Coming Up for Air

It's been over a month since I have posted on this blog. For the past several weeks I have been putting together the final design and construction drawings for the new nine at The Lazy Swan. Once these drawings are completed, my construction guys will start their work. There have been many long nights that have turned into early mornings in the studio for the past three weeks. And once the design for this project is completed, another new course design is lined up right behind it. So unfortunately, there isn't a lot of time to write.
In regards to the Lazy Swan - I am getting many questions about the design from golfers that will play the holes. What’s it going to be like? At one point I considered using the blog to break down and discuss the holes being developed, but after further thought, I decided not to. I felt it would be like telling what happens in a movie before one sees it. So although my journal and sketchbook is full of the concepts and sketches of the holes, I will wait until the holes open and are being played before I discuss them in detail. My job is to create the problem. It's the golfers job to figure it out. Sometimes telling too much about the design cheapens the experience of playing it. I think this is best left to after the fact. However, there are a few principles that are guiding my work that I don't think will give away too much.

1. Character trumps course length.

2. Flow and overall quality of holes trumps the "funkiness" of a hole or two.

3. It's more about what the site "needs to be", rather than what I "want" the site to be.

4. More linked passages - playing through spaces.

5. Balancing the test of both precision and power.


I will break down each of these in the coming days. But for now, I just need to breathe a bit of this Spring air.