[Dale_McCallon]

I hope I don't get lambasted for straying from a topic....but what led you guys to your deep interest in GCA?
 
I am still trying to figure it out for myself.  I just know that for the longest time, anytime I would look through any type of golfing magazine, I would instantly look for course reviews, travel etc.  I personally couldn't care less about the latest "guaranteed to eliminate your slice" instruction.  By the way, has ANYONE ever used some of these drills on their own--I can't imagine going to a range and trying out some of these tips they recommend.

Back to the subject, I am a complete novice to the field--a definite high handicapper.  I can't tell you the routing and bunker configurations of every course that Ross built like some of you guys can, but it is something I enjoy learning about.

So what led you guys to your interest?  Was it instilled from parents?  Maybe your junior days caddying or working on a golf course?  Or are you guys like me?  You like playing different courses and are interested in knowing more about them and what makes some great, some good, and some just plain forgettable?

[Andrew Summerell]

To have something interesting to talk about so I would seem sexier to women.  

[Dustin Knight]

I have recently started playing on some world class Aussie
courses and really want to learn why they are classed as such,
as i have been guilty of "low marker syndrome" ( if the
condition was good i thought the course was good). Now some of my favourite tracks are only average in conditioning
but i respect their design, seems to have helped my game too!
I no longer get sucked in by as many Architects

[Dale_McCallon]

Dustin,

It sounds like we may be in the same boat.  I used to fall for the great conditioning=great course trap also.  I have had the fortune to play at several high-end resorts in America and the Caribbean and while visually beautiful, I can't remember much about the courses.  Never the less I still have fun--hard to bitch about the green complexes when you are in Hawaii on your honeymoon.

Of course, it seems like the majority of golfers could care less about the course's history, strategy, etc., they just want every hole to look like a postcard, and many of today's architects seem to be able to deliver on this.

[Gerry B]

To find those classic old school hidden gems that I would have otherwise missed -no GCA and I would have overlooked  Forsgate's Banks course and Lookout Mountain as 2 examples.
Screw the conditioning. When I played Fishers Island and Yale for the 1st time both  courses were  in poor condition and I still walked off the 18th on each course grinning from ear to ear.

[Tony_Chapman]

Lefty - First, welcome. The guys on this board are super and if want to get some GCA knowledge you have registered for a Doctorate level course.

So what led you guys to your interest?  Was it instilled from parents?  Maybe your junior days caddying or working on a golf course?  Or are you guys like me?  You like playing different courses and are interested in knowing more about them and what makes some great, some good, and some just plain forgettable?

I have always been infatuated with "the golf hole." How do guys build these, where do they get their ideas? I have been drawing "dream" courses since I was probably in junior high and really learned to do it from my dad's scorecard collection. Every decent course he ever played, he had the scorecard and I would analyze all the holes.

I guess it was three courses (from his yardage books), that really got me hooked. They were from Prairie Dunes, St. Andrews (a friend of his brought him that) and Cog Hill #4.

Living in Nebraska, we didn't have much "architecture" to look at, but dad made sure we got to Firethorn when it opened and to see that place was like going to another country for me. All the tall grass, the hard shots, the railroad ties. Wow. We also were able to make it out to Sand Hills, when they allowed Nebraska residents one round.

Since, we have been to Pinehurst and Prairie Dunes together as well as taking in a practice round at Augusta.

I guess when you look at it, really, the great thing about our sport, is each place you go it different. Whether its the dog track par-3 course with the lighted driving range, your home club or Cypress Point. The game is the same, but what makes the experience is the companionship and the architecture. Because in baseball, football, soccer and basketball the playing field is the same. Not so for us.

So, as Dustin said, wouldn't we all be better if we understood our "playing field" for that round. I say yes. You have a greater understanding for the shot the architect wanted you to play by knowing a bit about architecture. Also, aren't architects, the greatest artists of them all. To move the land, or not, whatever the case is and make it as cool as possible. To me, that is art.

[Dale_McCallon]

Tony,

Very interesting that you drew up your dream course--here is a story about that.  When I was in college, I worked for a day care company, so during nap-time I would tear in to the kids crayons and poster boards and start drawing up the next ANGC (quite rudimentary).  My family actually owns about 140 acres of property so I planned the course on that site.  The problem is that my Mom saw the plans and had just come out of the hospital, and was convinced I was hoping for her death.  She could not believe an adult would sit around drawing golf holes for fun.

Dale

p.s.  very interesting about playing Sand Hills as a Nebraska resident--how did that work?  Maybe I'm just new to this, but I've never heard of this done.  Very cool on the part of Sand Hills though.

[Tony_Chapman]

Lefty - If there are any Sand Hills buffs on this board, they may answer this differently.

When SH first opened they allowed Nebraska residents to write a letter to Jim Kidd, with handicaps and a list of four days they would like to play. Mr. Kidd kindly selected for us a day in August 1996 in which the high reached 78 degrees and the wind didn't blow.   They have since closed the course down to members and their guests.

We paid our fee and played 41 of the most exhilarating holes of our lives. I don't know that I could even bear driving the road from North Platte to Mullen again with the thought of not[/b] being able to take a left just past the Dismal River.  

BTW - I didn't have just one course - it's more like 100. I still have most of them saved in a folder, just in case!!

Cheers,

Tony

[ed_getka]

My interest stems from reading an Arnold Palmer book "Situation Golf" years ago when I was new to the game. It is basically a course management book, that goes through 18 holes and shows how three different levels of golfer would approach playing the holes. The idea of approach angles and positions of hazards sparked my interest in GCA. I have had the architecture books for years, but never had anyone to talk to about this interest until I found this site 3 years ago. Don't be intimidated by the vast knowledge of some in this group. If you show an interest to learn, you will be handsomely rewarded with the insights of the many contributors here.
    Welcome Lefty. BTW, I have never met so many left-handed golfers in my life, as I have since coming to this site. What is it with lefties and GCA?

[Dale_McCallon]

Ed,

Never heard of the book you are talking about, but I read a book by Hale Irwin about course management 5-6 years that showed the way he thought himself around the course which was interesting.

On the left-handed side of things, I guess it is because we are in our right minds as the only cheesy saying goes.

[TEPaul]

I got interested in golf architecture because my golf club was offered a proposal out of the blue to move to another site. The task of figuring out if the other site was worthy happened to fall to me. I went to a book store, bought a book on golf architecture---Geoff Shackelford's--read it, noticed his email on the back jacket, emailed him, got to know him, he recommended Coore & Crenshaw and I got to know Bil Coore when he came to look at the site. The whole thing has been a great education.

[Cory Lewis]

I got into GCA when I was in high school because of my then obsession with Pine Valley.  I was fascinated by the pictures of it.  How could a rustic target golf course be Ranked #1 in the world ahead of such classic designs like augusta and cypress.  When I really studied the photos, I began to understand why this course was so special.  That was probably the point when I began to understand the different styles of architecture.

[Norbert P]

  Golf Course Architecture incorporates and blends art with play with nature with science with humanity with ego with cart girls with booze with bragging with humility with exercise with sophistication with gamesmanship with escape with some affordability.  Also, the fashion tips are handy.

 

 

[ed_getka]

Fashion tips?!!! Did I miss that thread?

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