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Jonathan Cummings

  • Karma: +0/-0
The Oddest Design Guidance from an Owner
« on: September 04, 2023, 03:17:39 PM »
Heard some doozies over the years.  I'm sure others have too but this has to rank up there with the more unusual ones. 


I wrote a piece some years ago for the VSGA about River Bend CC in northern VA.  They had just taken a rather tired Jamison/Ault design and had Keith Foster retro it into a cool little yesteryear course.


As part of my research into the history of River Bend I found out that when it was built in 1960 it was just farmland.  It was bought for $500/acre and the architects were paid $5000 for their design.  A nearby farmer was hired to mow the greens.  Both the maintenance shack and the clubhouse were initially just trailers.  The initial club was so poor that they asked their members to pick up rocks when they played the course.  You see, the owners were a bunch of government employees of the CIA (6-8 miles down the road), many cold war agents, and they just didn't have a lot of money.  Today it's a fabulous club and course, pricey and hard to get into.


Here is the odd thing.  In 1960 when Jamison/Ault were designing River Bend, the owners asked that 4 high points near the center of the property be designed around and not touched.  It was these four points that, in the time of a Cold War crisis, agents could go to and yell out and be heard across all 18 holes, "Return to the clubhouse immediately, we are needed back at the Center."


Puts a little perspective on your round.....


JC 

Joe Hancock

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Oddest Design Guidance from an Owner
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2023, 07:07:02 PM »
JC,


I don’t have many commissions under my belt, but I was asked to design and build “the best practice facility in the 5 State area” for a client for his private use. I still don’t know what the 5 states are, but he loves his facility.


Joe
" What the hell is the point of architecture and excellence in design if a "clever" set up trumps it all?" Peter Pallotta, June 21, 2016

"People aren't picking a side of the fairway off a tee because of a randomly internally contoured green ."  jeffwarne, February 24, 2017

Mike_Clayton

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Oddest Design Guidance from an Owner
« Reply #2 on: September 04, 2023, 07:58:56 PM »
"I don't care what you do - just don't fuck it up"


Richard Sattler's brief at Barnbougle.

Anthony Butler

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Oddest Design Guidance from an Owner
« Reply #3 on: September 05, 2023, 09:45:43 AM »
"I don't care what you do - just don't fuck it up"


Richard Sattler's brief at Barnbougle.
The same guidance I give to my children when they ask for advice.
Next!

Jonathan Cummings

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Oddest Design Guidance from an Owner
« Reply #4 on: September 05, 2023, 03:59:44 PM »
MC - I can hear Richard saying those exact words. Be more eye-popping if that guidance were to come out of his daughter's mouth!! ;-)

Mike_Clayton

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Oddest Design Guidance from an Owner
« Reply #5 on: September 05, 2023, 05:50:29 PM »
"I don't care what you do - just don't fuck it up"


Richard Sattler's brief at Barnbougle.
The same guidance I give to my children when they ask for advice.


It's the smartest brief ever. Golf committees would do well to follow it.