Where Design Inspiration Comes From – Some Thoughts to Consider

Consider this: Not all music is inspired by other music; not all paintings are inspired from other paintings; not all architecture is inspired by other architecture; not all writing is inspired by other writing; and not all golf architecture should be inspired by other golf architecture.

It was 1994 and I was doing some research during my graduate studies. I contacted a few prominent “Golf Course Architects” to ask some questions in regards to design. What I was interested in at the time was the inspiration or conceptualization of the final forms of the golf holes. I remember one conversation in particular. I asked this architect about “form generation” and where he got his ideas for the forms and features of the golf course. There was dead silence. It was like I was speaking a foreign language. Most well known building architects can articulate where their forms are inspired by. But when it comes to golf design, I am continually struck by the “shallowness” of it. I went on to explain that a Ross bunker doesn’t look like a MacKenzie bunker, and so they obviously had different inspirations for design. What I am asking is, “What is your inspiration? What is leading your forms to become what they are?” I guess maybe he never thought about it, which I found incredible. Yet 16 years later, you rarely hear a “Golf Course Architect” talk about their inspiration. Or when you do, it is always about other golf holes, historical courses, or dead architects. I am so tired of hearing –“This hole was inspired by (fill in some classic golf hole here)” Or, as every architect now claims, “I am inspired by the classic golf courses of the golden age of golf design”, and not those “horribly boring modern designs!” How convenient, how cliché, and how easy it is to try to align oneself with the esteemed architecture of the past. The only problem with this is that they were creating original designs. What do you have to offer? My eyes glaze over every time I hear the “Classic Design” cliché. Enough already, we got that back in 101 Design Theory. There are indeed important foundational principles and characteristics of classical golf design, just as there is in building architecture. But they are to be built upon, not plagiarized. I, for one, am very skeptical of the “template” mentality. I speak as a designer, as one who creates. Not as an architectural critic. As a critic, it is often very useful to describe new holes in comparing them to older designs. This is to describe – it’s not about the genesis of the form. But as a designer - as one who creates - I believe great architecture at its best is original, intuitive, comes from within and can be inspired by a variety of sources – not just the study of other golf holes, or great golf course architects.

As Emerson said,
“Shakespeare will never be made by the study of Shakespeare.”

Think about it.

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.

More Good News - Barrow's View Golf Course - 2010

I will be constructing another new course in 2010 - Barrow's View Golf Course in Borodino, New York. The course will overlook beautiful Skaneateles Lake in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. The golf course is part of a larger development that includes housing, a cluster of retail and artist buildings, and additional recreational facilities including boating. The property includes a waterfront component that will allow golfers to arrive by boat. Overnite guests will be shuttled by boat to the village of Skaneateles for dining and shopping.  The course is named after John D. Barrows, a Hudson River School landscape and portrait painter who resided in Skaneateles during the late 1800's. His work includes many paintings of the Skaneateles Lake area. More recently, the town of Skaneateles became famous for hosting then President Bill Clinton - who vacationed on the lake during his presidency. I am attaching a couple of early sketches I prepared for the golf course. The routing and preliminary construction drawings have been completed. I will be writing more about this project and posting updated plans as they become available for release.

Lazy Swan Expanding to 18 Holes

The Lazy Swan Golf and Country Club in Saugerties, New York is expanding to 18 holes.

Construction on the new nine is scheduled to to take place in the 2010 season with an opening date set for 2011. The first nine that I designed opened in 2008. Since that time, six buildings have been constructed that make up the "Village Area". The buildings include the clubhouse, pro-shop, locker rooms, snack shop, pilates studio, and cart barn. Currently, the banquet hall is under construction. The views from the facility will frame golf holes and mountain views. (See attached photo). The Banquet hall is scheduled to open in the summer of 2010.

The golf course was originally planned as a nine hole course. However, reviews from the golfers were so positive that the owner, Tony Bacchi, decided to purchase additional land to build nine more holes. The holes will continue the overall themes created in the first nine and will enhance the diversity of the course by moving in and out of some beautifully wooded areas. The routing is complete and the project has been granted sketch plan approval. We anticipate a spring groundbreaking once final permits are secured.

Silent Blog + Trashed Studio = Good Signs

Things have been "good busy" in the studio for the last month and a half. (See image above) Next week we will have some news about at least one large project that will be under construction next year, and a very good chance more to follow. As I look around my studio, I see trash paper sketches everywhere, piles of paper stacked on my desk, and books from my design library strewn about. I know this is a good sign. Another good sign is when my design sketchbook begins to fill up again. I have been ripping through pages the last few weeks. This is where I begin to articulate design ideas that will eventually turn into golf holes.

Another good sign, unfortunately, is a silent blog. (First things first - especially in this economy) I am sure there are plenty of golf architects with very clean offices and plenty of time on their hands to do all the writing they want. Right now, I am fortunate not to be one of them. I must say, it is difficult to stay committed to the blog when there is so much studio work to be flushed out with relatively little time to do it. It is now December and come March, northern golf construction season begins. Only three full months away. Yikes! I can't wait......

Champion Hills Nears Debut

The 9th hole and clubhouse beyond - at Champion Hills Country Club

My latest new design, Champion Hills is nearing its debut.

