Ross Fan Shaped Routings

[Jason Topp]

Ross designs tend to be routed in what I think of as a fan shape - with nines on each half of the fan and the holes on each nine spreading out across each half of the property. There always seem to be a clump of holes running towards and away from the clubhouse and then holes spread out in the other directions further from the clubhouse.   My impression is that Ross generally used this approach unless severe topography or other constraints dictated otherwise.


This Holston Hills routing copied from reply 100 by John Stiles in Ed Oden's Compilation Thread is a good example:



The advantages of such a routing appear to me to include variation in hole direction, a relatively compact and walkable golf course and plenty of opportunity to take advantage of unique land features from a variety of directions.

Can anyone confirm that Ross considered this type of routing his preferred option?  If so, did he ever explain why he liked that type of routing?  

Do other architects today or back in the day employ a similar philosophy?

Independent of Ross' thinking, what are the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach? 

[mike_beene]

I suppose the Broadmoor lower course( the 18 holes Ross routed) look pretty similar to the example. I would have to think about some others but Pinehurst 2, Pine Needles and Mid-Pines may be exceptions.Number 2 is perhaps limited by the multiple course clubhouse,Pine Needles is a real estate course and Mid-Pines is a routing that crosses over and moves across the whole property. I do feel you are on to something as I consider other courses he routed. Of course there will be exceptions no matter how much of a pattern arises.

[Josh Tarble]

Jason,
I can't remember the exact quote from "Golf Has Never Failed Me" but I believe he mentions his preference for the 9th and 18th returning to clubhouse and a fan shaped layout being ideal for accommodating that.

At my home club, it's more a L-shaped layout, but certainly has the same characteristics.  As you mentioned it does take advantage of a few of the natural features more than once or twice throughout the round.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Some of his fan routings came from the fact that he had placed the clubhouse in the corner of the property, which may have been the typical location of the nearest utilities required to run the clubhouse.

[Sven Nilsen]

Bendelow had the same idea, although he called it a "B" routing. 

It is almost an inevitable effect of having the course return to the clubhouse after 9, and my guess is that both guys incorporated some sort of variation when the land allowed for it.

[Jason Topp]

Bendelow had the same idea, although he called it a "B" routing.  

It is almost an inevitable effect of having the course return to the clubhouse after 9, and my guess is that both guys incorporated some sort of variation when the land allowed for it.

That is interesting because I think of Ross as being very good at routing golf courses and Bendelow as being pretty weak.  Every Bendelow course I have played involves a bunch of straight parrallel holes whereas Ross seemed to have a talent for routing in a manner that results in much more variety.

[Sven Nilsen]

Bendelow had the same idea, although he called it a "B" routing. 

It is almost an inevitable effect of having the course return to the clubhouse after 9, and my guess is that both guys incorporated some sort of variation when the land allowed for it.

That is interesting because I think of Ross as being very good at routing golf courses and Bendelow as being pretty week.  Every Bendelow course I have played involves a bunch of straight parrallel holes whereas Ross seemed to have a talent for routing in a manner that results in much more variety.

Spend some more time looking at some of those Bendelow routings, especially his later work. 

His work definitely evolved, as did the sites he was given to work with.

Even his early work showed some signs of ingenuity, especially when it came to fitting a course on the limited amount of land he was given to work with (Staten Island in particular, where he came up with a solution where others couldn't).

Sven

[Morgan Clawson]

Jason -

Maybe a good way to evaluate this is to look at Ross's best designs.

Per Golfweek's Classic Courses Ranking (I added Yes or No for some of them):

13 - Pinehurst #2
14 - Seminole
22 - Oakland Hills South
25 - Plainfield
32 - Wannamoisette
40 - Inverness
44 - Oak Hill East
45 - Newport
47 - Scioto
52 - Interlachen YES
54 - Essex
57 - Aronimink
60 - Salem
62 - Holston Hills YES
64 - Brookside
66 - White Bear Yacht Club  YES
67 - Augusta
68 - East Lake
71 - Franklin Hills
72 - Charlotte  YES
77 - Mid Pines  NO
83 - Minikahda  NO
85 - Pine Needles  NO
87 - Monroe
89 - Whippoorwill
90 - Birmingham West
91 - Whitinsville
92 - Beverly
94 - Mountain Ridge

BTW - That's 29% market share in the top 100.  Impressive!

