[Tim Lewis]

The thread about whether or not a golf course architect without a style is a prisoner of the land got me thinking about what the next trend in golf course architecture will be. Specifically the post from Randy Thompson, saying that in the future the best architects will be the ones who can make a golf course from a less than desirable site.

Golf course architects have always felt the need to separate themselves from their mentors in some ways, while still using much of what they were taught. Many of the golden age architects were mentored by Old Tom Morris, and with the necessity for golf courses in new landscapes, a new trend emerged. RTJ and Dick Wilson were then taught the craft by a few of the Golden Age architects, and along with the great demand for courses they started a new trend. Pete Dye  didn't really have a mentor, If he did he didn't really borrow much from him, but formed most of his philosophy without others interfering(this is one of the reasons I think he was so good for the game, and architecture). Pete Dye then trained and mentored the large majority of prominent architects of today.  My question is, in what direction will the future architects that have or will have been mentored by the Tom Doak's, the Coore and Crenshaw's, and the Gil Hanse's  take golf course architecture? Will they take minimalism further(if that's possible)? Will they take a step back towards towards large scale construction projects? Maybe there will even be a additional generation of minimalists before the philosophies of architects changes again?

Of course there is no way to tell what the future of golf course architecture holds, and I am probably making this question much simpler than it actually is, but I believe it would be fun to see what people here think golf architecture will look like after the minimalist movement subsides(which it will have to at some point in my opinion).  

[Jeff_Brauer]

Personally, I hope the trend is that there is no trend.  In a sport where the playing fields being unique is part of the charm, I would like gca to follow several different directions.

If you think about it, the post WWII trends and the 1980's; trends got so "copycat" that they got boring to the point of falling out of favor.  Frankly, I think the same will hold true if too many gca's follow Doak or CC style minimalism.  People just crave something new, even if that is something old in style, like minimalism.  So, I have no doubts the trend will subside and be replaced at some point.

Of course, if I knew the answer to what that would be, I wouldn't tell you.  I would just go ahead, do it and become a very busy architect until that fell out of favor.

[Paul Gray]

I'm just not so sure that minimalism is really just a trend. I honestly think it's simply a return to classic architecture which withstands the test of time much in the same way that modern interpretations of classical music takes the purity of the form and just reworks it slightly. There will no doubt always be pop favourites of the day, the Belfrys and the Celtic Manors if you like, but the true modern classics will continue to emerge as they always have, save for a bleak period of fifty or so years when western societies decided bigger and bolder was always better.

[Connor Dougherty]

I really like this question, partially because if all works out perfectly I'll have some small hand on what's happening in the future  

I do echo Randy Thompson's thoughts: when it comes to the future, I do think it's going to be what can be made of poor sites for new courses. We're running out of space, the best argument future golf course architects will be how a golf course can benefit the environment and thus the surrounding community. Take Liberty National: it capped a landfill and created living plants, with proper maintenance practices it will strongly improve the environment around the area. There's only so many more sites that can be built in remote areas on great sites. At some point, the market becomes saturated and we get no golf courses.

But I think where it's really going to go is the renovation/restoration area. Equipment is going to take one direction or another, whether it's bifurcation or "improvement," but there's no way that it halts where it is right now. Therefore, some new courses and old courses are, whether we like it or not, going to have to adapt in some sort of way, whether it's creating new tee boxes or moving the positions of certain bunkers.

This is why I try to read as many books as I can and spend so much time on this site. It's so important to honor the original architects work when you have a prominent architect. Each architect gives something new to the game that brings it variety. Maybe Tom Fazio is not our cup of tea, but he certainly is liked by many, and his additions to the game have provided new things for us to analyze and debate. Preserving what survives of his work is important because it adds to the tremendous history of the game. Honoring their work when doing restorations and renovations is critical. I'd like to think that I could accomplish something like what Gil Hanse is pulling off at Doral: a renovation which honors much of Dick Wilson's work (or at least from what he's explained, Wilson is an architect who I'm hoping to learn much more about in the future).

And, as you can imagine, it's why I've found the thread by Pat Mucci on Tom Doak's question so fascinating. For the most part I've stuck to reading that thread because prior to Tom's comments I would have disagreed, but the more I read the more I understand the premise, and the more it influences the way I think the industry will be as I make my way into it.

[Thomas Dai]

A question - is it likely we will see artificial greens on full-size courses? Also, is the use of artificial tees - small size, dotted about, even moveable ones - likely to become prominent? Just asking.
ATB

[Randy Thompson]

A question - is it likely we will see artificial greens on full-size courses? Also, is the use of artificial tees - small size, dotted about, even moveable ones - likely to become prominent? Just asking.
ATB

I think artifical greens on a full size course are right around the corner! You getting some decent quality on small par three courses. Not sure if they will get to the definition of prominent but I do see them being a viable option where enviromental retriction won´t permitt a certain Project to go forward with standard living greens. The extra installation cost can, in the present, already can be easily justified in a long term business plan. Putting is currently at an aceptable level That leaves making a base on those greens that recieive as well as the real thing. Saw the holes at the Nike test center and the technolgy is close!

