Playing Fields

[Tommy Williamsen]

What other sport gives us such varied playing fields?  what other sport can have such devotees to each kind of playing field?

Four Streams near DC


Bull Bay in Wales



Musgrove Mill



Pradera in CO



Black Rock in Idaho



Red Sky Ranch in CO



Bayonne in NJ



Circling Rave in Idaho

Delamere Forest in England



Golf for "real" men.  Skiing may be another sport with such varied "playing fields.



Keystone Ranch



Royal North Devon



Royal County Down



There arre others.  But you get the idea.

[Andy Troeger]

Tommy,
Thanks for posting, although I wish you'd have pictured a different hole at Pradera, I think I 4-putted from about where the golfer is in that photo to a similar pin! It was not my most shining moment. Good golf course though!

[Jeff_Mingay]

I wrote on this subject in one of Paul Daley's Golf Architecture series volumes (I think it might have been volume 3).

The remarkable variety of golf courses throughout the world is indeed one of golf's grand attractions. And, this fact supports the position of restorationists.

In other words, preservation and "restoration" of (quality) original golf course designs is extremely important in regard to maintaining this wonderful diversity of courses throughout the world.

[Garland Bayley]

How many sports besides golf and skiing have resorts that try to attract you there by the individuality of their "playing fields?"

[Tom Huckaby]

How many sports besides golf and skiing have resorts that try to attract you there by the individuality of their "playing fields?"

Hiking / trekking / cross-country running
Mountain climbing / rock climbing
surfing
skateboarding

Hey, you asked.  This is a very cool aspect of golf... but it is not really all that unique in this respect.

TH

[Rich Goodale]

Tell us about some of them skateboarding resorts, dude.

[Tom Huckaby]

Tell us about some of them skateboarding resorts, dude.

OK, so this was stretching it.  There are no skateboarding resorts - YET.

But there damn sure are skateparks throughout the great state of California... and they cooler they are, the more the dudes flock to them to shred.

I foresee skate park resorts in the future, oh yes I do.

In fact I think I ought to build one.

TH

[Garland Bayley]

Tell us about some of them skateboarding resorts, dude.

A buddy of mine brought his son to visit. The son's express purpose of wanting to come along was to see the skateboarding "resort" that had been built by the skateboarders themselves and achieved national recognition.

Gotta agree with Tom on this one. It's gonna happen.

[SL_Solow]

Extremely limited market; how many skateboarders will continue much beyond their teen years given injury etc?  Note that most of the examples outside golf use natural terrain as the "playing field".  The only building is done in regard to the amenities.  Golf courses are placed on the land but require change (at least in modern form) to create teeing grounds and greens at minimum.  Thus to a very real extent, they are unique and certainly different than other games with formalized boundaries such as tennis or the numerous team sports.  Lacrosse in its early Native American incarnation, was said to be played over natural terrain.  Now it has been placed on a standardized field.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Tommy,
Thanks for posting, although I wish you'd have pictured a different hole at Pradera, I think I 4-putted from about where the golfer is in that photo to a similar pin! It was not my most shining moment. Good golf course though!

That is one of the most severe greens I have seen.  The only one that may be close is on, I think, 17 at Pradera.  I played the back tee and hit it on the left side of the green.  The pin on on the bottom right.   I did two putt, however.  Putt, chip, putt.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I wrote on this subject in one of Paul Daley's Golf Architecture series volumes (I think it might have been volume 3).

The remarkable variety of golf courses throughout the world is indeed one of golf's grand attractions. And, this fact supports the position of restorationists.

In other words, preservation and "restoration" of (quality) original golf course designs is extremely important in regard to maintaining this wonderful diversity of courses throughout the world.

Good point.  I hadn't thought of that.

[Andy Troeger]

Tommy,
Thanks for posting, although I wish you'd have pictured a different hole at Pradera, I think I 4-putted from about where the golfer is in that photo to a similar pin! It was not my most shining moment. Good golf course though!

That is one of the most severe greens I have seen.  The only one that may be close is on, I think, 17 at Pradera.  I played the back tee and hit it on the left side of the green.  The pin on on the bottom right.   I did two putt, however.  Putt, chip, putt.

Its very severe, more so than the 5th at Redlands Mesa which is a similar green. I have to wonder if they aren't at least borrowed as a theme from #16 at Pasatiempo's green. The original probably has a little more interest to it, but all three greens are a blast to play. I do think Jim Engh builds some really interesting greens, with the set at Pradera maybe the best of his courses that I've seen. Lakota is more interesting tee to green but the greens are a bit redundant, lots of bowl shapes.