[Jason Topp]

Morgan - I am getting about a 2/3 YES rate for the routings I can find.  One can quibble about a few of these either way:

13-   Pinehurst #2 – YES
14 – Seminole YES
22 - Oakland Hills South - YES
25 – Plainfield – YES (generally)
32 - Wannamoisette
40 – Inverness - NO
44 - Oak Hill East – NO (but close)
45 – Newport - YES
47 – Scioto - YES
52 - Interlachen YES
54 – Essex – Looks like a YES
57 – Aronimink- YES (Generally)
60 – Salem – NO (I wonder if it was re-routed)
62 - Holston Hills YES
64 - Brookside
66 - White Bear Yacht Club YES
67 – Augusta NO
68 - East Lake YES (more of a box)
71 - Franklin Hills
72 - Charlotte YES
77 - Mid Pines NO
83 - Minikahda NO
85 - Pine Needles NO
87 - Monroe
89 – Whippoorwill - YES
90 - Birmingham West
91 - Whitinsville
92 - Beverly
94 - Mountain Ridge - YES

[BHoover]

Brookside seems to be a fan routing too (trying to visualize it in my head).

[V. Kmetz]

Hi,

I don't think it was in dispute, but Ross' quote to this thread is on page 25 (in Golf Has Never..., a section titled, Good and Bad shapes)

"One of the desirable shapes for a piece of golfing property is that of a fan..." which then goes on to detail its advantages, which many have spoken to here.

Please add one of his most well-restored pieces to the list

Siwanoy - (1914) - which is the paradigm of fan architecture on an incredibly small tract (90 acres?).

cheers

vk

[Ben Hollerbach]

Morgan - I am getting about a 2/3 YES rate for the routings I can find.  One can quibble about a few of these either way:

13-   Pinehurst #2 – YES
14 – Seminole YES
22 - Oakland Hills South - YES
25 – Plainfield – YES (generally)
32 - Wannamoisette
40 – Inverness - NO
44 - Oak Hill East – NO (but close)
45 – Newport - YES
47 – Scioto - YES
52 - Interlachen YES
54 – Essex – Looks like a YES
57 – Aronimink- YES (Generally)
60 – Salem – NO (I wonder if it was re-routed)
62 - Holston Hills YES
64 - Brookside
66 - White Bear Yacht Club YES
67 – Augusta NO
68 - East Lake YES (more of a box)
71 - Franklin Hills
72 - Charlotte YES
77 - Mid Pines NO
83 - Minikahda NO
85 - Pine Needles NO
87 - Monroe
89 – Whippoorwill - YES
90 - Birmingham West
91 - Whitinsville
92 - Beverly
94 - Mountain Ridge - YES

Jason,

Based upon your original description and example of Holston Hills I would have said that 50-65% of these courses don't fit the fan model. Just because a course occupies 2 distinct areas over its 2 nines I don't believe would constitute a fan. When I think fan, I think you have to have the nines both start and end on common ground and then "fan" out from there to explore the property. Courses like Scioto and East Lake who's nines seem to begin and end opposed to each other I don't feel fit the fan design.  Of course so much of this is contingent on the property at hand, which I feel makes it hard to classify narrow and disjointed properties like Pinehurst No. 2 and Newport as fan designs.

[Carl Johnson]

First, the consensus, as I understood it from prior GCA discussions, is that hole sequencing and routings are two different things, routings being the layout of each individual hole on the land.  Sequencing has to do with the order in which the holes are played.

That having been said, I've taken a look at the hole sequencing on my club's (Carolina GC, Charlotte) Ross 1929 course.  The original sequencing, laid out from where the original clubhouse was located, was what I'd call an overlapping fan sequencing.  In general, the front nine went out to the right from the clubhouse and back, and then the back nine went to the left and back.  But, there was a several-hole-overlap in the middle.  The property is compact, so if the perfect fan was the norm, I'd say the overlap may have resulted from site constrictions.

Finally, if you looked at the sequencing at our course today, you'd not see the original fan-ish pattern.  About 30 years after the course was built, the clubhouse was moved to the other side of the property and the hole sequencing changed significantly.

Regarding the fan -- great topic.  I'd never looked at my course that way before.

[Sven Nilsen]

The following article doesn't specifically address fan routings, but it does have some interesting thoughts on the optimal shape of the property used for a course.  It is taken from the April 1915 edition of Golf Illustrated, and I believe was authored by Max Behr.

[Sean_A]

Very interesting thread.  I definitely noticed the fan (or half circle) routing at the Ross I grew up on, but it never clicked that Ross would intentionally look for this sort of layout.  I spose a house backed by a road would leave limited options (if the there are returning 9s) and I suspect many guys may use this method of routing to help avoid back and forth holes. 

Ciao