Is there a place in course design for blandness??

[Sean_A]

A long time ago the word "homely" (the way the Brits used it) would've been appropriate: "Simple and unpretentious; cosy and comfortable, as in one’s own home".

Of course, there's not much chance of architects or marketers using that word either. Once a word disappears from common use, that which it used to represent seems to go with it.

I like homely courses. They are relaxing; they don't demand that you praise and discuss them incessantly, and so it's more about you than about them.

 

Pietro

Homely isn't nearly the same as bland.  Homely is a positive adjective while bland is at best nuetral and I would suggest that when used to describe an artistic endeavour....bland is a polite way to express mild disapproval or perhaps worse, indifference.  So again, I suggest that if an archie is shooting for bland it is time to find a new job.

It is heartening to see that bland seems to have disappeared from the lexicon of the thread as the archies have moved on.

Ciao

[archie_struthers]

We have often talked about the essential "flow" of a golf course. The presence of it makes the good ones great !


A fellow who designed a course in Cape May County and has a fairly extensive résumé called me when we were finishing Twisted Dune and asked for a tour. Full of pride of my firstborn, I eagerly met him and we took a short walk around the course. Could see immediately that he was singularly unimpressed and he quickly excused himself.  Didn't even ask what I was thinking about any hole or shot on the


I had to see what they were building. Could our place be that bad?  Did I really screw it up .  Although I knew all our competition , I hadn't yet seen the progress of this new course right in our backyard .  Drove down the next day  and was overwhelmed with the complexity of the design. There were rolling hills, collection areas, wild greens , bunkers everywhere, great and small. The imagination was off the charts.  Wow was the word!


However , driving home to Twisted Dune my insecurities about our work left the building. Our course , even with a novice designer, was eminently playable and fun. Sure i'd like to fix a few holes today , but that day reinforced my belief   that subtle trumps overt every time.

[jeffwarne]

A long time ago the word "homely" (the way the Brits used it) would've been appropriate: "Simple and unpretentious; cosy and comfortable, as in one’s own home".

Of course, there's not much chance of architects or marketers using that word either. Once a word disappears from common use, that which it used to represent seems to go with it.

I like homely courses. They are relaxing; they don't demand that you praise and discuss them incessantly, and so it's more about you than about them.

 

Pietro

Homely isn't nearly the same as bland.  Homely is a positive adjective while bland is at best nuetral and I would suggest that when used to describe an artistic endeavour....bland is a polite way to express mild disapproval or perhaps worse, indifference.  So again, I suggest that if an archie is shooting for bland it is time to find a new job.

It is heartening to see that bland seems to have disappeared from the lexicon of the thread as the archies have moved on.

Ciao

Sean,
No architect would ever call his own intention or work "bland" but rather, subtle, balanced, or varied as a piece of the flow and rythym in a routing.


However, the average punter might call it bland.....giving rise to island greens, overbunkering, "every hole a signature" golf courses designed for photos----- not play etc.


I think many, many punters would call some holes at Dunfanaghy bland, butit is a course with some really well placed highs, which do indeed make the more topographically challenged holes seem subtle by comparison. Nonetheless, they are a fun , and IMHO opinion, essential part of the balanced equation.
If it keeps away the tourists-all the better (for me)


Put another way, nearby over the top Sandy Hills was a one and done event, and I return to Dunfanaghy every time I visit the area.
 

[Sean_A]

"However, the average punter might call it bland.....giving rise to island greens, overbunkering, "every hole a signature" golf courses designed for photos----- not play etc."

Luckily, I don't know any average punters 

Ciao

[archie_struthers]

 


It's been said that "blandness" might not be acceptable in the architects vernacular. How true!


Minimalism has been accepted though it's connotation is different here. It's a cool word while bland bespeaks boring. 


Just a warning , you better not call your girl homely in the states ! Lol


 

[Thomas Dai]

I think many, many punters would call some holes at Dunfanaghy bland, butit is a course with some really well placed highs, which do indeed make the more topographically challenged holes seem subtle by comparison. Nonetheless, they are a fun , and IMHO opinion, essential part of the balanced equation.
If it keeps away the tourists-all the better (for me)

Put another way, nearby over the top Sandy Hills was a one and done event, and I return to Dunfanaghy every time I visit the area.
 

Interesting that you should mention Dunfanaghy and Sandy Hills at Rosapenna Jeff. Two courses nearby to one another that I also had in mind. I like them both but reckon I would play Dunfanaghy more often than SH if I lived  equal distance between them.


Atb

[Dan Gallaway]

Blandness is in the eye of the beholder.  My father-in-law rates course architecture by how far it is from his house and a holes greatness by whether he can get bogey or better.  The second at Talking Stick North was bland to him, while I was "giddy" to play it.  I had strategized for days (probably months) about how I was going to win the duel with that hole.  The hole won! But that's not the point.