BY DESIGN Excellence in Golf Design from the American Society of Golf Course Architects ISSUE 58 // SUMMER 2022 COLLABORATION How working together helped golf course architects address some of the industry’s major challenges ALSO: // Design prodigies // RainDance National // Red Rocks CC REACHING OUT Jeff Brauer provides insight into plans for his new role as Director of Outreach of the ASGCA
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FOREWORD By Design is sponsored by: Power in numbers Great things are rarely achieved by one person alone. So while many golf course architecture firms are fronted by one individual, their projects always involve teamwork. In the last issue of By Design, we read about some successful partnerships between architects and their clients. This issue, we learn more about partnerships among architects. When several of the most experienced and respected golf course architects assembled recently for a discussion about golf design, the conversation focused on the times when they have come together with others that may usually be considered as competitors. These collaborations helped offer solutions to some of the golf industry’s major challenges, including the environment and accessibility. You can read more on page 14. The theme of collaboration features throughout this issue, from our Digest section, which includes news of several collaborations on golf projects, to a piece by the new ASGCA Director of Outreach Jeff Brauer, about his plans to help ASGCA to “better engage and connect with its members, potential members, and the industry at large”. I hope you enjoy the read. Jason Straka President, ASGCA
CONTENTS 4 20 Reaching out Jeff Brauer provides insight into his plans for his new role as Director of Outreach for the ASGCA. 6 Digest The issue begins with news of RainDance National, a new course designed by Harrison Minchew, ASGCA, and Fred Funk. We also report on projects in Mississippi, New Jersey and Florida. 22 Design prodigies By Design showcases some of the many brilliant designs created for ‘The Great Junior Golf Design Challenge of 2022’.
5 On the cover The par-three eighth hole at RainDance National in Colorado, designed by Harrison Minchew, ASGCA, and Fred Funk. Photograph courtesy of Harrison Minchew, ASGCA. 14 The evolution of collaboration By Design assembles a panel of ASGCA’s most experienced members, who reflect on how golf course architects came together to address some of the industry’s biggest challenges. ISSUE 58 // SUMMER 2022 Editor and Publisher Toby Ingleton Editorial contributors Jeff Brauer, Richard Humphreys Design Bruce Graham, Libby Sidebotham, Dhanika Vansia ASGCA Staff Jeff Brauer, Chad Ritterbusch, Mike Shefky, Aileen Smith, Marc Whitney, Ann Woefel Subscribe to By Design at www.tudor-rose.co.uk/bydesign © 2022 American Society of Golf Course Architects. All rights reserved. www.asgca.org 24 Sketchbook Kevin Atkinson, ASGCA, shares a sketch of the sixth hole at Red Rocks Country Club in Colorado. BY DESIGN Excellence in Golf Design from the American Society of Golf Course Architects ISSUE 58 // SUMMER 2022 COLLABORATION How working together helped golf course architects address some of the industry’s major challenges ALSO: // Design prodigies // RainDance National // Red Rocks CC REACHING OUT Jeff Brauer provides insight into plans for his new role as Director of Outreach of the ASGCA
6 DIGEST The new RainDance National course designed by Harrison Minchew, ASGCA, and former PGA Tour professional Fred Funk, located near the front range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, will open for play on 12 July. The course is part of a Water Valley Company development, which also includes 2,500 homes, a hotel, a general store, skiing and biking facilities, and an ice rink. “RainDance features about 225 feet of elevation change from the 5,000-foot highpoint on the first hole to the 4,775-foot-high lake on the fifteenth; for perspective, that’s over 40 percent greater than the celebrated elevation changes at Augusta National,” said Minchew, who was on site almost every day during construction. The course returns to the clubhouse three times, allowing golfers to play loops of three, six, nine and 12 holes, and is almost 8,500 yards from the back tees. “The course tips out at 8,463 yards, which will allow it to host men’s professional and national amateur events. With added carry and runoff, RainDance will probably play around 7,500 to 7,600 yards from the back tee. This relative length will be similar to the 7,700-yard Ocean course at RainDance National prepares to debut new course from Minchew and Funk
