1st Post

[Adrian_Stiff]

Thanks, I've IMed Pat Ruddy

Good Luck Matthew, I started drawing golf holes on the back of my Maths book in school at 14 too. I think you should read books and study golf courses, learn CAD, study the principles of growing grass and greenkeeping. There is a book by James Beard which is the basic bible for golf course management, try and get hold of that. I think a daily vist to this site is good for learning as well.

[Gib_Papazian]

Mathew,

A young kid came to me one day years ago who was about your age and asked the same question. He played for a rival golf team (from the one I was coaching) but I liked him and we became friends.

The first thing I did was lend him the following books and told him to come talk to me after he read them:

The Links - Robert Hunter
The Anatomy of a Golf Course - Tom Doak
Golf Architecture in America -  George C. Thomas

Well, he did just that and came back, convinced this was what he wanted to do with his life.

So . . . . I told him there was this Fredrick Dreer scholarship at Cornell University that Tom Doak had won which allowed him to travel the British Isles and study the courses on your side of the pond.

And four years later the phone rang and it was Steve Warto calling from his dorm room at Cornell to tell me he was the winner of the Dreer Scholarship.

Do that . . . . and come study the courses on our side of the pond, You can start at NGLA. I've got a bed for you when you swing through San Francisco.

No bullshit, dreams come true if you just chase them hard enough.

[ForkaB]

Matthew (and Jordan and Gib)

At your age, it's Sex, Rock and Roll, Golf and Drugs, in roughly that order.  When you hit 30 or so, then it is time to become a GCA geek.  No sooner.

Enjoy.

Rich

[Jim Nugent]

Hey!

You guys didn't treat ME this well when I started *sniffle*. What am I, too ugly or some such?

No, Doug, you're a liberal.  

[Tom Huckaby]

Third Rule of Fight Clu...I mean Golf Club Atlas is by all means have fun. Any sign of you becoming Tom Huckaby Jr. and your posting privileges, as the immortal rock group Kansas once sang, will be dust in the wind!

Hmmmm... not sure I get that... if anyone has more fun with this forum than I do, I want to meet him and buy him (or her) a beer.  

Oh, you mean going off on college football and other non-golf related topics... well... wouldn't that fall under the rule of having fun?

Mr. Pioppi - you're book is wonderful - your assessment of Tommy is wildly off-base.  The man's a Notre Dame fan for god's sake!

BTW, put me down with Rich on this.  Good lord let's hope there's more to life than golf course architecture... especially for teenagers.

 

[Dan Kelly]

Matthew (and Jordan and Gib)

At your age, it's Sex, Rock and Roll, Golf and Drugs, in roughly that order.

Rich --

Is this what you're telling your daughters?!

Conservatively,

Dan

[mikes1160]

Matthew,

Welcome, sir!

As a 14 year old you must be either a Freshamn or in eighth grade, correct?

My advice to you is to make sure you do your very best in high-school and, as corny as this sounds, do your homework.
A key to getting into a good college is through good grades.
I am a Junior in HS right now, and due to some good grades I will be am able to apply for a scholarship through a club in my area, and the odds I get the scholarship are very good.

The reason I may be receiving this scholarship is because I was a persistent caddy, which brings me to my next suggestion.
For a job, especially if you want to be a golf course architect, caddy as much as you can.
You are a very lucky lad to live where you do, and I think it is great you are so interested in GCA.  By caddying at courses in Ireland (RCD, Portrush, etc etc), you can get a first hand look at some great design.  As for me, I have caddied at six diffferent clubs this year (which btw is the year in which I began to caddy) and have to admit I have learned a lot, albeit maybe not as much as I would at many of the courses in Ireland.

Perhaps as far as caddying goes, maybe Mr. Doak could elaborate on the effectiveness of learning about GCA while actually caddying.  I hear he was once a caddy before he became what he is today, and that is a great golf course architect.  
Also, a final suggestion before I get ahead of myself (I am excited to have a young on this site like myself!), is at least look at the internship program that Tom Doak provides every year (www.renaissancegolf.com.  Though you may be too young right now to get the internship, as I still am, it is still worth applying as in a few years, who knows what could ahppen.  Plus, the tasks needed to apply for the internship are tasks you will need to know well in order to become a successful golf course architect.

Happy holiday and a big welcome to the site,

Jordan

For so much of what you wrote, I must ask, what do you know?  You're 17 years-old.

Matt, my suggestion, listen to the guys that have actually accomplished something in this field.  Learn as much as you can from each of them, get an education, then follow your dreams....whatever they may be.

What an awful thing to say to a young man, whose posts here are always thoughtful and considered. Ryan, would you ever say that to Jordan in person? Most likely not.

I think an apology is in order.

[ForkaB]

Matthew (and Jordan and Gib)

At your age, it's Sex, Rock and Roll, Golf and Drugs, in roughly that order.

Rich --

Is this what you're telling your daughters?!

Conservatively,

Dan

Of course not, Dan, but only because they already know it, alas......

[JR Potts]

Matthew,

Welcome, sir!

As a 14 year old you must be either a Freshamn or in eighth grade, correct?

My advice to you is to make sure you do your very best in high-school and, as corny as this sounds, do your homework.
A key to getting into a good college is through good grades.
I am a Junior in HS right now, and due to some good grades I will be am able to apply for a scholarship through a club in my area, and the odds I get the scholarship are very good.

