Fewer Than 100 Acres

[David_Tepper]

This topic gets discussed here every once in a while:

https://www.linksmagazine.com/10-great-18-hole-courses-on-fewer-than-100-acres?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=insider11.28.22

[Adam Lawrence]

It's far from being great, but the Bangalore Golf Club in India, which claims to be the oldest surviving course (not club) outside the UK -- it dates from 1876 -- has eighteen holes on sixty acres. Considering it is full dawn till dusk, and so far as I could see, every player takes a caddy, it is, unsurprisingly, a bit bonkers.

[Tom_Doak]

It's far from being great, but the Bangalore Golf Club in India, which claims to be the oldest surviving course (not club) outside the UK -- it dates from 1876 -- has eighteen holes on sixty acres. Considering it is full dawn till dusk, and so far as I could see, every player takes a caddy, it is, unsurprisingly, a bit bonkers.

Are there crossovers?


I didn't get to Bangalore on my India and Sri Lanka trip, but I saw several other courses that used crossovers very effectively in the routings.  It's a great way to make more use of a particular feature in a tight corner.

[Kalen Braley]

Adam,

I was pretty skeptical of that number, but the measurement tool on Google Earth confirms the 60, (I came up with 57).  That's borderline shocking.

https://earth.google.com/web/search/Bangalore+Golf+Club,+Sankey+Road,+High+Grounds,+Sampangiram+Nagar,+Bengaluru,+Karnataka,+India/@12.98940675,77.58465117,926.57269387a,1476.56345548d,35y,0.00377762h,0t,0r/data=CigiJgokCQ1zaizkLUVAESUstoIkLUVAGSmO5GnVIVjAIdpioOJpIljA

[Thomas Dai]

A related subject would be does a course really need 100 acres?
Rollback the game, there’s 8 billion people on the planet these days.
Atb

[Steve Lang]

  
 LOOKS LIKE COUPLE OF ACRES OF NETTING ALONG THAT ONE FENCELINE...


ps... so I guess there's hope I can fit 3-4 holes on my 10 acres in Blue Lake Twp...

[Jeff Schley]

This is very insightful, I thought Merion was like 115 or so acres. I had no idea that the Valley Club was under 100 and only adds to our affection for the place. 200 acres seems like a luxury unless the course is remote. 


Out of curiosity what courses have the most acreage?  Have to be large developments I would guess.  3-400 acres. Maybe a Rock Creek Cattle or similar?

[Keith Williams]

Cherokee Country Club, a pretty decent and interesting Ross course in Knoxville, Tn, measures from 84 to 96 acres depending on whether you count the practice range, putting green, pro shop and parking or not.


-Keith

[Ally Mcintosh]

Strandhill = 90 acres.

[Kalen Braley]

Just measured Pacific Grove in Monterey and in comes in at just under 90 at 89.

Front 9 = 40, including the 2 streets you cross for a total of 4 times.
Back 9 = 49, and that includes the range.

[Ira Fishman]

Kilspindie seems to sit on a very small plot. Not sure of exact acreage.

[Adam Lawrence]

It's far from being great, but the Bangalore Golf Club in India, which claims to be the oldest surviving course (not club) outside the UK -- it dates from 1876 -- has eighteen holes on sixty acres. Considering it is full dawn till dusk, and so far as I could see, every player takes a caddy, it is, unsurprisingly, a bit bonkers.

Are there crossovers?

I didn't get to Bangalore on my India and Sri Lanka trip, but I saw several other courses that used crossovers very effectively in the routings.  It's a great way to make more use of a particular feature in a tight corner.

I don't recall crossovers (it's about fifteen years since I was there) but I do recall a number of places where multiple holes essentially share one corridor.

[Kalen Braley]

Even Lincoln Park, which is a very short track, is still 80 acres.

And this doesn't include the streets or the area for the Legion of Honor.

[Ira Fishman]

According to Ran’s write up, Kilspindie is 70 acres.

[Erik J. Barzeski]

According to Ran’s write up, Kilspindie is 70 acres.

There are two courses here, then, yes? ~200 acres for the both.

https://earth.google.com/web/search/Kilspindie+Golf+Club,+Aberlady,+Longniddry,+UK/@56.01045071,-2.87587843,7.5514117a,2440.87433741d,35y,-41.31827169h,0t,360r/data=CigiJgokCXF9HM8Q_ilAEYZl4CcW9ylAGRW_Ebs3ZlNAISwDSiGeZFNA

[Andrew Slane]

It's far from being great, but the Bangalore Golf Club in India, which claims to be the oldest surviving course (not club) outside the UK -- it dates from 1876 -- has eighteen holes on sixty acres. Considering it is full dawn till dusk, and so far as I could see, every player takes a caddy, it is, unsurprisingly, a bit bonkers.

