Fairway Acreage?

[Mike Hendren]

Assuming a 6,800 yards course, an average of 150 yards from tee to fairway, average green depths of 90 feet and average fairway widths of 40 yards, I calculate total fairway acreage of approximately 32 acres.  

Is 25 to 30 acres typical?  Sounds low.

Mike

[Brian_Gracely]

Mike,

I'm not sure you can make a normal assumption of 150yds from tee to fairway.  At my home course it's often 30-50yds.

[TEPaul]

I'd say around 30 acres of fairway would probably be about average for a course today. If my memory serves I think Shinnecock for the US Open is down to about 22 acres. At it's max as designed by Toomey & Flynn it was a little over 50 acres of fairway.

[gookin]

Our course which measure 6700 has approximately 30 acres of fairway.  However, we are developing a long term plan which I am certain will expand fairway size to be more consistent with our original design and less consistent with single line irragation systems (the reason we lost fairway in the first place). But even a 20% expansion would be a considerable amount.  35 acres of fairway would be alot.

[TEPaul]

David:

Of that additional five acres would you mind putting about an acre of it on #2 please?!

[Anthony_Nysse]

28-33 acres is about right for a 6800 yard course. I believe that Friar's has about 43+...that's a lot...lot of spraying too!!

[Duane Sharpe]

At Rod Whitman's Blackhawk in Edmonton, Alberta, we recently calculated our fairways to be around 50-55 acres.  Even though this is alot of area, you don't want your shots to miss the fairways.!
sharpee

[gookin]

TEP,

We have added fairway on #2, but not where you would like.  That project will have to wait until we lose those giant oak trees.  I hope I live to see it.  The area where we have expanded the fairway is to frame the four bunkers which guard the right side of the fairway from about 120 yards out to the green.  But your wishes have been registered.

[Neal_Meagher]

From a GCSAA fact sheet picked up at a seminar at the golf show in San Diego, look for some craziness at Whistling Straits in August:  19 acres of fairway.  

Sounds skinny to me, but in honesty I've not laid eyes on the place, so maybe someone who has can comment on how the course may play for the PGA Championship under those conditions.

[TEPaul]

David B.

If long drivers drove the ball over the bunkers on the left on #2 would they hit those oak trees easily?

[Tom_Doak]

The Rawls Course has about 90 acres of fairway right now.

Yes, 90, that's not a typo.  It's a little extreme, but it's hard to hit the ball straight in that wind.

[TEPaul]

TomD:

You've got to be kidding! That's far more exessive than I wanted to go even in my wildest dreams! Give me the directions to the place, I want to see it right now!  

Just out of interest do you have any idea what the percentage cost increase is for maintaining that much fairway vs about 30 acres? I hope it's not too much of an increase---this is very important for me to know!

[Bruce_Dixon]

Mike;

At a 6,800 yard public course that we recently finished the fairway area came in the high 30's as well.

Bruce Dixon

[Mike Hendren]

From a GCSAA fact sheet picked up at a seminar at the golf show in San Diego, look for some craziness at Whistling Straits in August:  19 acres of fairway.  

Sounds skinny to me, but in honesty I've not laid eyes on the place, so maybe someone who has can comment on how the course may play for the PGA Championship under those conditions.

Neal,

Assuming WS plays at 7,400 yards with average carries of 200 yards to fairways and average green depths of 90 feet, I calculate average fairway width of 26 yards!  I'm curious how the fescue will play as rough.  I don't envy the PGA as this will be a wildcard set-up - particularly with a nice breeze.

I thought the fairway widths were one of the course's strengths and endearing feature.

Mike

[gookin]

TEP,

At least 285 carry over the last bunker to have your ball rest under the tree.  It just will not work with the trees.

[Mike_Sweeney]

Just curious if anyone knows when and where fairways were "invented", as I assume there was no defined rough on early courses?

[TEPaul]

David B.

Thanks.

[Bill_Overdorf]

  My son Robert, whose business is GPS golf course mapping says that in most cases fairway acreages typically range from 25 - 30 acres with a notable average of 26 acres.

[RJ_Daley]

Neal, I didn't want to "out" you as the source of our discussion about those facts you picked up at GCSAA convo.  But that is what I was referring to in a thread I started a week or so ago asking Dan Lucas if he knew anything about the 19 acres FW at the PGA at WS.  

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=12699;start=msg215685#msg215685

As you can see by his answer, Dan didn't actually consult per se, just gets together with fellow fescue keepers...

But, you gotta love the answer about their "hope" that the PGA lets the WS super "burn them out" a bit so that you see a puff of dust when the ball hits the LZ.  You'd have to wonder what they plan for presentation of the rough in that case of 19 acres of FW with dry firm conditions where bounding off FW would be a highly frequent occurance.  

I think Wild Horse is about 45-50 acres of FW too, and that is considering that there is usually somewhere of around 75-150 yards of rough varied between tees and begining of maintained FWs.

Courses designed to offer the benefits of greater width ratio to second shot variety-strategy obviously need more irrigation costs up front to meet American expectations where the FW is well defined by greeness to intermediate rough and into primary rough.  But, it seems that overseas Aussie and GB&I golfers get past that need for definition nicely.  If you have the garden spot LZs irrigated with single or double row irrigation and don't mind a little raggedness in definition where FW continue wider but brown out as they recede into the rough areas, then you might not have the added irrigation and spray-fert costs, and learn to love the uncertainty of those areas of mowed FW beyond the irrigation radius.  Width should be an option for architects without all the serious $$$$ addition for maintenance if only golfer's perceptions-expectations would change regarding FW definition-greeness.