Who are the 5 or 6 topics architects today

[Matt Schoolfield]

I feel like with $15M you'd be better served to hire a consultant to tell you the best name for the best price to do the best work for your unique situation.

[John Kavanaugh]

I feel like with $15M you'd be better served to hire a consultant to tell you the best name for the best price to do the best work for your unique situation.

Why not save the money you would spend on a consultant and build affordable housing for your staff? Is there such a thing as a golf guru consultant specializing in golf course architecture.


In all seriousness, is there such a thing as a consultant to hire that will recommend an architect?

[Matt Schoolfield]

JK, while I'm sure you're just trying to make fun of me again here. I think you're missing the point. This is a major investment by the club. I think it prudent to hire an expert to guide them. If they're at the point of asking the internet for names, then instead of just letting each developer pitch them a plan, it might be prudent to talk to an expert who isn't trying to sell them something to get some advice.

Whether or not those people exist, sure, I don't know. I think they ought to exist, but I'm just saying that that's a lot of money on the table when thinking about the question being asked here.

[John Kavanaugh]

I’m not making fun of you. Sorry.

[John Kavanaugh]

Does it make sense to hire the head of a specific architectural society to recommend an architect for a restoration?

[Michael George]

For $15 million, the club should definitely assess whether there are limitations to the property that simply don't justify the investment.  For instance, if the golf course is on a dead flat piece of property, surrounded by homes on all sides with acreage limitations and in a declining neighborhood, it is probably best to use the money to go buy another property and build a new course. 


Whether that is a consultant or an honest architect, the club hopefully is being reflective about the opportunity and whether $15 million will even move the needle enough to justify such a huge expense.

[Ian Andrew]

.... and whether $15 million will even move the needle enough to justify such a huge expense.

I'm closing in on 40 years in this industry. I'm overwhelmed by the numbers we see thrown around today on projects. Can't relate. Just wow and your comment about it might not move the needle.   

Before the crash of 2000, one of the developers we worked with said, "In the end, when the economy slows, golf goes back to being a business. If you've borrowed too much, its not going to be a successful business. And even very rich people, who have built there dream project, eventually get tired of paying the bills. It's a fun thing to build, but it's still a business like all other ventures."

There was more advice with that interaction that included risky investments.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Ian,

I agree with you.  After a few phases of downturns, when a major task was (for most of us) bunker reduction plans, I have to cringe a bit when I hear architects who have been through this before say that, "Times are good, I am using more bunkers than ever."

It seems about 90% of new courses built now are billionaire playgrounds.  I recall driving to Toledo to visit relatives as a child.  In 1960, there were still mega mansions along the River in Rossford and other suburbs.  By the 1980s, all of those were subdivisions, i.e., the next generation sold off the unsustainable houses.

I visited my maternal side's castle/hall in England a few years back.  They are struggling to keep it together, just like in Downton Abbey.


I know it inhibits creativity a bit, but I always felt (since golf is a biz enterprise, and in a tough biz at that) to design in part for the next recession.  Any features that are too much to maintain will probably be removed soon enough.

[Ben Malach]

Cary, let me know if you want to chat.


I in my roll as a shaper, have worked a majority of the names mentioned. So if you want to get some actionable feedback. I would love to provided it.


You can reach me via pm here or on my instagram.

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