What did you learn this year about GCA?

[Kalen Braley]

To your point, I don't think many of the players will do anything but aim at the middle of the fairway and bomb away, and then just react if their second shot is out of position.  Being in the fairway is important, and they aren't going to hit many more fairways with a club other than driver.  But if they're in the rough on the wrong side, their strategy for the approach shot will be markedly different, and maybe some of them will be encouraged to pick a side of the fairway.

Have watched a couple of good tour players who won several tournaments last year and play at our course.  What you are saying above is spot on.  They understand the advantage of the proper angle for approach while on the tee but will still take the middle of the fairway on the tee shot and accept fairway before they worry about angle for approach.....and I think that is ok..

Mike,

Its certainly a tad ironic that what is true for Tour guys is also true for the masses...we will also take the fairway, any piece of it, because for most of us we're just happy to be in it.  And this isn't meant to diminish angles, its just that most players lack the ability to take advantage of them even if they wanted to..

[Sean_A]

The main thing I have learned about gca is the new woke crowd is much the same as previous generations of golfers. Not many care about good design as much as eye candy, cool merch, expensive equipment, playing top 100, massive influence of Pro tours, good service, predictable shot outcomes and on and on. In other words, this woke crowd isn't as woke as they like to think.

As much as things change, nothing changes that much.

Ciao

[Thomas Dai]

...... we focus excessively on the lipstick without giving much thought to the mostly invisible, ignored aspects of gca that make the courses playable and enjoyable.

Nicely put Lou.
atb

[Tim Martin]

The main thing I have learned about gca is the new woke crowd is much the same as previous generations of golfers. Not many care about good design as much as eye candy, cool merch, expensive equipment, playing top 100, massive influence of Pro tours, good service, predictable shot outcomes and on and on. In other words, this woke crowd isn't as woke as they like to think.

As much as things change, nothing changes that much.

Ciao

Does hand sanitizer wipe easily off a Buck Club head cover?

[mike_malone]

Boldness is a requirement to stand out. Don’t be conventional.

[Tim Gallant]

To your point, I don't think many of the players will do anything but aim at the middle of the fairway and bomb away, and then just react if their second shot is out of position.  Being in the fairway is important, and they aren't going to hit many more fairways with a club other than driver.  But if they're in the rough on the wrong side, their strategy for the approach shot will be markedly different, and maybe some of them will be encouraged to pick a side of the fairway.

Have watched a couple of good tour players who won several tournaments last year and play at our course.  What you are saying above is spot on.  They understand the advantage of the proper angle for approach while on the tee but will still take the middle of the fairway on the tee shot and accept fairway before they worry about angle for approach.....and I think that is ok..

Lukas Michel, who played in the most recent US Open spoke a bit about this. He said that in a way, Winged Foot was arguably more strategic than other courses he's played. While the fairways were only 22 yards wide, he said on almost every hole, there was a side where getting onto the green from the rough was significantly easier than from the other side (1 for example; left rough was dead while the right was not too bad in getting onto the green; opposite for 2 and so on).


I think he would still take middle of the fairway on all 14 non par-3s, but I imagine he was aiming more towards one side than the other.

[Tim Gallant]

The main thing I have learned about gca is the new woke crowd is much the same as previous generations of golfers. Not many care about good design as much as eye candy, cool merch, expensive equipment, playing top 100, massive influence of Pro tours, good service, predictable shot outcomes and on and on. In other words, this woke crowd isn't as woke as they like to think.

As much as things change, nothing changes that much.

Ciao

Sean,


I'm not so sure about this. While there is a certain 'woke' group that value eye-candy and cool merch, I think this generation of young golfers are much more switched on to what makes good golf design. They seem to embrace a lot of what we talk about being good design moreso than other generations. For example, I've never heard a 'woke' golfer belittle a 9 hole course because it wasn't 18, but rather, like Sweetens, if 9 holes gives the best golf on the property, then that's great. And I'd argue that most seek courses that don't provide predictable shot outcomes. If you look at the courses they hold in high regards on Instagram, it isn't Firestone.

[SL_Solow]

I learned a lot more about routing mostly by reading various sources including Tom's book.  In conjunction with that, I learned that I need to get better at reading topo maps.  I learned a lot about drainage and how seemingly small changes can lead to significantly firmer and faster playing conditions.  I learned a lot more about the propagation of fescue on clay soils,   I was reminded that preferences in golf course architecture are matters of taste and that there are still a large number of club members who think that the beauty of a tree outweighs any interference it might create in strategy or agronomy.( darn you Joyce Kilmer)  I was also reminded of how many low handicappers continue to believe that "hard is good" and define "hard" as how the design impacts their game.  Finally, I was reminded how wonderful it is to be able to enjoy the game and how much good design enhances the pleasure derived from the playing.

[Sean_A]

The main thing I have learned about gca is the new woke crowd is much the same as previous generations of golfers. Not many care about good design as much as eye candy, cool merch, expensive equipment, playing top 100, massive influence of Pro tours, good service, predictable shot outcomes and on and on. In other words, this woke crowd isn't as woke as they like to think.

As much as things change, nothing changes that much.

Ciao

Sean,


I'm not so sure about this. While there is a certain 'woke' group that value eye-candy and cool merch, I think this generation of young golfers are much more switched on to what makes good golf design. They seem to embrace a lot of what we talk about being good design moreso than other generations. For example, I've never heard a 'woke' golfer belittle a 9 hole course because it wasn't 18, but rather, like Sweetens, if 9 holes gives the best golf on the property, then that's great. And I'd argue that most seek courses that don't provide predictable shot outcomes. If you look at the courses they hold in high regards on Instagram, it isn't Firestone.

