Eye candy does make a difference

[Anthony Gray]

  on how you rate a course. Whether its a natural looking bunker that never comes into play or overly manicured landscapes. Give me more of this stuff. I remember noticing how nice the areas around the cart paths were landscaped at Roko KI. The construction superintendant told me the plants were from on site and had been dug up and replanted after the paths were poured. Those things do make a difference to the over all feel of the course and the golf experience.

  Anthony

[Tim Bert]

Anthony - at Kingsley Club my understanding is that they threw down thousands of wildflower seeds throughout the area that is kept rough. Every time I visit different colors are in bloom and the rough is  also a different shade of brown or green.  In June it was purple and some red and very green.  In July it was orange and a little less green.  In September I expect it will be much more brown.   This is my guilty pleasure.  Just don't tell my friends.

[Eric Smith]

Someone mentioned on the Long Shadow thread their excitement when driving in and seeing the bunkering in the fairway on number 1. I remember feeling the exact same way when I first saw them. IMO, if Mike puts in shallow, scalloped or average looking bunkering there and elsewhere on the course it doesn't make it suck at all, but it loses an element to the course that makes it look and feel unique and different.

[Don_Mahaffey]

Eye candy, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
My Mother, who plays golf at Sun City in Palm Desert, loves the look of her course right after overseeding in the fall. Lush green grass, mowed in a nice pattern, freshly planted petunias and pansies, clear definition of grass and landscape, she loves the look.
I show her pictures of the Nebraska Sand Hills and she asks if we're going to plant some trees.

Me, I like the rugged beauty of a landscape shaped by nature. Like parts of the desert around Tucson, AZ with all different sizes of boulders, cacti of all colors and shapes, and the occasional hardy shrub, I thought that was a beautiful landscape.

Some people like the course to stand out from its surroundings and appreciate a colorful landscape that is well planned out by designers and well cared for by staff.

Others, like me, find more appreciation in a course that sits within it's surroundings, and the less discernible the edges are the better.

It’s a matter of personal taste. But, either way I'd agree the look of a course has a huge impact on how it will be judged.

[Anthony Gray]

  This is why I think some of the gorse removal at Bandon sucks. I think it framed some holes and was very aesthetic. 15 at Pacific Dunes and 13 at Bandon Dunes to be precise. Also the first time I played Bandon Dunes I loved the green site at 14. The hill was covered by gorse and it had an ampitheater feel. I felt like I was on another planet. Now its just a hill with wispy stuff. It took away charm and uniqueness.

  Anthony

[William_G]

  This is why I think some of the gorse removal at Bandon sucks. I think it framed some holes and was very aesthetic. 15 at Pacific Dunes and 13 at Bandon Dunes to be precise. Also the first time I played Bandon Dunes I loved the green site at 14. The hill was covered by gorse and it had an ampitheater feel. I felt like I was on another planet. Now its just a hill with wispy stuff. It took away charm and uniqueness.

  Anthony

+++++++1

[Michael Hayes]

Anthony, There was little to no gorse surrounding 14 green in 1999 or 2000, maybe 3-5 bushes at the far back right.  I have a postcard of #14 from that era, that will substantiate this.  If I ever make it home to Idaho again I can scan it...

As far as eye candy is concerned, the treehouse demands it...It is just a different flavor than the average golfer!

Michael Hayes

[Sean_A]

Sure eye candy matters, but its only eye candy when that is the be all and end all.  To me there is a huge difference if so called eye candy serves a functonal purpose other than to be pretty.  I have no time for pretty shit when a decent archie should be able to incorprate that into the function of the design.  I equate eye candy to packaging and am immediatelly suspicious of an ornately packaged product.

Ciao

[Jim Franklin]

Maybe that is why it is one the GD rating categories.

I tend to like my eye candy more like Don does.

[Kalen Braley]

I think thats why Gozzer shoots so far up the charts....and rightly so in my opinion.

Its a terrific course with terrific holes...and the added eye candy on several holes just makes it that much better!!