Golf Club Atlas
GolfClubAtlas.com => Golf Course Architecture Discussion Group => Topic started by: Steve_ Shaffer on February 01, 2021, 11:52:20 AM
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He’d never say it, never hint at, or even joke about it. He’d reject the idea absolutely, in fact, and ask that you never repeat it. But technically, in a manner of speaking, it could be argued—quite convincingly actually—that Forrest Richardson is currently the highest-ranking golf course architect in America.
No, he’s not the best-known or the most prolific, nor does he have a string of designs in the country’s top 100. But he is the President of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), an organization founded in 1947 by 14 founding fathers including Donald Ross, Stanley Thompson, Perry Maxwell, and Robert Trent Jones primarily for the purpose of increasing opportunities for members but also to promote the “growth and advancement” of the game.Richardson, who built golf holes in his backyard as a kid, wrote a newsletter in his early teens that several prominent designers around the world subscribed to. He studied course design in a program based at the University of Dundee in Fife for a spell in the late 1970s and designed his first course alongside his partner and mentor Arthur Jack Snyder at the Pointe at South Mountain in Phoenix, Ariz. (later Phantom Horse and now the Arizona Grand), which opened in 1987.
Read more:
https://www.linksmagazine.com/forrest-richardson-innovative-asgca-president/ (https://www.linksmagazine.com/forrest-richardson-innovative-asgca-president/)
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Steve,
You realize after posting this, I am going to have to deal with this guy and now even more he will say I have to believe everything he says and that all his ideas are perfect,... :D :D
Actually, Forrest is exactly what the ASGCA needs. He is one of the most creative and open-minded individuals I have ever met (and I have met a lot of creative people in the businesses I have been in over the years). Forrest is as passionate about GCA and doing things that are good for the game of golf as you will find anywhere. He is always reaching out with new ideas and pointing out courses or opportunities that should be looked into because he thinks there is a way to help. I know he wants the ASGCA to thrive and he is thinking about things he can do to help make that happen. It is a tough challenge given so few new golf courses are being constructed these days. But there are still 35,000 or more that need attention and need to stay interesting and relevant and he wants to do his best.
Yes I admit, Forrest is a really good guy. This will come back to haunt me :D
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Forrest finally gets his well deserved shot at the ASGCA Presidency and is off to a fast start. He has done a lot of behind the scenes work for the profession and game as a whole, in addition to his work as a gca. Like Mark, I hate to compliment him too much, LOL. :)
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As I similarly mentioned about another current thread, I’m pretty sure there was a wide ranging and very insightful podcast or video interview with Forrest quite recently. Again, I did have a quick search for the interview in question without success .... these days there are so many it’s hard to track down the episode in question.
Atb
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From 2004
https://golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview/forrest-richardson-march-2004
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Fr wrote a penetrating treatise called Routing the Golf Course that stands alongside the Anatomy of the Golf Course as fundamental reading.
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Published where, Ward? I would like to read it.
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Forrest finally gets his well deserved shot at the ASGCA Presidency and is off to a fast start. He has done a lot of behind the scenes work for the profession and game as a whole, in addition to his work as a gca. Like Mark, I hate to compliment him too much, LOL. :)
Jeff,
In your view, what does the golf architecture profession need this role to do? Are there 1-3 key priorities?
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Innovatively, ASGA will be soon publishing a treatise on creating par 2 holes.
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Forrest finally gets his well deserved shot at the ASGCA Presidency and is off to a fast start. He has done a lot of behind the scenes work for the profession and game as a whole, in addition to his work as a gca. Like Mark, I hate to compliment him too much, LOL. :)
Jeff,
In your view, what does the golf architecture profession need this role to do? Are there 1-3 key priorities?
ASGCA is always advocating for the good of the game (often with other associations), and the good of the profession. We regularly educate our members (and others) about gca. Naturally, the President leads most of the year's efforts. Forrest did a nice video about how perhaps golf course design must adapt to future wants and needs of younger golfers with alternative type facilities and other adjustments.
Not all of it is visible to the public, of course, but I think we serve the generally expected role of a professional society well, given our limited size and spending power, compared to industry giants like GCSAA and USGA, to name two.
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Greg
John Wiley and Sons. Forrest may have copies for sale IDK if it is still in print
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Greg
John Wiley and Sons. Forrest may have copies for sale IDK if it is still in print
Amazon, duh! Better hurry! Only one left when I checked.
;)
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I see Forrest has just gone in to partnership with Jeff Danner who is a friend and all round good bloke.
Well done Jeff! And well done Forrest!
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Congrats Forrest & Jeff:
Courses - Richardson | Danner (golfgroupltd.com) (https://www.golfgroupltd.com/courses/)