The reason I may be receiving this scholarship is because I was a persistent caddy, which brings me to my next suggestion.
For a job, especially if you want to be a golf course architect, caddy as much as you can.
You are a very lucky lad to live where you do, and I think it is great you are so interested in GCA.  By caddying at courses in Ireland (RCD, Portrush, etc etc), you can get a first hand look at some great design.  As for me, I have caddied at six diffferent clubs this year (which btw is the year in which I began to caddy) and have to admit I have learned a lot, albeit maybe not as much as I would at many of the courses in Ireland.

Perhaps as far as caddying goes, maybe Mr. Doak could elaborate on the effectiveness of learning about GCA while actually caddying.  I hear he was once a caddy before he became what he is today, and that is a great golf course architect.  
Also, a final suggestion before I get ahead of myself (I am excited to have a young on this site like myself!), is at least look at the internship program that Tom Doak provides every year (www.renaissancegolf.com.  Though you may be too young right now to get the internship, as I still am, it is still worth applying as in a few years, who knows what could ahppen.  Plus, the tasks needed to apply for the internship are tasks you will need to know well in order to become a successful golf course architect.

Happy holiday and a big welcome to the site,

Jordan

For so much of what you wrote, I must ask, what do you know?  You're 17 years-old.

Matt, my suggestion, listen to the guys that have actually accomplished something in this field.  Learn as much as you can from each of them, get an education, then follow your dreams....whatever they may be.

What an awful thing to say to a young man, whose posts here are always thoughtful and considered. Ryan, would you ever say that to Jordan in person? Most likely not.

I think an apology is in order.

Mike:

You don't know me very well.  I would say about anything to anyone if I meant it.  And I would happily do so in person and face to face.  I must ask though, what did I write that was so hurtful?  I merely happened to find Jordon's career advice (who seems like a nice kid) absolutely hilarious.  How have you forgotten that he is a 17-year-old kid?  Moreover, a 17 year-old kid that hasn't graduated High School, hasn't graduated College and hasn't had to work a full time job to pay for housing, food, golf, medical insurance, etc.  

He is freely offering advice to young Matt on what Matt needs to do to become a successful college student and architect when he hasn't accomplished either of the two...and you don't have a problem with that?

Well I do.

Jordon, to placate some on this board who think I am too harsh, I'm sorry.  It wasn't meant as an indictment on you.  In fact, I enjoy your posts.  I would just hope that you experience a little more in your life before you start handing out career advice.

EDIT - And Mike, I notice a lot of your posts are directed at me, personally.  Do you have something you want to say?

[Paul Payne]

Welcome Matthew,

I am sure you must be getting lot's of great new advice. I would like to add one more nugget of wisdom. There are many topics that are contraversial but still worthy of debate.

Do not however start a topic suggesting that a putt should count as only 1/2 a stroke. That is of course you are Pat Mucci and capable of defending such a proposition.  

[Forrest Richardson]

Paul — Pat is on the right track. No doubt you have read Thomas' Arbitrary Values chapter...

[Jordan Wall]

Mike:

You don't know me very well.  I would say about anything to anyone if I meant it.  And I would happily do so in person and face to face.  I must ask though, what did I write that was so hurtful?  I merely happened to find Jordon's career advice (who seems like a nice kid) absolutely hilarious.  How have you forgotten that he is a 17-year-old kid?  Moreover, a 17 year-old kid that hasn't graduated High School, hasn't graduated College and hasn't had to work a full time job to pay for housing, food, golf, medical insurance, etc.  

He is freely offering advice to young Matt on what Matt needs to do to become a successful college student and architect when he hasn't accomplished either of the two...and you don't have a problem with that?

Well I do.

Jordon, to placate some on this board who think I am too harsh, I'm sorry.  It wasn't meant as an indictment on you.  In fact, I enjoy your posts.  I would just hope that you experience a little more in your life before you start handing out career advice.

EDIT - And Mike, I notice a lot of your posts are directed at me, personally.  Do you have something you want to say?

Ryan:

I have caddied, and still do as a matter of fact
I have applied for Tom's internship
And, I have gotten good grades ... from my mid term 3 days ago, actually, in order, my grades ... A, A, B+, A, B, A, B+

My three suggestions were to do these things.
I did not advise tell him how to live his life, where to go to college, or exactly how to become a golf course architect.  I did not tell him about what architects do, and how to accomplish these things, or what a good and or bad example of an architect was.

I simply gave him three simple suggestions.

So, if you have a problem with that, I am not going to not like you or hate you for that, but I personally feel your comments at first were quite weird.  
I was merely trying to help the kid and encourage him to post and have some fun on GCA, and you have turned that message around.

Oh, btw, I am 16.  17 comes in April.

Happy Holidays,

Jordan

[JR Potts]

Fair enough.  Apologies.    As with most things that are written on the Internet, the intended tone is usually not delivered properly.

Happy Holidays to you as well.

[Jordan Wall]

Ryan,

All is well.
 

[Matthew Hunt]

Thanks for the reponse everybody

Does know how to get on-site experiance in the UK or Ireland

[Dan Kelly]

Thanks for the reponse everybody

Does on-site experiance in the UK or Ireland

Yes, it does.

Very much so.