do a complete renovation and perhaps take it down to 3 bedrooms by expanding the living room.

[Michael Moore]

My house is a simple and classic bungalow from 1926, on the small side, that is structurally sound. The title is held by a faceless mortgage company. With that extra bit of money (and elbow grease) that never seems to be there, it could be really good.

My course is a simple Wayne Stiles from 1932, on the short side. The title is held by a faceless government bureaucracy. If the city reinvested in drainage and bunkers, got rid of the cart paths, and cut down a bunch of trees, it would be really lovely. We are blessed with a superintendent who does a lot with a little.

Interesting question. My course and home are very much aligned. I wish they were closer, it's a twenty minute drive.

[Randy Thompson]

Easy to maintain, my living room is concave and the floor concrete with a drain in the middle, a real soft grass depression looking room! Once a week just hose her down and she be ready for the next party!

[Bill Gayne]

I'm going for the ANGC mix of plants. I have five of the ANGC named hole plants growing in the yard: Azelea,white dogwood, Juniper, Holly, and Magnolia. Additionally we have Oaks, Pines, Crepe Myrtles, Leland Cypress, Red Maple, Cedar, English Boxwoods, Rose bush, a Dandelion or two, and some nice looking plants that I don't know the names. A seasonal stream cuts the front yard with a mix of fescue and common bermuda. The driveway is old school with pea gravel.