Has the Golf Architecture Renaissance Taken a Turn?

[Mike Hendren]

I've not seen either course, but ask:  Have Coore & Crenshaw ushered in a new chapter in golf architecture's renaissance with Trinity Forest and Sheep Ranch?  Wide open spaciousness, liberal use of connected short grass and focus on internal green contours seem to be common elements for both courses. 

I like the concept of golf as a playing field rather than a series of corridors.  The Old Course is Exhibit A.

Bogey

[Carl Rogers]

Should The Loop be included in this thread?

[Adam Lawrence]

This trend has been going on for years. Streamsong Black and Mammoth Dunes are surely its ultimate manifestations. It has been David Kidd's MO since he realised that building impossible courses wasn't a good idea.

[John Kavanaugh]

Feels like a surrender to the alleged distance issue.

[Mike Hendren]

Interesting take Adam.  I wouldn't consider Mammoth Dunes' rollicking nature with many isolated playing corridors to be of the same ilk.  The entire course doesn't spread out before you.

Mike

[Adam Lawrence]

No, that's the nature of the land. But it is vast, that was really the point I was making.

[Ally Mcintosh]

For me, the best examples of this are the type of links courses - usually on machair landscapes - where rough is clearly the same grass type as fairway (i.e. mown / grazed fine fescue)


Think Mulranny.


TOC of course is Exhibit A as stated.

[Steve Lang]

Should The Loop be included in this thread?

Carl,


The Loop certainly has wide playing corridors and really spreads out in a few places...  but in the end its routed through a forest setting vs an entirely wide open exposed layout.

[Neil White]

Is this a style though that is transferrable especially where land is at a premium, be it through cost or limitations - SSSI etc.

[Kalen Braley]

I think same could also be used to describe ANGC.

Lots of internal contour on greens, lots of connected short grass, and wide playing corridors on most holes.

[MCirba]

I think folks are learning that there is no more boring, wasteful hazard than thick, deep, well-manicured rough.

[Thomas Dai]

I think folks are learning that there is no more boring, wasteful hazard than thick, deep, well-manicured rough.

I hope folks are learning such. Not holding my breath though. Still more converts needed.
Atb

[Kalen Braley]

I think they key word here is "which" folks are doing the learning.

Governing bodies that set up Top Am and Pro events, I doubt are learning anything.  And with pros eviscerating courses more than ever with gaudy length off the tee, I suspect rough will be implemented more and more to rein it in.

But it is good to see top notch resorts avoiding the madness for the most part...

[Buck Wolter]

I've not seen either course, but ask:  Have Coore & Crenshaw ushered in a new chapter in golf architecture's renaissance with Trinity Forest and Sheep Ranch?  Wide open spaciousness, liberal use of connected short grass and focus on internal green contours seem to be common elements for both courses. 

I like the concept of golf as a playing field rather than a series of corridors.  The Old Course is Exhibit A.

Bogey

I have only seen pics and read about it but isn't Wolf Point the real trendsetter here?


https://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/wolf-point-ranch/

[Mike_Young]

A lot of us mow corridors together as all short grass and no distinction but I know what you mean....it only counts when it gets to the course being advertised nationally etc...

[Derek_Duncan]

I've not seen either course, but ask:  Have Coore & Crenshaw ushered in a new chapter in golf architecture's renaissance with Trinity Forest and Sheep Ranch?  Wide open spaciousness, liberal use of connected short grass and focus on internal green contours seem to be common elements for both courses. 

I like the concept of golf as a playing field rather than a series of corridors.  The Old Course is Exhibit A.

Bogey

I think these course designs are just functions of their open sites rather than Coore and Crenshaw purposefully introducing a concept. Tom Doak's version of Sheep Ranch also was golf as a "playing field," was it not?

[Buck Wolter]

A lot of us mow corridors together as all short grass and no distinction but I know what you mean....it only counts when it gets to the course being advertised nationally etc...

Mike where have you used this style? Where is it most effective? Have you seen owners/supers revert to less fairway over time?

[Tom Kelly]

Is this a style though that is transferrable especially where land is at a premium, be it through cost or limitations - SSSI etc.

Unfortunately I struggle to see this type of course being built or being a successful in the UK in the near future, mainly land limitations on cost etc., but also I think it would still be a very hard sell to the vast majority of UK golfers and would have to rely on foreign tourist traffic.


I couldn't believe how many comments I heard about Seminole after its TV outing from friends who I thought knew better (it looks boring, flat, wide open, no trees, why is it rated so highly?), reminding me just how far behind the general UK golfing population are when it comes to understanding the benefits of courses like this.


Hopefully that changes but right now I think it would be hard.

[Thomas Dai]

Is this a style though that is transferrable especially where land is at a premium, be it through cost or limitations - SSSI etc.

Unfortunately I struggle to see this type of course being built or being a successful in the UK in the near future, mainly land limitations on cost etc., but also I think it would still be a very hard sell to the vast majority of UK golfers and would have to rely on foreign tourist traffic.
I couldn't believe how many comments I heard about Seminole after its TV outing from friends who I thought knew better (it looks boring, flat, wide open, no trees, why is it rated so highly?), reminding me just how far behind the general UK golfing population are when it comes to understanding the benefits of courses like this.
Hopefully that changes but right now I think it would be hard.

Reading through the above from a UK perspective I’m reminded of Adrian’s Stranahan Course near Bristol which for the most part is pretty open but you’d better be in the right spots or it’ll bite your scores backside. Not long on the card either but with plenty of cunning.
Somewhere more should visit.
Atb

[Niall C]

Is this a style though that is transferrable especially where land is at a premium, be it through cost or limitations - SSSI etc.

Unfortunately I struggle to see this type of course being built or being a successful in the UK in the near future, mainly land limitations on cost etc., but also I think it would still be a very hard sell to the vast majority of UK golfers and would have to rely on foreign tourist traffic.

Tom


I'm not entirely sure of what's happening down south but I'm struggling to think of any course developments up here in the last 20 odd years that weren't aimed at the overseas golfer.


Niall

[Sean_A]

I've not seen either course, but ask:  Have Coore & Crenshaw ushered in a new chapter in golf architecture's renaissance with Trinity Forest and Sheep Ranch?  Wide open spaciousness, liberal use of connected short grass and focus on internal green contours seem to be common elements for both courses. 

I like the concept of golf as a playing field rather than a series of corridors.  The Old Course is Exhibit A.

Bogey

I think these course designs are just functions of their open sites rather than Coore and Crenshaw purposefully introducing a concept. Tom Doak's version of Sheep Ranch also was golf as a "playing field," was it not?

+1

These big open courses are actually rare in the big scheme of golf. It's just that there are so few new courses that they grab headlines.

If anything major happens in architecture, I think it will be the opposite of big. Efficient, sustainable, multiple use, varying hole numbers etc is what I think is on the horizon.

Ciao

[Mike_Young]

A lot of us mow corridors together as all short grass and no distinction but I know what you mean....it only counts when it gets to the course being advertised nationally etc...

Mike where have you used this style? Where is it most effective? Have you seen owners/supers revert to less fairway over time?

I use it as much as I can.  www.thefieldsgolfclub.com is my course and we mow one height of cut all across the course except for the native areas.  I've seen more than a few places that could do such but they don't think they should.  I have learned one thing in this business that usually prevails.  Whomever is in front of the owner or decision maker the most, rules.  So many supts convince clubs or owners that corridors are needed that we end up with corridors.   

[Don Mahaffey]

Mike and I had the “playing field” concept when building Wolf Point in 2005.  We never figured it to be some sort of unique concept. Guess we were poor marketers