Could you design a good golf course?

[muttleee]

Given a half decent plot of land, do you think you could design a good quality golf course? By 'good quality', I mean, say, worthy of hosting a tour event. PGA pros do it all the time and all they have over us is loads of experience of different courses. How hard can it be?!

 

[Alex1975]

I would like to say yes but I think the answer is no, I think it would be harder then you think. Do i think I could have a play at making a layout... ye, I would give it a go.

 

[bladeplayer]

Given a half decent plot of land, do you think you could design a good quality golf course? By 'good quality', I mean, say, worthy of hosting a tour event. PGA pros do it all the time and all they have over us is loads of experience of different courses. How hard can it be?!

Id like to think id make a good shot at it ,, green contours would be hardest part id say , set of 4 tee boxes could make the course as easy or hard as you want it to be ,, (ie bringing water, bunkers etc in or out of play distance wise)

 

[USER1999]

No.

I have no experience of course design. It would be a right mess.

 

[coolhand]

Isn't it in effect course management in reverse so anyone with very good course management skills (amateur or professional) could have a reasonable stab.

 

[USER1999]

I have hacked my wat around enough converted farmers fields and goat tracks to appreciate that course design is alot harder than it looks.

 

[muttleee]

No.

I have no experience of course design. It would be a right mess.

A slightly negative attitude, I feel. Even the pros have no experience the first time they try it...but they still get paid a fortune for doing it. (Of course they probably get their lackeys to do the donkey work while they take all the credit but that's another thing entirely.)

 

[ScienceBoy]

I have had a go at this, in the virtual world anyway.

I have designed about 5 courses for the Tiger Woods EA sports series, 2004-2007.

I was part of a custom course community, I got about 700 downloads each for my two best courses and about 400 or so for the less popular ones.

Most of the comments were very complimentary!

It is worth having a go if you buy the old games and download the course architect program. Don't forget Jorgans installer (or is it Jorgen, Jurgan Oh something like that)

The website is www.coursedownloads.com if it still works! My course was Forest Pines 2.0 (imaginative name huh), if I still had the games I would have played them again recently but the CDs are long gone

 

[EZprophet]

I think when the Pros you speak of "design" courses, it usually consists of them spending a few days wondering around the plot of land and looking at drawings with the team of 4 or 5 proper course architects, giving one or two suggestions and bits of feedback, and then disappearing and letting the actual course designers get on with the real work, returning again at the end of the project to sign their name to it.

At least thats the impression I get anyways.

Even when you play a "Jack Nicklaus designed" course its usually one of the architects from his company who has actually designed it, and Jack has just taken a look at it at the end, made a few changes, and then signed his name to it... and he's supposed to actually be a proper course architect! Whatwork these other pros are actually doing when they are supposed to be "designing" a course I dont know!!

I wanted to be a golf course architect when I was a bit younger, and am still hugely interested in it. As to whether I think I could design one, probably not no, but I reckon if I worked with a proper course architect I could possibly come up with a few useful things!

 

[MashieNiblick]

That's a really good question.

I suppose it depends what you mean by good. I think most golfers who have played a variety of top quality courses could have a fair go at putting together a decent layout with a mixture of testing holes based on their own experiences.

I think what would be lacking would be the technical knowledge about how best to use the land and that extra something that results in the Road Hole, the postage stamp, the 11th, 12th and 13th at Augusta the 18th at Pebble Beach or which can make an entire course a classic like Sunningdale or Muirfield.

Would be fun say to give a group of golfers (or 1 or 2 top architects) a plan of what Augusta looked like before Jones and Mackenzie started work (without telling them where it was) and see what they came up with.

 

[chris661]

I think when the Pros you speak of "design" courses, it usually consists of them spending a few days wondering around the plot of land and looking at drawings with the team of 4 or 5 proper course architects, giving one or two suggestions and bits of feedback, and then disappearing and letting the actual course designers get on with the real work, returning again at the end of the project to sign their name to it.

At least thats the impression I get anyways.

Even when you play a "Jack Nicklaus designed" course its usually one of the architects from his company who has actually designed it, and Jack has just taken a look at it at the end, made a few changes, and then signed his name to it... and he's supposed to actually be a proper course architect! Whatwork these other pros are actually doing when they are supposed to be "designing" a course I dont know!!

I wanted to be a golf course architect when I was a bit younger, and am still hugely interested in it. As to whether I think I could design one, probably not no, but I reckon if I worked with a proper course architect I could possibly come up with a few useful things!

Hmm, Paul McGinley is doing some redesign work at our place and so far has been there 4 or 5 times I think first of to plan out what WE (club) want then he thinks about it comes back and makes some suggestions, greenkeepers work on the stuff he says etc.

As to doing it myself I think I would have a go at it whether anyone except me would play it that is entirely different

 

[sev112]

One thing you must know about is drainage and landform

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I often look at fields as I'm travelling by car or train and think "mm that would make a good golf hole" However getting 18 of them together in one place isn't easy. I guess with the resources some of these huge resorts chuck at building golf courses I could at least make a passable goat track. With Lydd as the template anything else is already ahead of the game.

However if you are building a more modest club the likes of which we'd be able to join then working within the remit of drainage and total acreage must take some doing. Even though I was a member there for years I'm still gobsmacked how the inside of Ascot racecourse could hold an 18 hole golf course, a cricket club and a dirty great resevoir.

 

[Smiffy]

Ian Woosnam designed a course at Dale Hill in Sussex.

It has one of the best bars in the area

 

[Imurg]

If it was that easy we'd all be doing it.
And although an online design gives an idea, it doesn't resmeble the real thing particularly imo. Just like Golf online doesn't really replicate the real thing.

 

[chrisd]

We were approached to sell our course for industrial development with the buyers building a new course for us plus a few £m in cash

They flew a course builder in from Ireland and we were amazed at the depth of stuff he told us about the design and build, what grasses and mixes of grass they could use. The watering and de-watering was so high tech and how they could construct a course where the maintenance would be the minimum cost.

They said that we could have had any "headline" designer Monty, Faldo etc

We didnt go ahead for a variety of reasons but one day in the future I am sure it will happen


Chris

 

[Fyldewhite]

I'd love to have a bash but in reality I'm sure it's a lot harder that it seems. There's loads of technical stuff to consider like irrigation/drainage too which I wouldn't have a clue about. Would end up with some great holes that were under water in winter and concrete in summer!!

 

[G1BB0]

I guess its more like consultancy from the pro's, what works and what doesnt. drainage would be down to experts which in turn would depict what type of grasses were used and so forth. No individual could do the whole thing alone. Would love a go, 9000yds beast (I would go round in about 200 lol)

 

[Crazyface]

To sort of quote Trevino. I'd make the first a warm up hole. And have 19 holes in total.

 

[viscount17]

I suspect that if any (most) of us tried it we would be trying to design in all our favourite holes in totally unsuitable places. If we succeeded it would be the toughest course on the planet with a succession of 'hollywood' holes.