Do you have a favourite course designer?

[ademac]

When looking at courses to play and choosing where to spend your hard earned money, do you consider who the course architect was/is?

Do you look for courses designed by the likes of James Braid, Harry colt etc etc. ?
Or does that not interest you?

I am no expert at all and not sure I have ever given it too much thought to be honest but it does seem to be something that I read about when looking at courses to play and I have just started to think about the course architecture styles.

So, do you have any favourites?
Would you play a course based purely on who designed it?

Interested to hear peoples thoughts.

 

[pendodave]

Harry colt and Alastair McKenzie for me.

We have a few dotted about in my part of the south east.

 

[richart]

Harry Colt for me, but I am a member of a Colt course.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I don't have enough knowledge in all honesty but north Yorkshire has a number of Alistair Mackenzie courses and I have always enjoyed them. There is a definite style to them, likes a bit of rough in front of the tee does Alistair for example, but you start to appreciate the design touches after a while. He has built some lovely courses.

If I looking to play 2 courses in an area and saw one was a Mackenzie course then I would certainly gravitate towards it.

 

[tugglesf239]

I’m quite lucky to be a member of a Mackenzie course.

Played a few others in my time too. Can’t say that he’s my favorite as I don’t know enough about the work of others.

I will say that the design of my home course means it can be one nasty SOB on its day. However it’s a stunner and the little touches and optical illusions he’s built in are just lovely.

 

[upsidedown]

Braid and Mackenzie for me

 

[Tashyboy]

Braid and Mackenzie for me

Was gobsmacked to read that Mackenzie never got paid the full fee for designing Augusta. They still owe him.

 

[Orikoru]

Absolutely no idea. That type of thing is of no concern to me.

 

[Grant85]

I play at a James Braid course and I love it. Perhaps this is a lot to do with the course and that it is just such a great place to play golf at.

However 100 years on, I believe the course stands the test of time and still has a great many clever design features that still interest people.

Raised greens on some shorter holes being a great one. i.e. it may only be 350 on the scorecard, but you better get a good drive away if you want to land on a green perched on a wee raised mount.

 

[Hobbit]

Harry Colt, especially with the collaborations with McKenzie.

 

[ademac]

I wonder if Capability Brown was born 100 or so years later would he be up there with greats of golf course design?
Apparently a lot of his work in the Surrey area was turned into golf courses.

 

[Tashyboy]

I wonder if Capability Brown was born 100 or so years later would he be up there with greats of golf course design?
Apparently a lot of his work in the Surrey area was turned into golf courses.

And that i didn't know. 😳

 

[Garush34]

I have really got into golf course architecture this year and I think it's a really interesting side of the game that few get into.

I have a couple of favourite architects, golden age would be C.B. MacDonald and newer would be Tom Doak.

I like C.B.'s use of template holes in a time when machinery wasn't great, some of the courses he build in the time are increadable. The National and Chicago golf club to name a couple.

For Doak I like the simplicity of his courses. He doesn't try to do things just for the sake of it, he likes to use the land as it is if he can. He's created some of the modern classics, such as Tara Iti and Barnbougle Dunes.

There are many others I like their styles and features of the courses they built. I think it's an interesting topic to read up on, there's many books available. Currently working my way through a selection of books and always looking out for deals on other books.

 

[HampshireHog]

I play at a Braid designed , Colt modified course. I can’t say it would influence how I selected other courses to play.

Although having been a member of a cheap Peter Alice course designed in the 80’s I might give them a miss.😉

 

[ademac]

I have really got into golf course architecture this year and I think it's a really interesting side of the game that few get into.

I have a couple of favourite architects, golden age would be C.B. MacDonald and newer would be Tom Doak.

I like C.B.'s use of template holes in a time when machinery wasn't great, some of the courses he build in the time are increadable. The National and Chicago golf club to name a couple.

For Doak I like the simplicity of his courses. He doesn't try to do things just for the sake of it, he likes to use the land as it is if he can. He's created some of the modern classics, such as Tara Iti and Barnbougle Dunes.

There are many others I like their styles and features of the courses they built. I think it's an interesting topic to read up on, there's many books available. Currently working my way through a selection of books and always looking out for deals on other books.

Any recommendations for books?

 

[pendodave]

Any recommendations for books?

I have Alistair MacKenzie's 'spirit of st Andrews's'. It's pretty interesting. Gives an historical perspective on golf course construction, as well as discussing the principals on which he based his designs.
Turns out that he was extremely concerned that the golf ball was starting to go too far, and thought that socialism was the enemy of golf (well, pretty much everything actually).
I bought my copy quite cheaply from an American website selling off old library books...

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Eddie Hackett and Pat Ruddy for me.

 

[Tashyboy]

Clyde B Johnson designed ours. He is over here on June 8th as it is our 20th anniversary. Were having a Barby. Would love him to have some modern input on how he would titivate it. Ours is long but does not have the traps, obstacles if older courses

 

[JohnnyDee]

I tend to like older-style courses and being a member of a Colt course probably makes me biased.

 

[Garush34]

Any recommendations for books?

Spirit of St Andrews as suggested by pendodave is a good read. Masters of the links by Geoff Shackelford is a collection of essays by various architects.
The anatomy of a golf course by Tom Doak, details his thoughts and approach to designing courses.
Golf architecture in America by George Thomas is also a good read. Difficult to find tho if you want an original copy and can be expensive. But I found a reprint in abebooks.co.uk.

Those are just ones I've read so far. But a few others on my list which I've had recommend are Links by Robert hunter, grounds for Golf by Geoff Shackelford and Scotlands gift: golf by C.B. MacDonald.