[Neil White]

A question - is it likely we will see artificial greens on full-size courses? Also, is the use of artificial tees - small size, dotted about, even moveable ones - likely to become prominent? Just asking.
ATB

Hi Thomas,

Like Randy I too believe that synthetic turf use on full-size greens is not far off - indeed I know of one project where it has been requested by the client.

My only real thought about its use is the transition between the real and artificial and whether they can co-exist seamlessly and cleanly.

Neil.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Paul,

But weren't the proponents of the "modern style' in the 1950's; cock sure they had the "final answer" in design?  Wasn't the beehive hairdo the be all end all in its time?  Elvis was always going to be the biggest ever?

I know pop culture just craves something different, and better than the last time around, as well.  (Such as retro baseball stadiums with all the modern amenities.

So, I am pretty sure minimalism is out of style someday.  Maybe a tottering old Bill Coore will do one more for the ages.  Don't laugh. I knew clients who hired RTJ in his 80's desperately hoping he would pass away and they would have his last golf course.....

Just spitballing here, but if there were trends, artificial turf might be on of them, but not on large areas becauase it loses its cooling effect.

I am with whoever said that golf courses on tougher sites will be the norm, and the trend to great sites in the late 90's was just an aberration of wealth.  Next time, the governments will be more organized and more against coast line golf.

I hope there is some kind of label that makes a sub 7000k course acceptable.  Maybe keep the championship label for recreational golf courses, but add some sort of platinum status to courses that actually hold championships, to accelerate a trend towards easier courses.

I do easily predict more market specific courses, so no more 7000k courses in retirement communities.....

But again, I think there will be classic courses in the 2050's too.  And they may look like courses today, or something totally new.

Lastly, given the love of retro, I can see one of the next big things to be a 50's retro course, or 60-70's retro, maybe based on Innisbrook free form style.  After remodeling La Costa, I got a lot more respect for Dick Wilson......I am not so sure we will go back to Robert Bruce Harris clam shell bunkers for easier maintenance, though.  The basic cost saving principles are back in vogue, but maintenance machinery is much better. So, the same easy maintenance criteria will be in place, but the results will be tuned and different based on today's conditions.

I call that a 'Sincere" design, one that addresses the exact needs of that site and client.  I doubt that aspect ever changes too much.  At least I hope there is no more McDonald's approach where one size fits all....

[Don_Mahaffey]

In a world where "artificial" anything is becoming the norm, I still believe that future golfers will use the game as we always have, camaraderie, sport, exercise, but also as a "walk in the park" type of connection with nature. I firmly believe that the next generations will be seeking "real" connections with nature while participating in outdoor activities. The next trend will be more naturalistic and "green" golf courses that provide good conditions with fewer chemicals and resources. Fewer and fewer are impressed with conquering, or improving on, nature.

In the US I see that trend driven by a revitalized municipal golf renovation market that demands a different approach. They will want their facilities to be multi use and they want them built and maintained in a sustainable manner...and more and more are beginning to understand what that means. The next trend in golf will be rooted in bringing life-enhancing multi-use golf environments to high population areas instead of building great golf courses in far off remote and unpopulated places.

The Old Course is a good model.
 

[Tim Lewis]

In a world where "artificial" anything is becoming the norm, I still believe that future golfers will use the game as we always have, camaraderie, sport, exercise, but also as a "walk in the park" type of connection with nature. I firmly believe that the next generations will be seeking "real" connections with nature while participating in outdoor activities. The next trend will be more naturalistic and "green" golf courses that provide good conditions with fewer chemicals and resources. Fewer and fewer are impressed with conquering, or improving on, nature.

In the US I see that trend driven by a revitalized municipal golf renovation market that demands a different approach. They will want their facilities to be multi use and they want them built and maintained in a sustainable manner...and more and more are beginning to understand what that means. The next trend in golf will be rooted in bringing life-enhancing multi-use golf environments to high population areas instead of building great golf courses in far off remote and unpopulated places.

The Old Course is a good model.
 

I really like a lot of what you say here, especially in your first paragraph. Through my limited experience with golf, I have determined that the main purpose of golf is to give people an avenue to connect with nature. I sort of believe(probably more of a hope) that before golf architecture turns to mostly renovations, and new projects on less than desirable sites there will be one more generation of architects and developers who are looking for great sites, in a attempt to create the ultra-natural  golf course.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Tim,

I think the next trend will focus on cost efficiency of features in terms of maintenance.