7 Photo: Harrison Minchew, ASGCA Kiawah, which hosted the 2021 PGA Championship. “While we want to boast that it’s one of the longest courses in the world, we also don’t want to discourage average players from teeing it up. On a day-to-day basis, the course will be set up with five teeing areas, with it being playable from as short as 4,989 yards.” Minchew and Funk have also designed a 65,000-square-foot ‘G.O.A.T. Ranch’ multipurpose short game area, with a huge putting surface that is joined to the ninth green. It can also be used for a bonus par-three hole of up to 160 yards, with teeing options from the first fairway or second tee. “The course has a wonderfully open feel to it, and it is the most natural golf terrain I have ever worked on,” said Minchew. ASGCA President Jason Straka and Dana Fry, ASGCA, (both pictured above) are progressing with a restoration of the Donald Rossdesigned West course at Belleair Country Club in Florida. “After a full survey of the members, it was clear they desired and supported no mere run-of-the-mill renovation of the West course, but a restoration that embraced its historic significance and pedigree,” said Ed Shaughnessy, chief operating officer at Belleair. Every green is being rebuilt to USGA specification and restored according to Ross’s 1924 construction drawings. “Our restoration of the putting surfaces here has been akin to an archaeological dig,” said Straka. “Here and elsewhere, we would excavate a green complex and find not one set of old drainage but two or three – all piled on top of each other! By following the Ross plans, greens won’t be playing six feet in the air.” Belleair is planning to reopen the West course by mid-November 2022. Fry/Straka restores Ross design on Belleair’s West course The new Colorado layout will open in July Photo: Fry/Straka Golf
9 DIGEST Raymond Hearn, ASGCA, has completed a renovation project at Metedeconk National Golf Club in New Jersey. The project saw Hearn complete renovations throughout the course, originally laid out by ASGCA Founding Member Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and ASGCA Fellow Roger Rulewich. Hearn’s work also had a strong restorative focus, which saw him restore ragged-edge capes and bays to bunkers, which had been lost to ever-changing sand lines and bunker edging. “Ray fully respected the legacy of Jones,” said green committee chairman Rob Bakos. “Strategy, shot value and course aesthetics were all dramatically increased. The remodeled bunkers brought our aging course to life and the fairway contours and greenside runoff areas are bold and dramatic.” Hearn said: “I could not be more pleased on how the project turned out.” Nathan Crace, ASGCA, and ASGCA Past President Robert Trent Jones, Jr. are collaborating on a new 10-hole par-three golf course in Jackson, Mississippi. The layout, to be called Otter Creek Golf Park, will be built on the site of the former LeFleur’s Bluff State Park Golf Course, a nine-hole par 36 that closed in fall 2019. The Otter Creek project is part of a larger master plan at LeFleur’s Bluff Complex, the campus shared between the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks; the Museum of Natural Science; and the Mississippi Children’s Museum. “Ten holes allow us to fully realize the potential of the land we have access to and minimize the walks between the course and new clubhouse,” said Crace, who hopes the project will be out to bid later this year. “Not only will it be the centerpiece of a master plan that preserves urban green space in Mississippi’s biggest city, but it also creates a permanent home for the First Tee of Jackson, introducing golf to a new generation,” said Jones. Crace and RTJ II collaborate on Otter Creek project Local businessman Hu Meena, ASGCA Past President Robert Trent Jones, Jr., and Nathan Crace, ASGCA, announce the Otter Creek project Hearn “respects RTJ legacy” at Metedeconk Photo: Nathan Crace, ASGCA Photo: Raymond Hearn Golf Course Design
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11 DIGEST Palm Aire Country Club in Sarasota, Florida, has reopened its Dick Wilson-designed Champions course following a renovation by Michael Benkusky, ASGCA. Benkusky has renovated greens to incorporate more pinnable areas and rebuilt bunkers to an updated Wilson look, with their placement adjusted to accommodate today’s game. In-play areas have also been regrassed with Bimini bermuda while the amount of sand and turf on the course has been reduced. Tees have been restored to the ‘runways’ laid out by Wilson, and expanded to make the course playable from 4,466 to 7,126 yards. “We were more than happy to put a whole host of original elements back into play,” said Benkusky. “My favorite restorative project was probably the super cool four-bunker complex we built on the inside of the dogleg at the seventh (pictured). At some point the club turned that grouping into one big bunker, but we went back to Wilson’s more striking, more visible original configuration.” Benkusky restores Wilson look at Palm Aire In the latest podcast from Golf Course Industry’s “Tartan Talks” series, Chris Wilczynski, ASGCA, and Todd Quitno, ASGCA, discuss bunkers. “Bunkers can really change