Golf Club Atlas
GolfClubAtlas.com => Golf Course Architecture => Topic started by: Andy Johnson on March 22, 2016, 01:06:13 PM
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Hi GCAer's
I am working on a piece for my blog about different unique golf course projects and am in the research stage. Right now I am planning to include Goat Hill Park, Canal Shores and "The Loop" at Forest Dunes. Each have a very unique story and vision that plays well into the future of golf. I was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions that they thought I should look at or any insights into the above projects they thought could be valuable.
Thanks,
Andy
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Andy,
Are you interested in 'Self-owner, doesn't work in the biz, never designed a course before' kind of projects?
I know of one that resulted in the quirkiest course I've ever played.
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Nuzzo's Wolf Point.
http://www.mnuzzo.com/wp.html
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Andy,
Are you interested in 'Self-owner, doesn't work in the biz, never designed a course before' kind of projects?
I know of one that resulted in the quirkiest course I've ever played.
Kalen,
I am looking for unique projects that don't fit the traditional bill, for example "The Loop" is a really interesting future thought by having 2 courses on one piece of land. It is a very smart build economically for the resort and I think it will lead to more popping up. People want variety and if you can build two courses in one, why not.
The Canal Shores Project is so interesting because it is taking a struggling course and changing the concept to a 12 hole course with extensive practice areas on the rest of the course.
So projects that are unique in that sense where it is slightly different from traditional norms.
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The Audobon Park project in Louisiana sounds like it would be worth your time.
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Lehman's Victory at Verrado is under construction now:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60319.msg1427389/topicseen.html#msg1427389
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Thanks for all the help guys!
These are great. I will send out the piece when I finish writing it.
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Silvies Valley Ranch
http://silviesvalleyranch.com/golf.php
Reversible holes, dude ranch resort.
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Lamberts Point in Norfolk, Virginia by Lester George is not really a golf course but a trash containment solution. It is a fun, nine hole golf course that has holes close to the water. When I asked Lester, how did you get permission to build greens so close to the river? "Well, those are not greens, they are waste containment covers to prevent waste from spilling into the river."
https://www.golfcourseindustry.com/article/gci-032006-builders-excellence-awards-lamberts-point
Bandon Preserve is a 13 hole course.
There are lots of famous courses with a second par 3 course.
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The Audobon Park project in Louisiana sounds like it would be worth your time.
I would second this. There are many "executive" courses but few I've heard of that are more noteworthy than this.
Of course, no sooner did I write that the city had great vision in opting for a shorter course, than I read they were working with Rees Jones turning their other city park into a 7500-yard championship course.
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3 Ponds Farms
4 greens (greens have 2 flags, one has 3 flags), 9 distinct big boy holes, par 35.
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Along same lines as these other 'two courses in one' loops. Thornberry Creek, circa 1993, Rick Jacobson of Crystal Lake, Ill. There are 27 holes. The first nine were built around an old sand mine, and have all double greens. Some are double ala TOC, but most are two distinct greens with one widish fairway and different angles and lines into the greens. Also, up to 5 teeing grounds per hole offer a varied look and distance of the hole depending if you are playing for instance blue tees to red flags, or white tees to blue flags, etc. The project built this first 9 and after about 5 years went on to phase II which was an 18 hole traditional loop with parade of homes, McMansions project. They also over built a huge clubhouse in relation to the course and market, going bankrupt and a series of financial reorganizations, resulting in the Oneida tribe buying it and turning the large club house into a small casino in part of the space. Jacobson also did the second 'championship' 18 holes. It is pretty standard fare, but the original 9 double loop is still going strong and very sporty and I believe innovative, considering the year it was built. I'm not sure if it was the first modern U.S. double loop design idea in 1993.
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3 Ponds Farms
4 greens (greens have 2 flags, one has 3 flags), 9 distinct big boy holes, par 35.
And one golfer!
If you're going to count courses like that, then the Ellerstina project in Argentina that I wrote up in Volume 2 of The Confidential Guide should definitely have a place.
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The Schoolhouse 9 is a par 3 course in Virginia that opened last year. What is unique about it is the low-key approach to everything, including construction and maintenance. Two of us, course architect Mike McCartin and myself, shaped everything out as well as stripping and re-applying the topsoil layer. We only disturbed what we needed to, which was largely just around the tees and greens. Help with tilling, finishing, and seeding was a local effort with hired hands who wanted to help out as well as the owner pitching in full days himself.
The maintenance practice is minimal, with irrigation only installed and used around greens (1.4 acres of irrigated area total). Mother nature dictates how much water the rest of the course receives. The greens, which are native topsoil and not imported sand, are the primary focus with the other areas keyed on being firm and bouncy. I've yet to get back and play myself, but all reports thus far on playability are positive.
It's cheap, takes an hour or less to play, and it has minimal impact on the environment (actually, with wildflower quail habitats incorporated into native out-of-play areas, it's a marked improvement over the previously existing agricultural field). Add to that the golf is a lot of fun. Mike and I both learned from the best there are at Renaissance Golf Design how to build fun, unique greens that work. With a par three course, that quality is even more critical.
In all, the Schoolhouse 9 hits on many of the most critical talking points of the industry: cost, time to play, environmental impact, and inclusiveness. Will it be the way of the future? I can't say that for sure, but this country could certainly use more facilities and options like it.
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The Origins Course at WaterSound in the panhandle of Florida is an interesting concept. A 6-hole course that can also be played as a 10-hole, par-3 course within the same routing. Paul Cowley termed it a "hole within a hole" design.
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Sharp Park
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would the Sheep Ranch near Bandon meet your requirements?
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Have a look at Trilogy which just opened here in Ocala.
http://www.trilogygolfclub.com/ocala/page.asp?p=2010
Haven't seen it first hand, but as I understand it's a 6-hole layout combined with an 18-hole par-3.