I also think that a focus on cost will alter perspectives on water use and maintenance.

We're already seeing numerous clubs allowing non playing areas to no longer be under maintenance

M.     O.     N.     E.    Y

Or the lack of will become a more prominent factor

[BCrosby]

In the US I see that trend driven by a revitalized municipal golf renovation market that demands a different approach. They will want their facilities to be multi use and they want them built and maintained in a sustainable manner...and more and more are beginning to understand what that means. The next trend in golf will be rooted in bringing life-enhancing multi-use golf environments to high population areas instead of building great golf courses in far off remote and unpopulated places.
 

I too think less expensive, muni golf will have a bigger role to play in the future. More 9 hole muni's are part of that picture. A group of us is trying to do something like that with Atlanta's muni's. There are still many mountains to climb.

I think most city governments appreciate that their golf courses are an important city amenity that should be maintained and, if possible, upgraded. Upgrading them to attract revenues from things like corporate and charitable outings, for example, is part of the long term picture.

But the starting point for all that is having fun, accessible, easily maintained golf courses.  

Bob

[Tom_Doak]

I am with whoever said that golf courses on tougher sites will be the norm, and the trend to great sites in the late 90's was just an aberration of wealth.  Next time, the governments will be more organized and more against coast line golf.

I hope there is some kind of label that makes a sub 7000k course acceptable.

Regarding the former, I'm okay with you taking yourself out of the running for good sites by pooh-poohing the possibility, but I wish you would stop writing anything which suggests that golf on good sites should be frowned upon.  If you believe that golf is a better steward of the land than housing development or farming, then you should champion such examples, even if you can't get those jobs.  I've said for years that my biggest worry about the ASGCA was that they were going to confine golf development to land reclamation sites, by touting how that could be done.

As for sub-7000 yard courses, the key is just to find clients who will let us do them.  They will market themselves if you build a good one.  I played a 5300-yard course in Australia yesterday (Healesville) with some of the wildest greens and bunkers I've ever seen; it was great fun and it only took three hours even though it was quite busy.

[Connor Dougherty]

I call that a 'Sincere" design, one that addresses the exact needs of that site and client.  I doubt that aspect ever changes too much.  At least I hope there is no more McDonald's approach where one size fits all....

Jeff,
I actually think it would be a really cool idea of have public landfill sites like those found at Liberty National become public courses designed in the spirit of MacDonald and Raynor: With all of the manufacturing having to be done, I think it would be easier for great architects to do "oversight" on courses and leave it to others at their firm. The end product will ultimately be a good golf course and exposure for those trying to make more of a name in the industry, and make good golf more affordable.

I remember the idea was mentioned on a thread in the past and I think it would be a good idea for the future.

[Paul Gray]

Jeff,

Given that you acknowledge that "classic courses" will still be designed in 2050 we're clearly not so very far apart.

I will however just pick up on your comments regarding trends of the 50's. The distinction I feel that needs to be made is that all the examples you cite were prime examples of pop culture at work. I don't dispute that other trends will emerge in the future but I do think it wrong to categorise a return to traditional design as simply being a trend. I seem to remember a thread here some time ago about a course with a noodle bowl in it. Now that sort of thing may well be the pop culture of its day, as the RTJ designs were in their day, but these things shouldn't be confused with the simple continuation of consistent truths. Restaurants have new ideas and the aeroplane now exists but nobody worth their salt (forgive the unintended pun) would disregard the qualities of a simple bowl of moules mariniere and nobody yet reinvented the wheel.

Regarding land availability I'll concede that prime land in populated areas is at a premium but then the inference that golf will therefore not be allowed on such land rests on assumptions that golf will in some way always be in conflict with authorities which control such land. One of the many reasons I oppose places like Trump International is that it makes it harder for the "good guys" to change perceptions more broadly within communities. If golf can more readily be recognised as an asset, rather than an enclave for rich middle age white guys, communities might well be more welcoming towards golf developments on prime golf land. Nobody shouts about the fact that golf courses have saved the majority of heather in England. Perhaps it's time we did.

[Jeff_Brauer]

TD,

Don't think you interpreted right, either for me or any individual member of ASGCA. I am sure we all continue to push for good sites.  But, no architect controls that, and IMHO, there are outside influences which will make harder sites a trend, but not unheard of.

Your run of world class sites might have affected your opinion on this, vs. mine.......Thanks in part to the go go 90'-2000's you were fortunate enough to have about half a dozen "once in a lifetime" sites.

Paul, 

no we are not so far apart. But I do feel that the classics of thirty years from now will have a different look from those of today, while embracing the timeless concepts of golf.

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