the face of a golf course and how a hole is played,” says Wilczynski. “You don’t need a lot of bunkers to make a great golf course – where they’re located is the most important. Strategy, angles and creating risk and reward opportunities is a lot more interesting than having penal bunkers lining both sides of the fairway. I want easy and hard angles on fairways, so players need to think from hole to hole.” Quitno says: “Bunkers are the most photographed and talkedabout element of golf, they’re important. A savvy bunker program can do so much for a club; it can improve efficiency of maintenance and breathe new life into a facility. “My role is to get the artistic quality across in such a project. With bunkers, you have to have something in your style that is visually dynamic, whether it’s edges or contours, there needs to be something that gives some flair.” Listen to the full “Tartan Talk” at golfcourseindustry.com. “ A savvy bunker program can do so much for a club” Chr is Wi lczynski , ASGCA, and Todd Qui tno, ASGCA • Kevin Atkinson, ASGCA, provides his perspective on views, sketches, short courses and mentors • Stephen Kay, ASGCA, discusses tree removal and golf course restorations Here are links to other recent “Tartan Talks,” now featuring over 50 episodes: Photo: Michael Benkusky, ASGCA
12 DIGEST Sherman leads design work at Watersound Watersound Club in Panama City, Florida, has hired Love Golf Design to design a new eighteen-hole course. The layout will be located north of Shark’s Tooth, the resort’s existing golf course, and east of the Watersound Origins community. Scot Sherman, ASGCA, is leading the project for Love Golf Design. Alongside the firm’s founders Davis Love III and Mark Love, Sherman is aiming to blend the layout into the existing natural vegetation of the site. “We’re pleased to be working with a routing that flows across white sandy dunes, with diverse native plant materials, along with beautiful pockets of old growth cypress and pine trees to frame the golf holes,” said Love III. “We are really thrilled with how the routing of the golf course is coming along at this point.” Davis completes bunker work at Pursell Farms Tripp Davis, ASGCA, has completed bunker renovation work at FarmLinks at Pursell Farms in Sylacauga, Alabama. The course was originally designed by ASGCA Past President Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, ASGCA, in 2002. “We were asked to design and oversee a bunker renovation to replace the old structure and make the bunkers as strategic and as visually interesting as possible,” said Davis, who, with his design associate, Kyle Downs, renovated every bunker. Robert Mitchell, golf course superintendent at Pursell Farms, says the impact of the renovation has been huge. “The 80-to-100 man-hours we used to spend repairing bunker washouts after a rainstorm is reduced to about 30 with the improved liner and drainage,” he said. “The bunkers are playable faster after rain, and the guest experience is greatly improved.” The design team for Watersound Club’s new layout, from left, Mark Love, Scot Sherman, ASGCA, and Davis Love III Photo: Watersound Club Photo: Farmlinks at Pursell Farms
13 SOCIAL UPDATE Search ASGCA on the below channels for more posts: LinkedIn @ASGCA “ASGCA Insights” podcast – Dottie Pepper received the gift of friendship twice from the same man – when he corresponded with her in her formative years, and a second time when she learned he saved those letters. Instagram @evan_schiller_photography If you love old school golf course architecture, you’ll love Hackensack Golf Club. Working off old Banks drawings, Steve Weisser of Rees Jones worked with Rich Lane on this Charles “Steam Shovel” Banks design. Twitter @HFS_GCA Nearing the finish line on a few smaller projects: @StoneOak_CC with @Brian_koba and the guys from @wadsworth_golf. The new bunkers on #17 accentuate the natural sand ridge that the green sits on and will serve as a great example for future improvements. Photo: PGA West Tim Liddy, ASGCA, will conduct a renovation of the Stadium course at PGA West in La Quinta, California, which was originally designed by ASGCA Fellow Pete Dye. Work on the 7,300-yard layout, where Dye created the islandgreen ‘Alcatraz’ seventeenth (pictured), will begin this summer. The project includes renovations to tees, bunkers and greens, as well as updates to the drainage and irrigation systems. “The Stadium course is important in the annals of golf course architecture and restoring the original character will bring back its rich patina,” said Liddy, a long-time associate of Dye. “The layout can’t be improved upon so what we’ve proposed is a refinement, not a redesign.” PGA West has also recently completed a renovation of its Palmer Private Course, which was overseen by Brandon Johnson, ASGCA. Johnson restored greens back to ASGCA Fellow Arnold Palmer’s original design and has replaced the existing Tifdwarf bermuda with the TifEagle variety. “While we restored some greens, we also made strategic enhancements; expansions that introduced new pin locations in addition to restoring pins that had been lost for years,” said Johnson. “We also adjusted all the fairway lines to expose and incorporate more of the existing contours.” Greenside bunkers have been reshaped and some new ones have been added. Green surrounds have also been renovated, while irrigation work has been carried out on holes 14 to 17. Liddy to renovate Stadium course at PGA West
