[michael damico]

it seems as though most of the people on here have read or at least heard about Geoff Shackelford. i don't have my books in front of me but i recall coming across mr. Shack has drawn analogies between golf courses and other sports stadiums, mostly baseball parks.

i guess where i'd like to direct this is two ways: 1. opening discussion about what people think about Shack's analogy and 2. possibly compiling a list of analogous stadiums.

[Jaeger Kovich]

TPC Scottsdale #16 during the PGA tournament...

I think there are definitely some parallels between the two... I wouldn't say baseball only... Didn't MacKenzie write about cricket fielders and how they resemble strategic bunker placement?

I haven't read any of Geoff's writing on this subject, is he mostly talking about the spectator perspective, the individual experiences of playing on storied fields/stadiums, or generally a platform for hosting sporting games? I think there are analogies to be drawn for all 3, and probably more.

[Kyle Harris]

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,19973.0/

[Tom_Doak]

I think the analogy is better suited to baseball parks (or racecourses or ski runs) than to most other forms of sports venue.

Football stadiums certainly have a character of their own, but that character seldom affects the conditions of play directly. 

In baseball it's different.  I used to love watching the Red Sox come to Yankee Stadium and watching Catfish Hunter let them hit long fly outs to left-center field, and hearing them whine about how those would be home runs anywhere else.  Well, exactly; but he was only giving them those pitches to hit because at Yankee Stadium, they WERE outs.  He pitched them a lot differently at Fenway [albeit not as successfully].

So, the older baseball stadiums (and many of the newest ones) affect the strategy of the game in the same way that golf architecture does.  Some of them stress long hitting, and some stress speed or pitching or defense (or all three).

[Adam Lawrence]

Outside golf, I think perhaps cricket grounds are the sports stadia with the most influence on the game. Mostly this is down to pitch conditions - certain grounds have definite characteristics, the pitches are hard and bouncy, suiting fast bowlers, or take spin, or offer unreliable bounce, or whatever. Some don't favour bowlers at all, and are known as batsmen's paradises. But it isn't just the pitch - some grounds are known for atmospheric conditions that promote movement of the ball in the air - Trent Bridge, in Nottingham, which as its name suggests is very close to the river, is renowned as being a swing bowlers' ground.

[Melvyn Morrow]

IMHO this analogy is just a non starter for the very simple reason that golf in not played within a stadium but on a golf course.

Sports Stadiums are ancient and date back to the Greece 500-800BC and perhaps beyond. Sports that where conducted within the confined space of an arena where designed to convey a direct connection with the audience at all times.

Sports Stadiums or arenas where there and are there to hold the sporting event within the confines of their walls.

There is no comparison, there is no analogy be it basketball, American or World football, Athletics Rugby, Tennis, Cricket etc, etc,.

Will you guys just leave golf alone and stop comparing players, courses and look to the game I presume you enjoy yet some seem not to understand.

Melvyn

[Tom Yost]

I think a parallel can be drawn with golf course and baseball park designs.

Early ballparks were unique and often built to fit on a site that resulted in some quirky features.

In the seventies, we saw a proliferation of "cookie cutter" designs, built for function and multi-purpose, but largely sterile and soulless.

Toward the end of the 20th century, we began to see a "renaissance" in ballpark design, where new parks were given an old school feel with some character and charm.

[Mike_Young]

hmm....would you sit in a football stadium designed by Herschel Walker.....a baseball stadium designed by John smoltz.....or a Basketball arena designed by Majic Johnson....   why not?

[Tom_Doak]

Mike:

I could see having a major league pitcher as a consultant on a baseball stadium design.  However, I don't think I would feel too secure sitting in a stadium designed by John Smoltz as the lead architect ... there are some structural issues at play there that make our drainage work seem pretty simple.

[Ben Sims]

hmm....would you sit in a football stadium designed by Herschel Walker.....a baseball stadium designed by John smoltz.....or a Basketball arena designed by Majic Johnson....   why not?

I have it on good authority that one of Herschel's six personalities is a legit architect. 

[mike_beene]

The short right field fence(hand rail) cost Vande Velde an Open.

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