I can vouch for that! A few years now since I played there, but great memories! Very tight and you needed the caddy to point you to the correct green and ensure you could get around safely. You enjoy a long lunch at the turn. They were doing some building work when I visited but teeing off after lunch was Merion-like, your tee shot on 10 is under the full gaze of the lunch crowd. Many criss-cross holes and quirk in abundance (one hole did not permit anything more than a 4-iron off the tee iirc) but certainly an enjoyable game. Bonkers, like Bangalore in general - it's a fantastic place!

[Ben Stephens]

Edgbaston - a 18 hole Colt Course - 92 acres. Its amazing how spacious you feel on that course even though the holes are cramped in from aerial images. Boony has also played it as well and I am sure Sean has.

[Ira Fishman]

According to Ran’s write up, Kilspindie is 70 acres.

There are two courses here, then, yes? ~200 acres for the both.

https://earth.google.com/web/search/Kilspindie+Golf+Club,+Aberlady,+Longniddry,+UK/@56.01045071,-2.87587843,7.5514117a,2440.87433741d,35y,-41.31827169h,0t,360r/data=CigiJgokCXF9HM8Q_ilAEYZl4CcW9ylAGRW_Ebs3ZlNAISwDSiGeZFNA

Yes, the other course is Craigielaw which is a 21st Century addition. Kilspindie is hard to beat for compressed fun or laid back feel.

[Kalen Braley]

According to Ran’s write up, Kilspindie is 70 acres.

That looks right, I came up with 68, including the parking lot and clubhouse! 

Ps.  If I figured the routing right, there's a little cluster of greens and tees that line up north to south, all in a total area of just under 2 acres

3 green
4 tee
5 green
6 tee
12 green
13 tee
14 green
15 tee

[Ira Fishman]

According to Ran’s write up, Kilspindie is 70 acres.

That looks right, I came up with 68, including the parking lot and clubhouse! 

Ps.  If I figured the routing right, there's a little cluster of greens and tees that line up north to south, all in a total area of just under 2 acres

3 green
4 tee
5 green
6 tee
12 green
13 tee
14 green
15 tee

You got the routing right. The stone fence is tricky from an aerial view. Also tricky when playing.

[Kalen Braley]

According to Ran’s write up, Kilspindie is 70 acres.

That looks right, I came up with 68, including the parking lot and clubhouse! 

Ps.  If I figured the routing right, there's a little cluster of greens and tees that line up north to south, all in a total area of just under 2 acres

3 green
4 tee
5 green
6 tee
12 green
13 tee
14 green
15 tee

You got the routing right. The stone fence is tricky from an aerial view. Also tricky when playing.

One of the fascinating aspects to boot is there looks to be a couple of underutilized areas near 7,8,9 and 15,16,17 that resulted in approx. 5 acres of "dead space".  I guess when they host a tourney, they need space for stands! 

[Kalen Braley]

Out of curiosity what courses have the most acreage?  Have to be large developments I would guess.  3-400 acres. Maybe a Rock Creek Cattle or similar?

Jeff,

So I took a stab at this, and given the size of RCCC this is just a rough ballpark figure.

If you include the course and everything on its interior like the range, clubhouse, cabins, open areas, etc., its about 450 acres
The hole corridors themselves cover approx 180 acres.

[Adam Lawrence]

This is very insightful, I thought Merion was like 115 or so acres. I had no idea that the Valley Club was under 100 and only adds to our affection for the place. 200 acres seems like a luxury unless the course is remote. 

Out of curiosity what courses have the most acreage?  Have to be large developments I would guess.  3-400 acres. Maybe a Rock Creek Cattle or similar?

Landmand is 580 acres.

[Jeff Schley]

This is very insightful, I thought Merion was like 115 or so acres. I had no idea that the Valley Club was under 100 and only adds to our affection for the place. 200 acres seems like a luxury unless the course is remote. 

Out of curiosity what courses have the most acreage?  Have to be large developments I would guess.  3-400 acres. Maybe a Rock Creek Cattle or similar?

Landmand is 580 acres.

Wow ..... that is a lot of land.  Any others that are in this range?

[Ben Hollerbach]

This is very insightful, I thought Merion was like 115 or so acres. I had no idea that the Valley Club was under 100 and only adds to our affection for the place. 200 acres seems like a luxury unless the course is remote. 

Out of curiosity what courses have the most acreage?  Have to be large developments I would guess.  3-400 acres. Maybe a Rock Creek Cattle or similar?

Landmand is 580 acres.

Wow ..... that is a lot of land.  Any others that are in this range?

The total property at Landmand is 580 acres. The course occupies less than 200 acres.