GolfClubAtlas.com > Golf Course Architecture
Thank you for a great first 20 years!
Ran Morrissett:
Having gone ‘live’ in 1999, the end of 2018 marks a twenty-year wrap, which begs the question: Did GolfClubAtlas.com achieve anything meaningful?
I think so, based largely on feedback from YOU, such as a handwritten note received over the summer, which read, in part: ‘Through GCA and friendships I’ve made, you have changed my golf life – immeasurably for the better. We are lucky to have you fighting for what matters. Without GCA, I may never have visited England for golf, and thus found the best place in the world. My dream is to retire there,and play 3 hr rounds with mates and our dogs. That, to me, would be heaven.’ WELL – that about says it all and I do think that the conversation is shifting to what truly matters in golf.
Do you look at courses differently today than 10 or 20 years ago? If so, why? Personally speaking, I always seek to find new and different ways to appreciate good and bad design. My latest pet thing is examining bunkers for traffic. Bunkers with no disturbed sand may serve some purpose (framing, indication of line, contrast, etc.) but if golf balls don’t land in them, I can’t be a fan of man-made contrivances that don't impact play. Shockingly few bunkers see activity at my local, Southern Pines CC. With 39 bunkers, it isn’t a heavily bunkered course but 21 of the 39 show no traffic after a busy weekend. I wonder where, in addition to Huntercombe, Woking, and The Sacred Nine, are the most ‘intelligently’ bunkered courses? Define it how you might but I require a bunker to see action to earn its keep. The course that has surprised me the most is California Golf Club of San Francisco, which is heavily bunkered and the vast majority see regular action. That impresses me - bunkers need to be where people go. Point being, there are always ways to look at courses with a ‘fresh set of eyes.’
What should the next twenty years hold for this web site? You tell me. As a mature site we run the risk of complacency and we don’t need to repeat what we have already covered. Moving forward, what should we do differently? Should the monthly interviews be podcasts, for instance? Start an Instagram page? Though page views were up, signs of staleness exist. The ever-youthful Mike Cirba was the only person to submit articles for publication in 2018. 208 people donated, more than in 2017 but well off the highwater mark of 313 back in 2014.
Structural changes on the site have been few and far between and that reflects my bias that golf doesn’t need to be dolled up to be rewarding. I am old-fashioned and not so technology-oriented. When I ask someone to name their favorite book read in the past month, I often get looks like I do (in America) when I ask if I can carry my own golf bag. :-[ I don’t know of other web sites like GolfClubAtlas (niche, high traffic, non-commercial) so I don’t have benchmarks to compare their progress. A friend did note that a certain, famous political web site had never changed its basic format and that people still head there in droves to get their daily/weekly fill of its ever changing content.
GolfClubAtlas has become a monster depository for information but importantly it’s a community of passionate people. The better the behavior, the more conducive the atmosphere for meaningful debate. Recently a few long threads devolved into nothing but personal attacks – that’s a huge waste. Petty sniping is boring and drives thoughtful people away from the site while simultaneously ruining otherwise interesting topics. Talk about 0 for 3. :-\
Chris Buie shares this pertinent gem of a Donald Ross quote: 'Now, golf is a fine game, it has been my relaxation and my livelihood since I was a little shaver in Scotland. But when the game of golf becomes so all-important and feverish and holier than anything else in life, then parents might do worse than turn their young careerists over their knees and administer an old-fashioned spanking.' Zealots have come - and gone - on this site and we will accomplish far more if people bring civility to the discourse. Personally, I see an increased flexibility in people’s views. For instance, there has been a humongous change in how Machrihanish Dunes and The Bridge are perceived. Open mindedness is quite refreshing and always welcome here, as a poster who listens and learns is far more valuable over time than one that is dogmatic.
As we have cleaned up our house, more people are tuning in. Statistics say unique users were up 17% last year to 212,000. There were 1.1 million sessions, 40% more than 2017. The bounce rate was well down and the average session duration rose by 77%. All good stuff, assuming that we stay on-point. We are developing a summary posting principles and will release it before The Masters. It will remind us what we should - and shouldn’t - be posting. The purpose of the site is to promote a meaningful discussion of golf course architecture. Hence, if you can’t further the discussion, then being a poster isn't for you (though you can still read everything, attend all the events, etc.).
Several years ago, we said we would archive 50,000 threads. I have deleted thousands of threads over the years and as far as I know, no one has complained about missing a single one. If threads aren’t going to be re-visited and brought back for further discussion, they need not be archived. We’re after meat, not fat, and we are after those who generate content that people want to devour. There are almost 1800 registered posters and that number can go up or down as needed.
Brother John and I never imagined that this site would enjoy such global reach back in 1998 when we started to assemble material. Even more surprising is that it would become a ‘brand.’ For those interested in sporting a GolfClubAtlas logo shirt or performance zip, please contact Jason Yip at State Apparel in San Francisco on 415-244-4145. I just had a few grey and navy ones made. The performance material is high quality and by some miracle, even Jay Mickle looks sharp and on-point wearing one 8) . Jason is offering a GCA logo shirt for $75 plus shipping and performance zips for $105 plus shipping. These prices are reduced 15% from regular pricing.
Thanks, as always, to Joe Andriole for his editing prowess and to Chris Buie who assembles all the material added to the site. Speaking of Chris, he is a big admirer of the term ‘genius loci’. He wonders who is sticking up for the simpler pleasures of the game when he reads about plans to maul over the Golden Age public courses in Chicago and Washington DC for the sake of hosting PGA events. Golf needs all the friends it can get and I sincerely hope GolfClubAtlas is one such friend. Otherwise, Joe, Chris, Ben and I have wasted thousands of hours. More than 1/3 of my life is wrapped up in GolfClubAtlas, so I am all-in for what is best.
The Feature Interview section got off to a flying start yesterday with one from my favorite country for golf. Two architects have their questions and are working on their responses for the February and March interviews and I am working on a profile for a course among the 147 Custodians to be posted late this month. 2019 is off to a grand beginning and we hope to build on the momentum of the first twenty years.
THANK YOU FOR A GREAT RUN.
Jeff Schley:
Here, here! Great run and more to come. When you are growing you are having a bigger influence, the resources maintained here are some of the best anywhere and could be compiled into books, due to all the knowledgeable posters on here. I hope I'm still here for another 20 years. Very humbled and proud to be a tiny part of the community.
Neil Regan:
Ran,
There is no doubt that the first 20 years have had a great good influence on Golf Course Architecture.
You have helped to re-root the golf world in its native soil.
The next 20 years will, I am sure, produce a myriad of successful stories of new, restored, and revitalized courses around the world which will trace their own roots back to here.
It would be impossible to catalogue the so many ways you have earned the respect and gratitude of so many.
Please accept a simple thank you for everything.
Greg Smith:
Time flies sooooo fast... I am amazed that it's been 20 years. I haven't been a poster all that long, but I've been a reader since the early days.
IMO, GCA is the best "force for good" in the game. It's also the only place I can go in my life where people will actually (and appropriately) use the term "genius loci"!
Thomas Dai:
I could ramble on for ages but four words will suffice.....well done and thank you.
Atb
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