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Anthony Gray

Who is golf's next visionary?
« on: February 18, 2011, 06:16:36 PM »


  Is Keiser the reigning champion?Who's next.....Parsinen...Trump?

  Anthony


Greg Tallman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2011, 06:29:22 PM »
I have heard there is a dentist in Tennessee vying for the title

Mac Plumart

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Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2011, 06:29:50 PM »
Mike Young
Sportsman/Adventure loving golfer.

Ian Andrew

Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #3 on: February 18, 2011, 10:02:28 PM »
Anthony,

I’m not sure it will be a developer this time.

I believe that golf architecture and golf development will be forced to fundamentally change in the coming decade. I happen to think the issue of water and water rights is going to become the elephant in the room. We talk a lot up here about pesticides bans and other restrictive legislation. They will be vey complicated issues to work around in the coming decade, but nothing compared to the coming issue of water rights and water usage.

Canada already has a couple of areas where golf “can not occur” because there are no more water rights available.

I live near one of Ontario’s great rivers (The Grand) where “voluntarily” golf has undergone three major reductions in the last 12 years. Water usage has been lowered by one third and they have one more push to go before taking on farming. Our issue is not clean drinking water, or fish habitat, but the minimum water required for water treatment facilities to be allowed to operate. River flows are historically low in most of Ontario, which has raised the red flag about allowing water taking with new projects.

I’ve already worked on a project that is essentially self sufficient by design. In ten years, they may all be because of coming legislation.

With that in mind the game changer for us will not be a developer, an architect or anyone else in golf design. I think the game changer will be an inventor or engineer. Our turfgrass struggles with salts which makes dealing with grey water extremely difficult. Grey water is the most logical future for golf. I a small inexpensive system that you can use to treat Grey water into potable water would be a game changer, not only for golf but for the communities where the courses reside, since they could use it as a treatment option.

My2c

Phil_the_Author

Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #4 on: February 18, 2011, 10:03:30 PM »
Shouldn't your question actually be "Who is golf ARCHITECTURE'S next visionary?"

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +2/-1
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2011, 11:00:28 AM »
I met with him today in China.  It's Mr. Han, our client here.  Mark my words ... I have a decent track record at picking them.

P.S. to Ian:  I met a guy in Tasmania in December who may solve the water thing.  Right now his company is making small package solar water filters for rural third-world areas ... NGO's buy the unit and give them out in bulk to families in need, and there's no need for power other than the sun, so it's a one-time donation.  If his claims are true, it filters out disease, salt, bacteria, everything. 

We talked a bit about the cost and scale, and though it's inexpensive at family size it's still hard to scale up for water use at the golf course scale.  But I imagine he will think about it more now.  And even if he can't solve that problem ... if he solves the drinking water problem, then maybe golf courses won't be under as much pressure to find a solution themselves!

Tim Nugent

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2011, 11:40:20 AM »
Ian, unfortunately I don't foresee the general public getting past the stigma of grey water to accept it as a potable water source, even if it is treated to chemically/ biologically duplicate fresh water. 

There was a big public fight in Tucson when I was doing a project there about a decade ago when they proposed to recharge depleated groundwater aquifers with treated greywater.  There were people quoted in the news as saying they could TASTE the difference,  really? After the water trickled through hundreds of feet of bedrock and then being only a small overall percentage of the water. 

If you did a blind taste test of 10 identical glasses of fresh water (all from the same tap), and ask the participants which ones were treated greywater and which were fresh, you would get people telling you a percentage tasted different - even though they were all the same.  It's a perception that you just can't fight.
Coasting is a downhill process

Peter Pallotta

Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2011, 12:05:10 PM »
Tim - thanks much for that post/details.  I want to be optimistic about this, but have been having a hard time imagining the next visionary, or even what that might entail.  Maybe golf doesn't need any more visionaries - maybe it just needs a few very practical and committed and experienced folks doing the best they can in small towns and cities across north america - taking one step at a time in whatever 'direction' the market and the politics and the environment will allow...

Peter 

Mac Plumart

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #8 on: February 19, 2011, 12:09:27 PM »
I want to be optimistic about this, but have been having a hard time imagining the next visionary, or even what that might entail

Peter, that is just it.  Visionaries see things others can't.
Sportsman/Adventure loving golfer.

Peter Pallotta

Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #9 on: February 19, 2011, 12:13:43 PM »
You know what, Mac? You're absolutely right!

I will leave my post there only as an example of what non-visionary debbie downers write!

Peter

Mac Plumart

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #10 on: February 19, 2011, 12:17:10 PM »
:)
Sportsman/Adventure loving golfer.

Mark Chaplin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #11 on: February 19, 2011, 01:19:59 PM »
The shortage of quality land in the "developed" golf world must mean the next generation of movers and shakers must come from the "developing" golf world where land, demand and new players will drive the market. I'd suggest any aspiring architect to master an Asian or South American language.
Cave Nil Vino

Carl Nichols

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #12 on: February 19, 2011, 02:16:58 PM »
The shortage of quality land in the "developed" golf world must mean the next generation of movers and shakers must come from the "developing" golf world where land, demand and new players will drive the market. I'd suggest any aspiring architect to master an Asian or South American language.

