A One-Hour Introduction to Golf Course Architecture

[Jason Thurman]

My club, a Langford and Moreau from 1923, has seen a growth in curiosity regarding golf course architecture and principles of great design in the last few years. We hosted a group of GCA'ers a month or two ago, and I've received a lot of questions since about what this site is about, what I look for in a golf course, and what my favorite courses are. In light of the growing interest in architecture among our membership, our GM has asked me to host an evening dedicated to golf course design. We'll be playing some golf in the afternoon and then discussing architectural concepts over dinner.

The crowd will be an interested group but largely novice when it comes to GCA principles. I have a few ideas for where to go with things, but I wanted to pose a few questions to this forum as well since so many GCA contributors are so passionate about the subject and also know a lot more about it than I.

What turned you on to golf course architecture?
What topics did you find most interesting as you were just beginning to learn more?
What do you consider to be the absolute fundamentals that need to be understood before holes and courses can be explored more in depth?

My hope is that this might lead to more advanced sessions in the future, or even the development of an architecture group within the club that travels a bit to play other Langford and Moreau or Golden Age courses of interest.

[Mike Nuzzo]

How architecture/design impacts costs & maintenance
It isn't always the superintendent

Cheers

[Steve Kline]

I'm not sure what turned me on to gca. I just always remember being into it as I was drawing golf holes during class at a young age. Even then it was probably the strategy of the hole though.

Once I really got into it (signing up for this site) what I was most interested in was the routing and why a particular routing was chosen as well as hazards and making the course enjoyable for all. Again, understanding more of the strategic elements of design was of interest to me.

Jason - having played your course for the first time in a long time this summer (and the first time since joining GCA) I would emphasize to your members that a great set of greens is what sets a course apart from others. Fortunately, Clovernook has that. Those greens are also what is going to defend par (when you want it to be defeneded). And, those greens are going to provide the daily interest that are members course needs. Those greens lose some of their interest when angles of attack are limited and recovery shots are prohibited. So, trees need to come down to provide for angles and enhance recovery options. Recovery shots add a great deal of interest to the game. Finally, removing trees would greatly improve turf quality everywhere and specifically the greens. A restored Clovernook would add something really unique to Cincinnati golf. And, if I lived anywhere near the course it would be my preferred option because it would have great architecture (great greens) with a friendly atmosphere that encourages walking and is reasonably priced.

[Adam Clayman]

Indirectly it was a L & M course that started the seed that later led to a spark.

I would recommend you enlist Dr. Klein in any education efforts. His powerpoint presentations and good humor will educate and entertain. It really does make it worth carrying all that crap through airport security.

[Dwight Phelps]

My interest in GCA started with yardage books.  I loved collecting a reading yardage books, or finding similar online course tours for courses I had not played.  Going through a yardage book, thinking about how best to play the course (assuming perfect strikes every time, of course , got me wondering more about how each hole and strategy was designed.

My next, further, foray into GCA was reading a couple of readily available books, 'Anatomy of a Golf Course' by Doak and 'Golf Architecture' by MacKenzie.  The most important thing I gleaned from these books, as far as furthering my interest in GCA, was the emphasis placed on playability for all that was a focus of both Doak and MacKenzie.  The idea that hazards are there to provide choices, not merely punish the golfer, is one that many players don't get (in large part because many course don't get this).  I loved this idea and it became a large part of my assessment of new courses and how they're played.

I don't know nearly as much about greenskeeping, but, as I play and assess more courses architecturally, I find myself truly understanding how much greenskeeping impacts that idea of playability I mentioned above.  That is not to say that I really understand how greenskeeping really works, just how it impacts the course.  I'd certainly be more interested in learning more about maintenance and its hows and whys.

[Andrew Buck]

I'm not sure what turned me on to gca. I just always remember being into it as I was drawing golf holes during class at a young age. Even then it was probably the strategy of the hole though.

Once I really got into it (signing up for this site) what I was most interested in was the routing and why a particular routing was chosen as well as hazards and making the course enjoyable for all. Again, understanding more of the strategic elements of design was of interest to me.

Jason - having played your course for the first time in a long time this summer (and the first time since joining GCA) I would emphasize to your members that a great set of greens is what sets a course apart from others. Fortunately, Clovernook has that. Those greens are also what is going to defend par (when you want it to be defeneded). And, those greens are going to provide the daily interest that are members course needs. Those greens lose some of their interest when angles of attack are limited and recovery shots are prohibited. So, trees need to come down to provide for angles and enhance recovery options. Recovery shots add a great deal of interest to the game. Finally, removing trees would greatly improve turf quality everywhere and specifically the greens. A restored Clovernook would add something really unique to Cincinnati golf. And, if I lived anywhere near the course it would be my preferred option because it would have great architecture (great greens) with a friendly atmosphere that encourages walking and is reasonably priced.

Steve,

I'm like you in that I remember drawing holes all the time in class.  What is interesting now, is how that focused almost entirely on routing and ball-striking, and really didn't address the best characteristic of many courses, greens.  Also, it was interesting how many times I drew redesigns of courses I'd regularly play without good access to scale or directions, today's aerials would have helped a lot!

Jason,

I just think it's great you have that many members that are interested, certainly shows a club in good hands.  I do think I'd talk to the superintendent prior to the event to tie in how maintenance complements architecture or to see if he has any thoughts.

[Jason Topp]

I would do a presentation that ties Langford and Moreau as well as your golf course to the golden age of architecture with plenty of pictures.  I think these topics would be too much for an hour but might provide a menu for you to think about.

1.  St. Andrews - strategic architecture using natural land forms - perhaps with Mackenzie's diagram of four different players playing the 14th.

2.  Pictures of artificial architecture on early US or British courses - the book Vardon Invasion has many pictures as does Horace Hutchinson's gigantic picture book.

3.  Describe the rise in architecture in the years after NGLA in the US and the principles that made the designs of the era so good.

4.  Overview of Langford and Moreau's career and the characteristics of their work

5.  Primer on strategic, penal and heroic design using 11, 12 and 13 at Augusta National as examples and give some context as to how the trees on the right side take away the strategic character of the 11th.

6.  Give an overview of the modern effort to restore classic courses through eliminating trees, restoring green space and improving playing conditions.  (This might be a good opportunity to work with the superintendant for points to emphasize).

[Steve Kline]

FYI...Jason's super was at our GCA together this summer. He was all in favor of taking down trees.

[Garland Bayley]

Principles to understand.

How great land enhances variety and interest. (man tends to create repetitious artificial features)
Line of instinct vs. line of charm. (very useful on lesser land)
Green siting and formation.

[JMEvensky]

How architecture/design impacts costs & maintenance
It isn't always the superintendent

Cheers

Most people confuse architecture with maintenance.I'd think you'd get a lot of mileage following Mike Nuzzo's suggestion.Explaining how the two things are connected can only improve your golf course.

I envy you having a membership which is sincerely interested in learning about this stuff.