WORKING TOGETHER Collaborations are now increasingly commonplace. From Balmain x Beyoncé to Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, good partnerships can yield success in all spheres of life. While golf course architecture has a long history of famous ‘collabs’ – Robertson and Morris, Jones and MacKenzie, Thompson and Trent Jones, to name just a few – attitudes towards working together have evolved quite significantly over recent decades. “Formal collaboration between architects wasn’t common in the 1970s and 1980s,” says ASGCA Past President Lee Schmidt on his early years as a golf course architect. That’s not to say there wasn’t a fraternal spirit. Schmidt recalls one of his first ASGCA Annual Meetings, in Bermuda in 1980, which he attended with his mentor, and ASGCA Fellow, Pete Dye. “As we arrived at the hotel, Art Hills was there, looking concerned. Pete discovered that his luggage had been lost by the airline. He turned to me and said, ‘can you give Art some of your clothes?’” A somewhat shocked Schmidt complied, and picked out a few items. “I remember how bizarre it The extent to which golf course architects work together, and with others in the industry, has evolved and had a positive effect on facilities, the industry and the game. We asked some of ASGCA’s longer-serving members for their reflections on how cooperation in golf has developed. 14 ASGCA Past President Bill Amick (pictured right, with ASGCA Past President John LaFoy) says comradeship with other golf architects has been a constant in his life Photo: ASGCA collaboration Advancing
15 was to see Art wearing my clothes for the duration of the meeting!” he says. On returning home, a package arrived in the mail, with every item laundered and pressed. Aside from sharing clothes from each other’s backs, Schmidt says that collaboration was generally limited to sharing ideas and expertise. “We would play each other’s courses and talk about design topics. We would also call someone up and ask them questions, like ‘do you know a shaper in this area?’ or ‘where did you get sand from for this project?’.” “Members would talk to each other about the design of bunkers and greens and how they dealt with a particular problem – they’d be happy to tell you how,” adds ASGCA Past President Don Knott. “That kind of collaboration has been going on for years.” But as Schmidt says: “Collaboration was more informal.” ASGCA Past President Dick Phelps agrees: “There weren’t many joint partnerships in those days,” he says, explaining: “The ability to collaborate was a lot more difficult than it is now,” alluding to the advances in technology and transportation that help bring people together more easily. “There wasn’t as much emphasis on education and exchanging important information about golf course architecture,” says ASGCA Past President Bill Amick. He stops short of using ‘fraternal’ – “I was in a college fraternity, and it wasn’t like that!”, but describes the relationships with other architects as a “comradeship, that stuck with us throughout.” ASGCA Past President Jan Bel Jan says that togetherness extended to Clockwise from top left, Paul Albanese, ASGCA, and ASGCA Fellow Jerry Matthews (centre) on site at Saskatoon GC in Michigan; Bill Boswell, ASGCA, and Troy Vincent, ASGCA; ASGCA Past Presidents Greg Martin and Forrest Richardson; and an education session from a ASGCA Annual Meeting Photo: Carter Sherline Photo: Jekyll Island Golf Club Photo: ASGCA Photo: The Preserve at Oak Meadows
16 WORKING TOGETHER recognizing when a colleague may be a better fit for a client. She says: “When I’ve been asked to be part of a certain project that would suit someone else, I have said, this is a person who’s better for it because of their location and experience, you’ll get a much better product and more time invested than from me.” Over time, the spirit of comradeship has evolved, and architects are increasingly recognizing the value of working in groups. Two topics in particular galvanized the industry, acting as a catalyst to collaboration. Environmental awareness “What triggered more coordination between golf groups was the big environmental issues,” says Knott. Golf had garnered a reputation of being harmful to the environment, so architects increasingly recognized the importance of speaking with governing bodies, as well as superintendents, legislators and the wider