Located in Victor, New York – just east of the city of Rochester - Champion Hills Country Club is the areas first “Cottage Style” layout.  The final hole was seeded approximately a month ago, and is coming in nicely. Work continues on the building out of the residential area as well as tuning up the golf course. A grand opening will occur early next spring. This is the first new course opening for me since the highly acclaimed Lazy Swan Golf and Country Club opened in Saugerties, New York in 2008. Champion Hills is significant for me not only because it is opening at a time when few new courses are built, but also due to its unique concept. It is also the second golf course I have completed with Scott  Hall, my shaper from Empire Links Golf Construction.

 The "Cottage Style Course" - is a term I coined while working out the design concept.  The ‘Cottage Style’ refers to a nine-hole course that is less than 3,000 yards and has a non-traditional total par. However, more importantly, the course is designed to "reflect a quality and craftsmanship in its detailing of features, equal or exceeding the top-level courses”. It is a style of course directly contrasting the absurd modern architecture of 7,500 yards or more, ‘McMonster’ courses. These long, process designed courses are excruciatingly boring and offer little interest to the large masses of common golfers. By contrast, a cottage style course is infused with strategies that require careful thinking and an honest evaluation of ones own shot making abilities. When possible, alternative routes to the hole are also provided. They are also designed to address the modern lifestyle of today’s golfers.

One of the unique beauties of the 'Cottage Style', is the desirability of the course for all age groups and skill levels. The length alone insures that the holes are playable – and ultimately “parable” - for most golfers. However, the holes do provide challenges that will assist in the development of a wide repertoire of shots if the course is to be mastered on a regular basis. One can also expect to find many of the hazards found on regulation courses. Both sand bunkers and water features are typically present and the courses require tactical decisions by players if they are to successfully negotiate the golf holes. However, the courses do eliminate forced carries of any significant length and offer multiple tee boxes for varying skill levels.

The ‘Cottage Style’ is also deliberately designed to be family friendly, where one can imagine a grandfather playing with his son and grandson. In addition, better golfers will find these courses as a quick and useful tune-up for their games when they are short on time. The typical length of time to play a cottage style course is 90 minutes or less. And players will find that despite the reduced length of the course, they are required to hit every club in their bag.

I will be introducing several of the holes at Champion Hills as well as discussing my clients goals and objectives and how those were specifically addressed throughout the design and construction of the golf course.

Space Matters

For the past week I have been working on a routing for a new golf course. Nine of the holes are set. So I have been working out the final nine holes and amenities, such as the practice facility, parking and clubhouse circulation. It became apparent that we will need some more land – not a lot - but certainly more. I have tried over 50 – 75 routings and variations. This isn’t uncommon for me even when land is plentiful. But it is more difficult to make a course of distinction without sufficient land. It leads to the question, “How much land is needed for an 18 hole golf course?” That’s a question not always easy to answer. So much depends on what one is trying to achieve, as well as parcel configuration, topography, environmental issues (such as wetlands), existing vegetation, etc. In 1926, this is what the great Golf Architect Donald J. Ross had to say:

“Don’t make that most regrettable of mistakes, the selection of too small a tract. Don’t try to save money in that way. One hundred ten acres will do, but it’s bad to limit it to even that. One-hundred twenty five is a fair size, but one-hundred fifty is better. It is not necessary to use all the ground available for golf. By using less, the upkeep is kept down, a big item in this day of high prices. Under certain favorable conditions, a small piece of property, fortunately shaped, might work out admirably. Other times it would make a most unsatisfactory and decidedly uninteresting course.”

Keep in mind that he was working back in the day where a course of 6,500 yards was plenty for a championship course. (A length that is still plenty for the 95% of all golfers, but certainly too short for Men’s championships.) So to a certain extent, what your goals are will determine the amount of land you will need. At any rate, at the end of my week of routings, I decided to take in this past weeks PGA Tournament that was held at Atunyote, the Tom Fazio design at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY. Saturday was a beautiful fall day and it was a pleasure to soak it in. I’m not here to critique the design, which by the way is very beautiful and very “Fazio”. I have played it before and it is a fun track, very playable even for a 9 handicap hacker like myself. But what struck me most about my visit in the midst of routing a course with limited land, is the expanse of the golf course proper. I literally could fit a very nice 9 holes on three of the holes out there. Give me the 12th, 18th and 9th holes, and I would have plenty to work with. This is mainly because the goal of the resort was to host a PGA Tour event, and they host their Turning Stone Resort Championship in fine fashion. The planning included space for bleachers, corporate tents, paved cart paths throughout, “spectator mounding”, etc. It’s a completely different design criteria.

So there is no definitive amount of land needed for 18 holes. Donald Ross’ answer is still a good one. But if we are to grow the game of golf, we need to create interesting courses nearer to urban populations where we can expose the game to the maximum number of people who have never tried it. This means designing courses on smaller pieces of land and will require more creativity from the architect. Certainly, it is a greater test of ones ability to design a fine shorter course with limited land than a longer course on an expansive remote piece of property. I think as an industry we should be headed into smaller urban parcels where potential players are abundant, even if the land is limited. Players will eventually travel to play golf in remote areas but we need to let “interesting golf” - and not necessarily "long golf" - get them hooked first.