Tim

I hope you are right, but I fear we are in a small echo chamber which doesn't reflect reality.

Ciao

[Jeff_Brauer]

Thought about it a while, and sorry to say, I don't recall learning anything new this year, which is troubling because I have always believed (courtesy of my grandfather) that you stop learning, you stop living.


If I was forced to say something, my first inclination would be that I see a lot of the new generation of gca's making the same mistakes (mostly around drainage) made before, and I would prefer they make only new mistakes, if possible.


When Lou and I toured the PGA Frisco course the other day, I was struck by Gil's eclectic style, specifically mixing traditional, cape and bay, and waste bunker styles, sometimes all in one bunker!  The last trendy wave was jagged edge bunkers, and it looks like the new design wave might just be jagged edge bunkers within a bigger jagged edge bunker.  To me, that is sort of like putting a Starbucks in a bigger Starbucks, but maybe that's just me.

[PCCraig]

What I learned most this year is just how much of a privilege it is to have access to a nice golf course. With everything going these days and the lack of being able to do pretty much anything else, the golf course became a haven. It was a nice reminder that getting outside for some golf with friends isn't something we should take for granted.


Other than that, much like Jason, it was nice to spend a little more time hanging out in the Twin Cities and playing a bunch of different courses here in town. Other than one trip to see family in STL in July and Chicago in October we were around. And it speaks to Minnesota's strength as a golf state that I never got bored or the itch to travel and play.

[Dan Kelly]

Many local clubs have made substantial changes to their courses recently  Killing the old grass and replanting has taken place at five different clubs.  Others have shut down for substantial renovations that for the most part strike me as big improvements. A lot of money is being spent.  I like the results but am not sure it is well spent.

Jason,


Are you willing to be more specific about money well or not so well spent, and why you think that?


Enjoy your winter! I have heard that the ice fishing in Palm Springs leaves something to be desired.


Dan


PS: Not certain I learned much this year, beyond being confirmed in my happiness that I belong to a course where the ball bounces and rolls, and learning over and over that excellent superintending is essential to excellent architecture.


Oh, and that Bill Clark designed Minnesota Valley!

[Peter Pallotta]

I learned that, despite the passing of years, Dan Kelly’s grammar and punctuation remain as meticulously correct as ever, and his faith in the notion of brevity as the soul of wit continues to shine, undimmed.

[Tim Gallant]

The two things that stuck out in my mind about what I learned this year:


- When Scotland went into its initial lockdown in April, a lot of online archives opened to the public free of charge. I took the opportunity to do a bit of research on how the mowing lines (specifically in the fairways) have changed over time at North Berwick. There are some fantastic photos around the bend (3, 4, 14, 15, 16) that show how wide the playing corridors used to be! And Google Earth was immensely helpful as well. I learned just how wide some of those holes were, and thanks to aerials from the 20s, 40s, 70s and 90s (not to mention google maps today), I can also see how the bunker scheme has changed over the years. Overall, those bunker schemes are remarkably similar to how they played 100 years ago, with the exception of 12, which has seen the addition of 6!! bunkers in the last 20 years.


- In talking about this report with the course manager, I also learned something that seems obvious but I never thought of before. Because our bunkers are mainly revetted, in order to mow the fairways around the bunkers like we all want, the structure of the bunker needs to be incredibly solid to support the mower weight. Apparently there are smaller machines that can now be used specifically for these areas.

[PCCraig]

Oh, and that Bill Clark designed Minnesota Valley!

Dan -


How did you find that? No Raynor?

[Jason Topp]

Jason,


Are you willing to be more specific about money well or not so well spent, and why you think that?

Dan - no real specifics.  I am going to be interested in seeing whether the strategy of killing grass and replanting seems like a good one in ten years.   It may be if the courses are managed to kill the poa but I want to see it actually work. 

[Tom_Doak]

When Lou and I toured the PGA Frisco course the other day, I was struck by Gil's eclectic style, specifically mixing traditional, cape and bay, and waste bunker styles, sometimes all in one bunker!  The last trendy wave was jagged edge bunkers, and it looks like the new design wave might just be jagged edge bunkers within a bigger jagged edge bunker.  To me, that is sort of like putting a Starbucks in a bigger Starbucks, but maybe that's just me.

I can't believe that you, of all people, went to bunker edging in a thread on this topic.  You should probably get a checkup to make sure your grandfather wasn't delivering a premonition.

[Bernie Bell]

I read or listened to a lot of stuff this year in lockdown, but by far the most interesting and informative to me was the Mike Young episode of the Fried Egg podcast.

[Marty Bonnar]

Where I’ve played this year and what it taught me:
Slaley Hall - there’s NO substitute for good drainage.
Fortrose and Rosemarkie - how to extract the MAXIMUM value from whatever land you’ve got.
Duff House Royal - even deeper appreciation for the work of the Good Doctor esp. the Greensites.
Dumbarnie - how divisive the elements of landscape design and construction can be.
So, all I all, hardly a stellar year in playing terms, but, in architectural appreciation, a marvel!
F.
PS Almost forgot Kinghorn! - there’s fun to be had over only 6000 yards and for twelve quid!!!