Golf Architects and Geographic Dispersion

[wsmorrison]

It seems that in the classic era of golf design, many of the great architects seemed to have centers of activity.  Flynn in Philadelphia, Florida and DC/Virginia, Tillinghast and Macdonald/Raynor in New York, Ross everywhere I guess but New England and the South, Thomas in California, etc.  Work was seemingly advanced by word of mouth and visiting courses.

Today, travel is far more convenient and the internet and other outlets make everything today more visible.  Do architects of today seem to have geographic holds on golf designs?  It doesn't seem so and I'm trying to figure out why.  Are today's projects more marketing driven and thus need differentiation whereas the clubs of the 1920s and 1930s didn't have the same need for differentiation?

Home bases certainly would be an exception.  Davis Love's group in the Carolinas, etc.

[Tom_Doak]

Wayne:

It's all about the marketing.

If you still aspire to being a regional architect, you can be, but you get typecast pretty fast, and you won't get the best projects in your own region because you aren't "special" enough.

If you want to be a national name -- and especially if you want to be paid as one -- you are signing over your name for marketing purposes as well.  You are sort of agreeing not to compete with your own projects by building another close by, whether you can get an extra fee for non-competition or not.

In northern Michigan, once I had built a couple of courses, my name was old news and every new developer was convinced he wanted some "name" who hadn't worked here yet.  That's why we've got one course from everybody.  That may not be true for metropolitan areas, but is definitely a factor in major tourist destinations.

[Dan Herrmann]

Isn't Weiskopf is primarily out west?   I'd love to see some of his work back east.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

I know that Mayday "Knucklehead" Malone likes to stay put in Stupidville.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Tom, I find most people do stay in that thought process you put forth.

[Jim_Coleman]

    Don't forget, Tommy, it's only funny if there's at least a little bit of truth in it.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

This would be very true.

[Bill Gayne]

I view Fazio as an architect of limited geographic diversity. Most all of his designs are in North America. I've met several people in Ireland who tell me that they've gone to America and played golf. I ask them what courses and they are most excited about the Fazio course that they played.

Without any access to Fazio at home and his reputation in the press it's a real point of prestige. If Fazio does expand his practice to Europe he will do quite well.

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