public. “There were so many golf projects, often part of a housing development, that were going in front of the public, and that’s when we really had to defend ourselves,” says Knott. “Most of the issues centered around water and pollution – the environmental community was big on pesticides and herbicides. Water usage was an issue in the west, but water quality was one of the primary concerns, and the golf community had to do some serious research.” One of the first opportunities to share that research with the environmental community came at the ‘Golf in the Environment’ meeting in Pebble Beach in March 1995. Knott, along with ASGCA Past Presidents Mike Hurdzan and Bill Love, attended. “The environment groups came away realizing that golf guys actually thought about these issues,” says Knott. “There were several more of these meetings, and eventually the environmental community recognized that golf wasn’t as bad as they thought.” Golf architects had already been considering how best to communicate that the courses they design were environmentally sustainable, and how to encourage a sustainable approach to golf course design. “We took charge in terms of these issues,” says Knott. “We would release white Todd Eckenrode, ASGCA, collaborated with landscape architect Ken Alperstein to preserve native areas at Twin Dolphin in Mexico
17 papers around environmental uses and other topics and publish periodicals and statements that the general public could read.” A few years before the Pebble Beach meeting, An Environmental Approach to Golf Course Development, edited by Love, was published, and such communications continue to be an important mechanism for collaboration, evidenced for example by the ASGCA Foundation’s recent series of Golf & Water books. These cover best practices for golf course maintenance, how designers can protect the environment, and include case studies to demonstrate how golf architects have met various sustainable goals. Schmidt says: “These publications help architects, but also help educate the public, whether it’s a city council or an environmental group. We can say, here’s a paper that we’ve already done regarding this topic in a very readable format with case studies and good examples. It helps everyone in the golf industry to be better informed.” One of the outcomes of the growing acceptance of sustainable approaches to golf course design has been an increase in the popularity of scaled down courses. “Shorter layouts have the benefit of requiring less land, water and many other essentials,” says Amick. “They also require smaller amounts of petroleum-based products to construct and maintain, and there is no need for a big irrigation system – this combination leads to a lower annual maintenance budget. And all of this has a positive impact from an environment standpoint in comparison to building a full-length 18-hole course.” Architects collectively recognize that environmental issues will continue to dominate. “The drought, particularly in the “ Shorter layouts have the benefit of requiring less land, water and many other essentials” Short courses like Wild Piglet at Les Bordes, a design by Gil Hanse, ASGCA, can have a positive impact from an environmental standpoint as they require less land and resources Photo: Evan Schiller Photo: Les Bordes
18 WORKING TOGETHER west, is really going to affect golf,” warns Phelps. “We have small communities in the west that are telling the public to cut back on their water usage. Some communities are even losing their wells completely.” By working closely together to consider such environmental issues, architects have learned from shared experience and expertise that there are solutions to mitigate them. “Facilities will become more conscious of how much water is being used on its course, and that will undoubtedly lead to projects to reduce the amount of turf to save water,” says Phelps. Advancing accessibility Another major topic around which the industry has come together is accessibility. The Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law in 1990, prohibits discrimination based on disability. Schmidt says: “Golf architects joined these discussions back in the early nineties because the people coming up with the rules did not understand that much about golf. The ASGCA got involved as we didn’t want certain laws passed that would affect the integrity of the game. We were there to protect golf.” Phelps and ASGCA Past President Denis Griffiths were among the experts who became involved early to guide lawmakers to make decisions that would achieve their objectives while also being good for the game. Following a Washington D.C. meeting, where Phelps delivered a presentation as part of an ASGCA advisory group, guidelines for golf were released to ensure disabled golfers could access – on every hole – at least one tee, the fairway and the green. Bel Jan, who has been a board member for the