... under the Feature Interview section and Architecture Timeline.
When Mike Keiser built the first course at Bandon, there were no guarantees as to how it would be received. It was remote, not built by a name architect, the effective playing season was an unknown, etc. Now seven years on and with two more world class courses having been opened in addition to the original course, the whole idea seems to have been a no brainer, which it most certainly was not.
Steve Goodwin's just released book entitled Dream Golf: The Making of Bandon Dunes takes you inside the entire decision/development process.
Steve had complete access to all the key players and that provides the book its great insight, with some amazing quotes to boot. Goodwin perfectly captures the harsh skepticism that Keiser faced from his business partners. Keiser's original vision of having a wind swept place open to all golfers where they carry their bag and enjoy the game alone in nature had little precedent in the United States and it took great conviction on his part to hold true to that uncluttered goal.
One example of Steve's unfettered access to everyone appears in the form of four highly (!) interesting graphics that appear within this Feature Interview - two early Kidd routings, a 12 hole routing of PacDunes, and Keiser's own hole entry in Golf Digest's design contest. Take Kidd's earliest routing and look at the 2nd hole in the upper right hand corner where there are two of the largest central bunkers that I've ever seen. Yes, Kidd's final routing obviously took greater advantage of the cliff line but this early routing shows him to be an architect of bold and unique ideas, a talent that Keiser recognized in him long before the rest of us. Tom Doak's early routing shows many of the finest final holes at PacDunes including my favourite three hole stretch, the 6th through the 8th. Keiser's designed hole shows his love and knowledge of Macdonald/Raynor, capped off by its 300' x 35' foot (!!) green ala some of Macdonald/Raynor's grandest greens like the 11th at The Creek and the 9th at Yale.
Things done for the right reason have a way of working out for the best. That is certainly the case with Bandon Dunes and it is certainly going to be the case with Steve and his new book. No doubt it will sell many thousands more copies than the typical golf architecture book. The story of Bandon Dunes is a much bigger story than just architecture and golf (if you can believe that such a thing exists
) and thus it will find a much bigger audience, none of whom will be disappointed in reading about this inspiring story of doing something right.
Cheers,