Golf Course Architecture
Each time I play a golf course for the first time, I spend a lot of the time noticing the course design. I marvel at the architect’s ability to create something from nothing. In many ways, they are true nature artists. The architect takes a natural piece of land and molds it into a beautiful place. They must strike a balance between playability and difficulty. It is easy to design a course that is unplayable but it takes talent to make a golf course challenging beautiful and a fair test of your golf game. Make it too easy then players feel ripped off. If you make it too difficult, and players will not return tell their friends not to play there.
Much like art, course design is individually judged by every person who plays it. My father loves Picasso, while I do not understand his work. I love Rembrandt but some do not. In fact some people don’t like art at all and the same can be said for golf. Each person evaluates golf courses differently and like art the beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
When I was the Head Golf Professional at River Landing, Clyde Johnston designed nine additional holes for the club. I spent time with Clyde walking the land prior to construction and it was a fascinating process. Standing in the woods, he would point into the distance and say “that is where the 22nd green will be located. What a beautiful area.” I looked as instructed and all I could see were trees. Architects use the land as their canvass. It starts out empty. By the time their vision is out on paper and eventually the dirt is moved a magnificent course appears. It is amazing watching the architect work. Like painters, architects change their designs many times during the construction phase of the process. They move from here to there. They move bunkers three feet to the left or right. Many architect reserve the right to come back after a couple of years and make changes to the golf course because for them the work is never finished. At Murfield, Jack Nicklaus makes changes to the course every few years. He sees things he wants to improve upon to make the course better. I spoke with an artist in Paris one day who told me he sold his paintings so that they would be finished, otherwise he would constantly go back and tinker with them.
I believe that golf courses should be appreciated as art. Not all golf courses will be liked by everyone. The next time you play enjoy the creativity of the architect to create something from nothing.