National Alliance for Accessible Golf since 2010, is now among those spearheading ASGCA’s work on accessibility. She highlights the importance of those collaborative discussions, and subsequent revisions, in arriving at recommendations that are practical to implement. “The emphasis is on golf car passage,” she says. “Golfers with mobility impairments need to be able to drive their golf carts onto the tees and hit from the cart, then drive down the fairways and onto greens – that’s the passage. This is easy for architects to design, because mowing equipment has to get to all these places.” Relationships between golf course architects and industry partners, of the type that resulted in practical and effective approaches to environmental and accessibility issues, have grown “exponentially” over the years, says Schmidt. “Back in the olden days, ASGCA members were given a big thick binder of products, but we started talking about how to engage better with suppliers and other industry partners. This wasn’t just about learning their products but letting them get to know us. By doing “ Sharing ideas makes it easier for club governors to accept a proposal” President George H.W. Bush, the 2018 ASGCA Donald Ross Award winner, signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law in 1990. The ASGCA helped guide lawmakers regarding the ADA and its relation to golf, including ‘golf car passage’ from tee to green, and green to tee Photo: National Archives
19 this, it opened more avenues for collaboration.” And, as it turned out, these relationships had a tendency to work both ways. “Architects would start to say they’d heard from one of our partners about a potential golf course project – it opened up a lot more avenues for getting work, and we reciprocated,” says Schmidt. “Our members got more educated on a lot of different fronts, including products – that was a very big positive at that point in time for our organization.” Formal collaborations for golf course projects are now widespread, even among architects who might usually be viewed as competitors. There is a recognition of the unique attributes that each party brings that can add value for the client and increase the likelihood of success. In Mississippi, for example, Nathan Crace, ASGCA, reached out to ASGCA Past President Robert Trent Jones, Jr., for his insight into his 10-hole Otter Creek layout. Jones was glad to become involved, particularly given the project’s emphasis on introducing golf to young people. Troy Vincent, ASGCA, and Bill Boswell, ASGCA, are working together at Jekyll Island in Georgia. “Bill and I have known each other for a number of years and the idea of collaborating on a project together appealed to both of us, but it had to be the right project,” says Vincent. “Given the fact there are multiple golf courses and so many possibilities at Jekyll Island, it was apparent that this would be the perfect fit. We have varying design concepts and styles but that has proven to be advantageous when dealing with such a large project and has allowed us to explore a number of opportunities that will ultimately benefit Jekyll Island.” Phelps gives the example of his son, Rick, lead architect at PhelpsAtkinson Golf Course Design and also an ASGCA Past President, who regularly collaborates with others. “Rick and several guys, who have projects in Colorado, go and have lunch together,” says Phelps. “They play golf. They compare notes. I think it’s terrific, and very good for the profession.” A collaborative approach is an important aspect of being a modern-day architect, says Bel Jan. “People are very willing to share – I do, because in many ways it’s validating. It validates an idea, and it makes it a lot easier for club governors to accept a proposal. When you say this was successful at this club and made that club money, the option is definitely more persuasive. It also lets club governors know that you are open to more than just your own ideas, and it helps them validate it back to their own members.”• Photo: ASGCA Past President Jan Bel Jan
20 OUTREACH In late 2021, the American Society of Golf Course Architects identified the need to better engage and connect with its members, potential members, and the industry at large. While the COVID pandemic highlighted the potential to connect virtually, it also showed that nothing beats in-person interaction. With this in mind, the idea of an ASGCA Director of Outreach was conceived. In life, timing is sometimes everything. The position was posted just as I was considering retirement and my enthusiasm for the current market, dominated by ‘practical renovations’ (long-term master plans, infrastructure improvements and sand bunker reductions), was waning slightly. This position offered both change and continuity, as I have been active in various ASGCA projects during my 40 years as a member. I accepted the position, believing both in the value of ASGCA as a