Probably in that order, given the relative economic growth.......

Bill_McBride

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #13 on: February 19, 2011, 02:54:23 PM »
Quote from: Ian Andrew link=topic=47423

With that in mind the game changer for us will not be a developer, an architect or anyone else in golf design. I think the game changer will be an inventor or engineer. Our turfgrass struggles with salts which makes dealing with grey water extremely difficult. Grey water is the most logical future for golf. I a small inexpensive system that you can use to treat Grey water into potable water would be a game changer, not only for golf but for the communities where the courses reside, since they could use it as a treatment option.

My2c


Ian, if salty water is the problem, paspalum could be the solution. Very salt-tolerant and a good playing surface. Have you looked into it?

Bruce Katona

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #14 on: February 19, 2011, 03:06:05 PM »
The person who can figure out how to successfullt finance and underwrite their next project to meet projections and actually turn a profit.

John Kavanaugh

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #15 on: February 19, 2011, 03:09:47 PM »
He is on this site but some of you lack the vision to see it.

Mac Plumart

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #16 on: February 19, 2011, 03:39:01 PM »
Thanks John.  I appreciate the kind words.
:)
Sportsman/Adventure loving golfer.

Anthony Gray

Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #17 on: February 19, 2011, 06:36:21 PM »
He is on this site but some of you lack the vision to see it.

  My bet is the Dysmal River people.The vision they have for building new courses in that area.

  Anthony


Dónal Ó Ceallaigh

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #18 on: February 19, 2011, 07:56:08 PM »
I met with him today in China.  It's Mr. Han, our client here.  Mark my words ... I have a decent track record at picking them.


Just curious about who the past visionaries were?

Anthony,

How would you define a visionary? And in what area; architecture, resort development, turf care, etc?

Some of the names mentioned so far would be unknown to 99.9999% of golfers. Also, what about their impact on the game. It's been mostly local and on a small scale when you look at the bigger picture.

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +2/-1
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #19 on: February 20, 2011, 12:22:23 AM »
Donal:

I was speaking of people who have had an influence on the development of golf courses over the past 20-40 years.  By accident or by design, I've gotten to know most of them -- not just my own well-known clients, but also Herb Kohler, Mark Parsinen, Dick Youngscap, and others.  So I feel like I have a better chance than most people of identifying another person like that.  Of course, that does not make room for anyone else whose presence would be truly revolutionary in golf -- someone like Karsten Solheim, perhaps -- but if you could really identify where those people were going to come from and what they were going to do, you wouldn't be wasting your time on Golf Club Atlas!  ;)

I included Mr. Han not because he is a client of mine, but because he's in position to be so influential in what happens over the next 20 years in China.  He wants to develop golf courses and is going to -- but imagine if Mike Keiser's other business wasn't greeting cards, but he was the owner of The Golf Channel.  That's where Mr. Han has a chance to have a profound influence on how others think.  There aren't too many people in China today who really love golf and love golf courses, but for one of them to be in a position of influence is very important, in my estimation.

P.S.  It really doesn't matter if 99% of golfers don't know who someone is, for them to have a profound influence on the future direction of the game.  By contrast, most of the guys who are famous in the golf business today are takers, not givers.

Tony Ristola

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #20 on: February 20, 2011, 01:10:12 AM »
Visionaries are unpredictable and usually surprise, and surprise will always be surprising.

By contrast, most of the guys who are famous in the golf business today are takers, not givers.
Many market it as giving back to the game to top it off.

.

Dan Herrmann

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #21 on: February 20, 2011, 07:07:36 AM »
Tom - that's a great story, and I think Mr. Han may be key.  A visionary who can muster the power of today's China could blow us away.

I"m also thinking another visionary will change the way chemicals are used on golf courses.  Today's petro-based fertilizers will become too expensive soon and something will need to replace them.  I'm no chemist, but I see nothing but innovation coming in this area.

Lastly, I think we'll need a visionary to change the means by which we maintain our courses.  Imagine an inexpensive, alternative energy solution to those fairway/rough mowers!   Don't even think about carbon footprints and that type of thing - think of the cost savings gained through not having to use gasoline.


Ian Andrew

Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #22 on: February 20, 2011, 07:40:09 AM »
Ian, if salty water is the problem, paspalum could be the solution.
Very salt-tolerant and a good playing surface. Have you looked into it?

Bill,

It's a Southern Grass - we need the Northern equivilent.

Bill Weber

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #23 on: February 20, 2011, 09:07:21 AM »
Richard Sattler may not be a visionary in the truest sense of the word but he certainly knows how to embrace the vision and bring it to fruition.

Melvyn Morrow

Re: Who is golf's next visionary?
« Reply #24 on: February 20, 2011, 09:37:06 AM »
Guys

Beware of false prophets, ops sorry meant profits.

Melvyn

« Last Edit: February 20, 2011, 10:02:19 AM by Melvyn Hunter Morrow »

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