John Duncan Dunn: World's Record Golf Course Design

[Jeff_Mingay]

I'm doing some research and came across a news report in a mid-1920s issue of The Fairway magazine, which reads:

"John Duncan Dunn made what he believes is a world's record in the speed with which he accomplished his work at the Fairmede Country Club near Oakland (Ca.). He marked out the greens one day and the traps the next." 

Wow 

[Jay Flemma]

Good lord, I don't mind a guy wanting to be known for getting work done on time, but how much forethought went into the design?  What did the course look like?  Any drawings to see if he had some good strategies.

I think the book of world records jumped the shark ages ago.  When I was in college a bunch of frat boys set a world record for throwing a frisbee, but they spent four days standing up, throwing it, watching it land, then waiting till the last "alloted moment" to throw it back.  It looked stupid, contrived and best of all, their record was broken a week later by a rival school.  (The guys who tried it were dorks.)

[Jeff_Stettner]

Was this the original name for Richmond Country Club?

[Adrian_Stiff]

Quite a lot of the courses pre 1900 in the UK were done in a day. They were laid out often with 36 stakes one for the tee and one for the green.

[Mike_Cirba]

From http://www.northberwick.org.uk/

In 1906 Sayers designed the West Monmouthshire course and that year was invited to layout a course for the Spey Bay Golf Club in Banffshire. Accompanied by Robert Marr from North Berwick, who on Sayers recommendation became head greenkeeper and a bundle of red and white flags, he laid out the course - in 2 hours. According to the Banffshire Advertiser, Old Ben would have liked longer but it was getting dark! Sayers joined by his prodigy Open Champion Arnaud Massy and Sandy Herd played a match at the opening of the course.

[Gary Slatter]

Jeff   ...and the next day Zokol came by and changed all the green locations but left the bunkers...

[Peter Pallotta]

From http://www.northberwick.org.uk/

...Accompanied by Robert Marr from North Berwick, who on Sayers recommendation became head greenkeeper and a bundle of red and white flags, he laid out the course - in 2 hours. According to the Banffshire Advertiser, Old Ben would have liked longer but it was getting dark!...

And for all that, Mike, Spey Bay turned out wonderfully well, at least from what I read, and continues to provide much pleasure.

Was that in spite of or because of the way Mr. Sayers worked that day (or that 2 hours, actually)? Maybe he was aided by -- and the courses benefitted from -- a whole set of happy accidents, quirk and options and surprises that only become apparent afterwards; in other words, as unintended but welcomed consequences.

I've asked a lot here about the relationship between time and talent, and about the extra nuanced sense of the land an architect might gain from spending the time. But maybe something very similar happens when you take almost NO time on a site, i.e. you just have to react simply and honestly to what the land is giving you.

That, or Ben Sayers was a genius beyond all measure

Peter