GCAs - What advice do you give when you turn over the "keys" to a new course?

[Wayne_Kozun]

I don't know if this has been covered before but do you spend time with the Superintendent talking about maintenance practices which are consistent with the design of the course.  If so do they listen to you?  If they do then how long do they keep it up?  What happens when a new superintendent takes over?  Do you take photos of the course and tell the superintendent to look at those photos every few years to make sure that trees aren't becoming overgrown, greens/fairways shrinking, etc.

What made me think of this is the Fontainebleau thread.  After my experience on the Greens Committee of my club - if there was one piece of advice I could give to the owners/supers/Green Committee of a new course it would be to keep trimming/removing the trees.  So many courses have become overgrown and these days it has become so hard to cut down trees.  You are much better off if you stop them from growing in the first place.

Not everyone can be like Oakmont and remove the trees in the middle of the night.

[Philippe Binette]

I haven't had the chance to turn over the keys of a course (I hope I would do that sooner or later) but I would definitely WRITE a document that explains what I was trying to do for each hole and how I would think the holes would or should evolve.

I don't think an architect can control the full destiny of every detail of its courses but it is important that the super and green commitee has an idea of the original intent of the architect

[Melvyn Morrow]

Wayne

What most architects/designers may like to really say

If only your boss would have purchased "Land Fit For Purpose" then you would not have all these bloody potential maintenance problems. 

Melvyn

[Alfonso Erhardt]

Wayne,

I am trying to convince our club to ask the architect who last remodelled (Kyle Phillips on two Colt/Simpson courses) to do some drawings on each hole that show and explain what he intended and how the different hazards (strategically placed trees, long grass, short grass, etc.) influence play. Without some reference like that, the passage of time tends to slowly erase all significant and annoying (for players) architectural features, so you really need something to make sure people (not only the super) remember.

And if the drawings are nice, you can hang them in the locker room or bar.

Regards,

Alfonso

[Tom_Doak]

Years ago, Gil Hanse and I drew up something for Black Forest similar to what Alfonso describes.

I only remember that because when I went over there a couple of years ago, I asked why the hell they were letting the grass grow long in certain places, and the superintendent [not the original guy we worked with] pulled out a copy of our little booklet!

The problem was that our initial ideas led to slow play in some areas.  We didn't have it all 100% right the first time out.  And that is why you should only put something like that into play five or ten years AFTER the course is open and you've seen how it works.

In truth, though, I am not sure ANY drawing is ever a good idea, in the long haul.  Things just have a way of changing over time, and it is not always predictable.  [Could Old Tom Morris have predicted there would be a six-story HOTEL alongside the Road hole?]  I think it is better to confine long-term recommendations to a small essay on guiding principles, instead of a hole-by-hole set of maps which will inevitably be disregarded.

[Alfonso Erhardt]

Tom,

In our case, we are pushing for some type of artistic drawings with a brief explanation of how the hole should play and the main hazards involved. The club has an original set of drawings by Tom Simpson which briefly explain why each hole was intented to be played and what famous holes he thought it resembled and we are following the same lines.

I agree that something with too much detail will not work in the long run. But, as you mention, after some time (our course was finished 10 years ago) certain hazards tend to change (in our case 10-12 large holm oaks and cork oaks have died due to disease) and people start thinking of tinkering with the golf course (soften severe greens, etc.) and we don't want to call Kyle Phillips each time!!!!!

Regards,