professional society, and that after 44 years in golf course architecture, my best career finale would be to use my design experience to aid the future of the profession. ASGCA will go beyond simply engaging and connecting people in the profession and related fields, by collaborating on various initiatives and projects, believing we are better working together. Internally, we will recommit to our missions of fostering professionalism and fellowship among golf course architects, encouraging knowledge sharing, and continuing to provide education targeted specifically at golf course architects and design issues. These will include formal seminars at our regular meetings, structured but informal discussions, special events like our recent trip to Sand Hills, webinars and Zoom calls, and new architecture toolkits that members can find on our website. The first will focus on design requirements related to the Americans with Disabilities Act. My initial focus was to contact members, and others in the industry, with a simple question: How can the ASGCA be better, and better serve them? From these conversations, I have already heard several great ideas to create more tangible value from ASGCA. Another aspect of my role will be to stress the value of good golf course architecture both within the industry and to the golfing public at large. While there are Jeff Brauer provides insight into his plans for his new role as Director of Outreach for the ASGCA. Reaching out Jef frey D. Brauer Jeff Brauer is the first ASGCA Director of Outreach. He assumed the role at the start of 2022 following a 44-year career as a golf course architect, which saw him create over 50 of his own designs and oversee 80-plus renovation projects.
21 several great magazines (including this one!), blogs and websites, practicing golf course architects are the best (or only) people who can articulate the challenges of modern design. The author and design consultant Adam Judge said: “The alternative to good design is always bad design. There is no such thing as no design.” Design isn’t just about looks, it’s about function. Or as ASGCA Past President Greg Martin puts it: “The real magic of great architecture lies in the 80 percent that golfers don’t see.” Much of the general media focuses on the last 20 percent of design details, which can only be good if the first 80 percent is done right. While most golf press focuses on the Golden Age and tournament courses, there have been several watermark layouts that have contributed as much or more to golf as we know it today. Great early American courses like Newport (which we will visit as part of our annual meeting later this year), pioneering public courses like Van Cortlandt Park, and the first courses of any type, whether residential, mountain, desert or quarry, all provide learning points and inspiration. Now in its 75th year, ASGCA will continue to assist today’s architects and others in the building profession as they look to their bright future, its challenges and its successes. Which is the best generation of golf course architects? Why, the next one, of course!• Jeff Brauer can be contacted at: jeff@asgca.org New ASGCA Director of Outreach Jeff Brauer, left, at the 2022 GCSAA Conference with ASGCA Past President Bruce Charlton, centre, and Jon O’Donnell of Heritage Links, plans to ensure the ASGCA better engages with its members and golf industry Photos: ASGCA
22 JUNIOR GOLF DESIGN CHALLENGE Continuing a program first introduced during the pandemic lockdown of 2020, the ASGCA has again offered young people the opportunity to get creative with their golf design ideas through The Great Junior Design Challenge. Entrants could submit their ideas for a golf hole with no limitations. The 2022 challenge attracted almost 100 entries, with our junior designers showcasing a great range of design features, from split fairways and island greens to boat docks and even state-shaped tees and greens. Our panel of judges selected Adam from Quebec as the winner, for his par-five creation, ‘River Crossed Island’. The hole plays across an archipelago that provides a multitude of options, with the primary fairway snaking from one island to another, to a green protected by two massive bunkers. The ASGCA Foundation awarded Adam a prize of $250, with a donation of the same amount also made to his local First Tee chapter. Two other submissions received $100 each in merchandise from U.S. Kids Golf.• View all the submissions on the ASGCA website. By Design showcases some of the many brilliant designs created for ‘The Great Junior Golf Design Challenge of 2022’. Design prodigies Designer: Adam From: Quebec Age group: 14-17 On this momentous par five, players have countless options but will ultimately need to get their ball from one island to another Designer: Maggie From: Texas Age group: 1-8 This short par three is defended by water, sand and the occasional boat WINNER!
