Hibernation Design

“They steal upon the sleeping mind while winter steals upon the landscape, sealing the inviting cups beneath sheets of ice, cloaking the contours of the fairway in snow.”

John Updike - opening line to Golf Dreams

The photo shown here is the view from my studio window this morning. As a Golf Course Architect in the Northeast, I am often asked by folks that don’t know the industry, “What do you do in the winter?” I usually tell them that I plow snow – (and in this economy, I might make better money doing it!) But honestly, I prefer the break from the game of golf itself and welcome as much snow as possible between December and February. Come March, I am ready for a couple of months of warmer sunshine, but January and February are wonderful times to walk or cross country ski in the winter landscape and work on next seasons designs. “Hibernation Design” I call it. And it can be one of the most creative times of the year for me. Blowing snow and rounded forms provide inspiration much in the same way that blowing sand and beach forms do. The process of nature is visible and the palette is clean in new fallen snow. Rough forms are softened. There is also purity in the light that illuminates relief in the simplest of undulations. Well, it's time to let the dogs out and shovel again.

 By the way, for those of you that have never read Golf Dreams by John Updike, it’s the perfect time to do so. Golf Dreams is one of my favorite all time golf books.