Naming courses in the 21st century

[Scott Warren]

Pacific Dunes
Old Macdonald
Bandon Trails
Dismal River
Erin Hills
Chambers Bay
Wine Valley
Sand Valley
Castle Stuart
Cape Kidnappers
Gamble Sands
Old Head
Moonah Links
Thirteenth Beach
Yas Links
Riffa Views
Casa Serena
Cape Wickham
Ocean Dunes
St Andrews Beach
St Andrews Bay
Dunes Club
Bulls Bay
Wild Horse
Common Ground
Rustic Canyon
Old Sandwich
Glen Mills
French Creek
Oitavos Dunes
Cabot Links
Hidden Creek
Clear Creek
Whistling Straits
Friar's Head


It seems that overwhelmingly (with some exceptions - naturally), golf courses in the 21st century get a two-word name.

Why?

[Tom_Doak]

Interesting.

It's not true of many of my clients, but one or two of them were concerned with having a name that no one had taken the www. domain name for yet -- not just for golf, but for anything.  That pretty much precluded any one-word names.  The only names that would work were unusual two-word combinations, such as:  Streamsong.

All of my courses that do have one-word names are compound words at that:  Stonewall, Beechtree, Riverfront, Ballyneal, and of course CommonGround.

[Ronald Montesano]

Balance.

Trident Strike at Composite Nectar (and names of their ilk) represent the excess of the 1990s. They make physical branding difficult, as they often require initials/acronyms to fit on gear.


Deceipt, or

Rapture, or

Meltdown

are too brief and don't convey enough information.


It seems that a noun and an adjective meet the criteria of the marketing team.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Good spot, Scott...

What happened to naming a golf course / club quite simply after the area?... Such as Trump did with Balmedie Golf Club...

[Tom_Doak]

Good spot, Scott...

What happened to naming a golf course / club quite simply after the area?... Such as Trump did with Balmedie Golf Club...

The most obvious simple names are usually already taken by older courses in the area.

[RJ_Daley]

That seems obvious to me... because they are the place and the description of the kind of place. 

Bandon won't due alone.  Set aside the Old MacDonald, or the Pacific part of Dunes.  But these places are located at the head, cape, dunes, linksland, hills, creeks, valley, plain, desert, strait, trail, etc.   

That seems to me the same logic why it isn't just Scott, but Warren, or why I'm not just a Dick, but Daley as well... save the double entendre - I've heard them all. 

[Peter Pallotta]

Scott:

Two words, i.e. Pine Valley.

The history, the excellence, the acclaim, the exclusivity/desirability and the longevity of that course is seared into the minds of anyone who loves golf enough (and has enough capital) to want to create his own version.  So, for example: Pacific=Pine and Dunes = Valley.

One word, i.e. The

The "the" in front of the name, as in The Bejeweled Course at Epic River by the Lake, can only mean one thing to most experienced golfers and developers - a real estate gambit/gamble.  And that too is seared into the mind of anyone who loves golf enough to want to build his own course.

Peter

[Ally Mcintosh]

As I said, I like the single names after the nearest town (if not taken)... Simple, to the point and the essence of how the game began...

Put it another way, how many golf courses built in Scotland between 1880 and 1980 didn't follow this simple naming?... Nae many... Point taken from Tom but I'm more inclined to agree with Ronald... It is all in the marketing

And Pine Valley - If we didn't know it as the golf course it is - would be a cheesy name...

Congratulations to Boston Golf Club for being perfectly sensible... But even they could have gone for Hingham...

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Here in Arizona, there was an interesting development when a new course opened in Prescott- Talking Rock. Obviously this was derived from TALKING Stick and Whisper ROCK. 

[RJ_Daley]

Similarly, Kaiser is blending famous golf catch words and themes.... coming soon, Sand Valley. 

The same naming conventions were in play with Prairie Dunes, followed by a failed attempt to do a Prairie Sands, followed by a successful attempt to do a Prairie Club;  all seeking to capture the essence of a locale or ground characteristics. 

How the heck many variations of Pine can there be?  Dozens, if not more and some duplicates. 

I noticed many Nebraskans refer to thier courses often as just a town name like Mullen (even though there are two there) Gothenburg, The Lake, and many other specific towns, not the actual names of the courses.  I think that is much like GB&I often refer to the place or community, not the actual name of the club.  That is more easy to do when there is only one stand-out course in the town or locale.  But, it is harder to understand if you say I'm playing Melbourne or Chicago today, even though one might think Royal Melbourne or Chicago Golf Club.

[Tim Gavrich]

I'm just relieved that it seems the days of "The Challenge at..." and "The Experience at" and "The Journey at..." seem to be behind us.

[Michael Whitaker]

I'm just relieved that it seems the days of "The Challenge at..." and "The Experience at" and "The Journey at..." seem to be behind us.

Or, "The Reserve at..." and "The Preserve at..." and "The Founders Club of..."

[Ronald Montesano]

On December 1st (I just put it in my Google Calendar, so count it) I will post a thread for "2014 worst name for a golf course." The only caveat will be, the name cannot yet exist. This contest will last for a fortnight and I will announce a winner prior to my evening wassailing.

[Dan Kelly]

On December 1st (I just put it in my Google Calendar, so count it) I will post a thread for "2014 worst name for a golf course." The only caveat will be, the name cannot yet exist. This contest will last for a fortnight and I will announce a winner prior to my evening wassailing.

In case I'm not around on December 1 (you never know) ... I enter:

Bog Forest

(inspired by my friend Joe's Worst Lake Name: Pus Lake)

[Tom Bacsanyi]

I know Doak is not a fan of American Indian names, and I can understand why, but they do assign a sense of place while also providing differentiation.  What does the treehouse think?  Disrespectful?  Played out?

I believe that the Prarie Sand Dune Valley motif has reached it's carrying capacity.  What's the next push in naming conventions?

My thought is self-deprecation.  When I am a Keiserian benevolent dictator, my opus course will be named Goat Track (but it will be really good).

[Mark Bourgeois]

Interesting thesis. In Virginia golf courses opening in the 2000s or slightly before include:

Westfields
Independence
Federal
Kinloch

But don't worry, there are two-word+ names put there, too. 

[Tom_Doak]

On December 1st (I just put it in my Google Calendar, so count it) I will post a thread for "2014 worst name for a golf course." The only caveat will be, the name cannot yet exist. This contest will last for a fortnight and I will announce a winner prior to my evening wassailing.

If I can dig it up, I've got the winning entries in this contest -- from the marketing company list of twenty suggested names for the two courses at Streamsong.  They were so weird that Bill and I were able to successfully lobby for the Red and the Blue instead.

[Greg Tallman]

Phosphate Course, Mines Course??