23 Designer: Tom From: Georgia Age group: 1-8 Players will have to negotiate severe contours on Tom’s par four, with a fairway that slopes from right to left, and a green from back to front Designer: Alex From: Michigan Age group: 9-13 Alex says his 584-yard par five is a “nightmare end to the front nine” Designer: Darren From: Maryland Age group: 9-13 Darren’s par-five hole comprises five islands, each taking their shape from a US state Designer: Claire From: New Jersey Age group: 14-17 Claire, who won the 2021 challenge, has again produced a beautiful layout, this time modeled on a broken sock
24 SKETCHBOOK Kevin Atkinson, ASGCA, is overseeing a renovation of the golf course at Red Rocks Country Club in Colorado. “The course needed better variety in its par three holes, both in length and design,” said Atkinson. “I opted to modify the sixth hole to become a short par three, hoping that all golfers will use a nine iron or wedge. I utilized the Volcano green concept to create more drama in elevation with the green perched up and hanging over the edge of a severe canyon. The added elevation created better views of the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater in the distance too... a nice bonus.” From the back tees the line of play is directly over a large bunker flanking the front right of the green. However, those hitting from the forward tee, located further left, will have a clear line of play. “I use my sketches for members to better understand the design concept as well as for the shaper to see the vision of the hole,” said Atkinson. “Sketching is a big part of my design process. I use my sketches to help me filter through ideas to create the best possible hole. Often, I will have several design sketches for a single hole before finally landing on what I feel is the best final design.”• Red Rocks Country Club Kevin Atkinson, ASGCA The original vision and new reality for the par-three sixth at Red Rocks
Tahoma 31 ® Bermudagrass Developed by the turfgrass experts at Oklahoma State University, Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass pushes the geographic boundaries of bermudagrass into the northernmost reaches of the Transition Zone. Highly cold tolerant, the name “Tahoma” comes from the Native American word that means “frozen water,” and the grass lives up to its name. Golf courses as far north as Chillicothe Country Club in Ohio (fairways and tees), and Liberty National in Jersey City, NJ, (driving range tee), benefit from Tahoma 31’s ability to stand up to cold winters yet thrive in hot summer temperatures. Tahoma 31 creates a sustainable and maintainable golf course with dramatically lower disease pressures compared to cool-season grasses. A tight, dense turf generally mowed as low as ¼ to ½-inch for excellent playability, with notable wear tolerance to heal quickly from divot damage, and strong drought tolerance to save water, its deep blue-green color offers stunning visual contrast for golf course design. Tahoma31Bermudagrass.com Rain Bi rd Corporat ion Since 1933, Rain Bird has built a reputation on delivering irrigation systems that combine performance with efficiency. Rain Bird leverages state-of-the-art technologies to innovate and develop products that apply water in the most effective and efficient manner possible. From highly-efficient sprinkler nozzles to cutting-edge control systems and pump stations, Rain Bird is widely recognized as the leader in golf course irrigation control system technology. We take the challenge of using water responsibly very seriously. That’s why our over-arching philosophy, The Intelligent Use of Water™, guides everything we do. The revolutionary Integrated Control System™ provides innovation at a lower overall cost to golf courses enabling the user to maximize system efficiency and conserve water with a smaller environmental footprint. For more information, please contact 1-800-RAINBIRD or visit: www.rainbird.com Toro The Toro Company is proud of its legacy of quality and innovation. Customers around the world rely on Toro for high performing products that include precision fairway and rough mowers, greens mowers, compact utility loaders, commercial zero-turn mowers, bunker management machines, and water-efficient irrigation systems. In 1919, Toro provided a motorized fairway mower to the Minikahda Club, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to replace horse-drawn equipment. By mounting five individual reel mowers onto the front of a farm tractor, Toro developed the Toro Standard Golf Machine and helped create the motorized golf course equipment industry. Today Toro continues to lead the global market with best-in-class turf maintenance equipment and precision irrigation solutions. Approximately two-thirds of the top 100 courses in the world use Toro irrigation systems. The company also leads the way in environmental innovations, making products safer, cleaner and quieter whenever possible. www.toro.com
ASGCA Leadership Partners Support ing Educat ion in the Gol f Course Industry ASGCA thanks the following companies for their continued support of golf course development and renovation – helping ASGCA members do their jobs better, for the good of the game. // MAJOR LEVEL PARTNERS // SPONSORS // MERIT LEVEL PARTNERS
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