The Turn: Excerpts From Michael Hurdzan
Feb 21, 2019 8:55:36 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2019 8:55:36 GMT -5
(The following has been paraphrased from Dr. Michael J. Hurdzan's book, Golf Course Architecture: Evolution in Design, Construction, and Restoration Technology)
Evolving Course Design Philosophies - Part 1
Minimalism
Golf course design philosophies have evolved in the past 15 to 30 years, and interestingly, in opposite directions. One philosophy involves “minimalists” who believe that ‘less is more’ and that golf course architecture should involve very little construction or disruption of a site. This means minimal earthmoving or clearing of nongolf vegetation as well as bare-bones drainage and irrigation. Minimalist prefer to use materials that might be more reasonably found on the site, such as the more common brown river sand for bunkers as opposed to highly processed, picture-perfect, bright white bunker sand. Minimalists strive to have their golf courses evoke the charm and tradition of European links courses or classic American golf courses of the 1920s. The most widely recognized modern day minimalists are Tom Doak, Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, Donald Steel, and Gil Hanse.
Apache Stronghold - Doak - Arizona
Cuscowilla - Coore & Crenshaw - Georgia
Mossy Oaks - Hanse - Mississippi
Guardian Bom Sucesso - Steel - Spain
On a naturally blessed site like those found in sand belt regions created by wind, water, or glaciers such as the Sand Hills of Mullan, Nebraska or the Oregon Coast near Bandon, this design philosophy has produced superior golf courses at a very low cost. The weakness of this philosophy is that it is site dependent. I have yet to see a minimalist’s golf course of any note built on a landfill, on flat farm fields or in a mountainous area. To create a spectacular golf course on those sites requires extensive construction.
Sheep Ranch - Doak - Oregon
Another major weakness is that golfers bring with them expectations of what a golf course should be. If, in the name of minimalism, the designer leaves natural features in play that golfers consider strange, they may overlook the genius of the overall design and instead critically identify the course with the unusual feature. What golfers find acceptable or not involves fine distinctions.
For example, at Devil’s Paintbrush in Ontario and at the Fieldstone Golf Club in Delaware, there were building foundations on the sites that dated back over 150 years and were still structurally safe and sound. We left those ruins, at the request of local historical organizations and with the approval of our clients, and wove them into the play of the holes as fairly and safely as possible. Golfers seem to understand the reason for leaving those structures and commented that they added a unique touch to the holes. However, when purposely built ruins and columns are added to a golf hole just to make it look historical and try to give the hole some personality, they usually look false and are rejected by the golfers as an insult to their intelligence. In other words, pseudo-minimalism is best avoided.
Fieldstone - Hurdzan & Fry - Delaware
Hurden, Dr. Michael J. Golf Course Architecture: Evolutions in Design, Construction, and Restoration Technology. John Wiley & Sons Publishers, 2006
Evolving Course Design Philosophies - Part 1
Minimalism
Golf course design philosophies have evolved in the past 15 to 30 years, and interestingly, in opposite directions. One philosophy involves “minimalists” who believe that ‘less is more’ and that golf course architecture should involve very little construction or disruption of a site. This means minimal earthmoving or clearing of nongolf vegetation as well as bare-bones drainage and irrigation. Minimalist prefer to use materials that might be more reasonably found on the site, such as the more common brown river sand for bunkers as opposed to highly processed, picture-perfect, bright white bunker sand. Minimalists strive to have their golf courses evoke the charm and tradition of European links courses or classic American golf courses of the 1920s. The most widely recognized modern day minimalists are Tom Doak, Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, Donald Steel, and Gil Hanse.
Apache Stronghold - Doak - Arizona
Cuscowilla - Coore & Crenshaw - Georgia
Mossy Oaks - Hanse - Mississippi
Guardian Bom Sucesso - Steel - Spain
On a naturally blessed site like those found in sand belt regions created by wind, water, or glaciers such as the Sand Hills of Mullan, Nebraska or the Oregon Coast near Bandon, this design philosophy has produced superior golf courses at a very low cost. The weakness of this philosophy is that it is site dependent. I have yet to see a minimalist’s golf course of any note built on a landfill, on flat farm fields or in a mountainous area. To create a spectacular golf course on those sites requires extensive construction.
Sheep Ranch - Doak - Oregon
Another major weakness is that golfers bring with them expectations of what a golf course should be. If, in the name of minimalism, the designer leaves natural features in play that golfers consider strange, they may overlook the genius of the overall design and instead critically identify the course with the unusual feature. What golfers find acceptable or not involves fine distinctions.
For example, at Devil’s Paintbrush in Ontario and at the Fieldstone Golf Club in Delaware, there were building foundations on the sites that dated back over 150 years and were still structurally safe and sound. We left those ruins, at the request of local historical organizations and with the approval of our clients, and wove them into the play of the holes as fairly and safely as possible. Golfers seem to understand the reason for leaving those structures and commented that they added a unique touch to the holes. However, when purposely built ruins and columns are added to a golf hole just to make it look historical and try to give the hole some personality, they usually look false and are rejected by the golfers as an insult to their intelligence. In other words, pseudo-minimalism is best avoided.
Fieldstone - Hurdzan & Fry - Delaware
Hurden, Dr. Michael J. Golf Course Architecture: Evolutions in Design, Construction, and Restoration Technology. John Wiley & Sons Publishers, 2006