Course Design

There has been a wave of nostalgia overwhelming the golf course architecture world for some time now. There is a trend to remake some of the world’s great golf courses in order to have them more closely resemble, and play like, their “original design.”  The powers that be (USGA mostly) want to bring back the “golden age” of golf course design; the era when the likes of Donald Ross, Alister MacKenzie, A.J. Tillinghast, Perry Maxwell, George Thomas et.al. mapped out the early courses that dominated the newly established game of golf in America.

Many of these designs were based on what they knew about golf and the golf courses in Scotland, which of course, is where the game (as we know it) originated. Nearly all the early professionals in America were from Scotland (or Ireland) as were Ross, MacKenzie, Willie Park and many more of the early architects. So, we see courses that resemble the design concepts of the Home of Golf and the idea of “links golf.” Note: For those of you interested in golf course design, I might suggest the book Grounds For Golf by Geoff Shackelford

So, here’s my question: Why would the idea of redesigning a course to take it back to the way the game was played 150 years ago be appealing in an age when today’s game does not even resemble the game back then? Almost nothing about the game today even remotely resembles the early 20th century. Consider:

The modern golf ball flies probably 100 or more yards further than the ball did then.

The modern clubs do not even resemble the hickory shafted tools of the game back then.

The ground (in American golf) is vastly different than the links land on which the game originated (those of you who have played true links golf know this all too well).

Even the rules have evolved to adapt to the modern game.

With these changes in mind, what is the purpose of… say, removing 5,000 trees (on one famous course)? Or green complexes going back to an age when golf was played mostly along the ground when now the golf ball flies so much higher and the speed the players generate is so much greater. Or greens being reshaped and recontoured to accept approach shots at a far different landing angle than they did back then?

I could go on, but I think the point is clear. Nostalgia and tradition have their place, but not when they are no longer relevant to today’s games. Unfortunately, the USGA has allowed the game to progress to the point where they and R&A are now seriously considering a rollback in the golf ball, forcing the elite players to play a golf ball that flies less distance than the rest of the golf world. This is very controversial, and we could debate the point ad nauseam, but it does make some sense in the context of modern professional golf. When we see 525-yard par 4s being played with a driver and a 7-iron, it seems something needs to change. And that is not, in my opinion, turning the clock back on the golf courses.

One last point:  to my knowledge, there are two golf courses in North America that are true Links courses! TWO…