What feature, unique or mundane, would you incorporate

[Patrick_Mucci]

in the design of a golf course ?

And, at what point would repetitive introduction of that feature diminish the merits of that feature and the golf course ?

[Kyle Harris]

in the design of a golf course ?

And, at what point would repetitive introduction of that feature diminish the merits of that feature and the golf course ?

Ditches and cops, like Oakmont.

I think it could work effectively on half the golf course, so long as the usage varied in shot location for the hole.

[Tom_Doak]

Patrick:

The coolest feature I've ever seen on a golf course is that little stone wall on the 13th hole at North Berwick.  But I can't imagine doing something like that more than a couple of times in one's design career ... and I'm already at my limit, having incorporated them into Stonewall (North) and The Renaissance Club.

[C. Squier]

A par 3 using a Macdonald/Raynor template hole.  One of the greatest things about golf is our arenas are all different, though its fun every once in awhile to have something that you can compare directly to other courses you've played.  

[Mike_Cirba]

Patrick,

I would try to pull in some type of feature that connected the golf course to its unique surrounds, and preferably to the community in which it is based.

It could be a stone wall from an ancient boundary line, as Tom Doak mentioned, or a railroad crossing as per a recent thread, or a road like the 17th at The Old Course, or a public street, like the 17th at Maidstone, but overall, I agree with a recent post that argued that they prefer courses that are not out in the middle of nowhere, but instead tie directly into adjacent civilization in some concrete way.

The best local example I can give is the following;

I'm in awe of Pine Valley, and the modern example might be Sand Hills, where "splendid isolation" pervades, and it's all golf

However, I'm in love with Merion, where I feel like I'm playing in the local neighborhood, and where my left-handed push from the 15th tee almost ended up in a neighbor's yard.

[cary lichtenstein]

9th hole at Yale

[Peter Pallotta]

Patrick - interesting question.

I'm not sure that WHAT the feature is or HOW it is used is as important as the FREQUENCY of its use -- and I think the decision regarding frequency of use is the hardest one an architect has to make, and is maybe the clearest indicator of his/her artistic sensibiity. 

Personally, I think there are few things more powerful than repetition....and few things demonstrate an architect's confidence, authority, talent, and nerve more than his/her willingness and ability to repeat a "feature" over and over again (on the same golf course, that is, and assuming the land allows for it).

In other words, you can't be timid about these things. It just draws unwanted and critical attention. 

Imagine if in your responses to other posters you only used green-coloured text once or twice, instead of constantly? 

Peter   

[Charlie Goerges]

Can blindness be considered a feature? If not, then I'd choose at least a few features that result in or create blindness on a given course. I agree with Peter that frequency is the key to making it work. Certainly every shot can't be blind because blind shots aren't the only kind of fun shots.

I do think it would be better to vary the degree or extent of blindness as much as is feasible (i.e. shots where one can see part of the flag, but not the surface of the green; shots that disappear within a couple of seconds over a hill; and everything in-between).

[Matthew Mollica]

I always like a really short par 3, under 130yds. A small green, and perhaps even situated on an elevated segment of the site. Blurring of the lines as to where the best miss sits is also a cool asset. I've not seen lots of holes of this style, but love the challenge they provide.

MM

[Stephen Britton]

Short grass around greens.

This is utilized best on the Melbourne sand belt clubs. Here on the East Coast or Mid Atlantic area so many clubs have the same mundane grassing around greens. They have the green, 18" wide collar around the green mown a little higher than greens height, 72" wide short grass strip mown at maybe 1" around the green and then 2.5" rough all around the rest of the complex. I play so many courses that have really cool swales and dips around greens that would become great chipping or bail out areas simply by sodding out the rough and laying bent... Although budgets are always a factor.

Tom Doak sums it up best:

"Of all the courses I have seen around the world, only a few have taken advantage of the possibilities of short grass -- probably because it requires a good budget to manicure extra acres of fairways. But consider the list: the Old Course at St. Andrews, Augusta National, Pinehurst #2, Royal Dornoch, Muirfield, and Ballybunion at the front. With so many new courses lusting after this sort of status, you'd think a few would try to implement this technique."

[Tom Birkert]

I have a pet peeve about bunkers and the rough that often surrounds them at the front and side, especially when they're in the fairway or on the edge of the fairway.

The rough often stops the ball running into the bunker which seems counter-intuitive. If the bunker is a hazard (and proper bunkers should be) then the ball should be allowed to run into the hazard to punish the shot that has been hit off line.

[Doug Ralston]

The sunken green.

I have only seen it a couple times, but it lends itself to a lot of thoughtful choices if done well. I know it is drainage problematical, but that seems solvable.

Not everyone will like Stonelick Hills [Cincy] #2, but I found myself liking the differing problems depending both on your position and your inclinations.

Alternatively, I personally like short, steep uphill par-4's. Obviously, previous knowledge is very helpful on those.

Doug

[Bill_McBride]

Patrick:

The coolest feature I've ever seen on a golf course is that little stone wall on the 13th hole at North Berwick.  But I can't imagine doing something like that more than a couple of times in one's design career ... and I'm already at my limit, having incorporated them into Stonewall (North) and The Renaissance Club.

But do you have to play OVER the walls at Stonewall and Archerfield?!

There are two other places I can remember playing over walls where these were forced carries.

(I recall cutting across corners with walls a few times, a wonderful feeling if it's all open space, not so good if it's somebody's back yard!  )

At Gil Hanse's Craighead course at Crail you do that twice, I think, and you can either take on the carry or lay up, but either way you have to get across.

The other was at the somewhat funky Broadway course in the Cotswolds of England where you had to carry across a stone wall on a 450 yard par 4 right after a 265 yard par 4!

And of course there are a couple of other forced carries over walls at North Berwick, one on #3 and the other on #16.

[Craig Sweet]

Mine fields just off the fairways...would speed up play and eliminate stupid golfers...

[Bill_McBride]

This is more a geographical feature than something designed, but I do love a course that starts and finishes or runs through a village.  Best recent example is the wonderful course at Elie in Scotland, where you play down to the village on a long par 3, then walk across a busy street and play past a neighborhood down to the beach and linksland, and then back to the village to finish up.

[Tim Gavrich]

Railroad ties, a la Pete Dye/Mike Strantz.  I don't know why, but I like the rugged look that railroad ties create.

[PCCraig]

I would always try to add alternate routes around a golf course depending on the day. IE one day you play clockwise to a certain set of greens, the next the opposite.

[Sam Morrow]

Patrick:

The coolest feature I've ever seen on a golf course is that little stone wall on the 13th hole at North Berwick.  But I can't imagine doing something like that more than a couple of times in one's design career ... and I'm already at my limit, having incorporated them into Stonewall (North) and The Renaissance Club.

They have the same thing along #4 at Austin Golf Club, a very neat touch, except for putting my tee shot next to it.

[Sean_A]

I have a list of features which I really like to see archies incorporate and I think are under-used

width in tees

front to back greens

grade level greens

1 bunker dictating play for hole

hollows in fairways which require the player to get the ball up quickly - particularly into the wind

open views of the green on doglegs

humps on the approach line near a green

slight step ups to greens - say 18-24 inches

driving areas which if achieved offer a view of the green

dead space

bunkers well short of green - sometimes hiding dead ground

greens which flow into fairways seamlessly

centreline bunkers

slash/narrow bunkers - sometimes in the centre running perpindicular to the green

oh and for you tree huggers, using the stand alone majestic tree


Ciao