The 1980s not only brought a lot of bad looks in hairstyles and dress, but in golf course design, too. And unfortunately, while it’s easy to destroy any photos that might still be lying around that show you sporting the Boy George or Madonna look, it’s been a little more difficult to erase the memories of that decade from the links.
“The Eighties were the time when a lot of ‘modern makeovers’ were done on courses,” says one course designer. “A lot of faddish trends took hold, like overshaping, overdraining, putting in many more bunkers, and starting to deal with the whole movement to add more length because of [longer-playing balls and clubs].
“Now,” he adds, “everyone’s starting to figure out that all those changes really didn’t make the courses as much fun—and they certainly made them a lot more difficult to maintain.”
The added maintenance headaches certainly weren’t needed, as Mother Nature and her evil stepbrother, Global Warming, have thrown enough challenges of their own at course superintendents over the last couple of decades, and especially in the last few years.
But even if there isn’t any relief to be found from the weather, the good news is that clubs around the country are realizing that it’s time to get rid of the ‘80s look once and for all on their properties, too. In concert with the renovation trend that’s bringing about dramatic upgrades in both the outsides and insides of clubhouses and other structures, club Boards and management are also making it a priority to overhaul their golf courses. As the “before and after” examples on these pages attest, clubs are keeping course renovation specialists busy these days, trying to make up for lost time.
Same Decade, Different Century
The current craze to makeover clubhouses and other buildings on club properties is largely geared towards creating more contemporary looks and functionalities. But the movement, where golf courses are concerned, is decidedly retro. So retro in some cases, in fact, that the intent almost still appears to be to harken back to the ‘80s…the 1880s, that is, and golf’s roots.
“There’s definitely a backlash of sorts against the new equipment and the ridiculously long courses, and a desire to try to get the game back closer to how it was originally intended,” says another course architect. “Trees are coming out, roughs are growing back in, and everything is getting opened up again, to create a renewed emphasis on skills and shotmaking. And the added bonus is that it all helps make things a little easier where maintenance is concerned, too.”
The renewed interest in course renovations is also drawing increased attention to how golf course architects, designers and contractors should work with the members of clubs’ management teams—including course superintendents and golf pros, in addition to GMs and Board and Committee representatives—to maximize the efficiencies and effectiveness of the projects.
The American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) have been actively working together to prepare and offer an abundance of educational materials geared to assisting clubs as interest in renovations swells. The two groups have put together a comprehensive “Remodeling University” package, replete with case histories and subtitled “A Short Course to a Better Course.” It was presented at the Golf Industry Show earlier this year and is now being offered as a road show (go to www.remodelinguniversity.com, for upcoming dates and sites).
The ASGCA (www.asgca.org) also offers a brochure with questions and answers about the golf course remodeling process.
Throughout the material now being presented by these groups, and also in the comments of individual course designers and architects, these themes are being stressed as keys to successful course renovations:
• Clubs must capture and study their course histories. Archives and old photos are extremely valuable tools and guides, especially if the emphasis is on restoring the course to what was originally intended in how it looked and was meant to be played.
• Course renovations need to be approached comprehensively, and closing the course entirely must be an option. Piece-meal approaches that are confined to a few holes at a time, in the interest of spreading out costs and avoiding having to take the course out of play, almost always backfire, architects and designers say. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen clubs insist that a project has to be carried out over three seasons, because there’s no way they can close the course entirely,” says one designer. “Then they end up getting two wet seasons and one dry one, and there’s no consistency at all in the shaping of the overall product; they end up with six different kinds of greens.”
• The club’s full team must get involved and stay involved from start to finish. “You have to have everyone’s input from the beginning,” says one designer. “The superintendent’s going to be the one who will know best about drainage and shade issues; the pro will know best about playability; and the GM will be in the best position to represent the interests of the club and the Board as a whole. If you’re missing any one of these perspectives at any time, it’s an incomplete picture. From day one, I want everyone in the room at the same time, for the whole time, so we can get everyone’s wish lists on the table, discuss what would be perfect, then discuss what’s possible given the budget, and go from there.”
Knocking Wood
When it comes to what they must deal with on the course itself, architects and designers have lots to say about bunkers, grasses and greens—but they have by far the most to say about trees. Specifically, they lament that in trying to restore courses, they must contend with decades of uncontrolled tree planting, as clubs saw new trees and more trees as the “solution” to nearly every situation.
As part of the Remodeling University curriculum, these Ten Guidelines for “Thoughtful Tree Planting,” prepared by the U.S. Golf Association’s Paul Vermeulen, are presented (the USGA, ASGCA and GCSAA know they are preaching to the choir when presenting these guidelines to course superintendents; the idea is to give superintendents something to show every GM and Board member who suggests that more trees need to be put in, or insists that none can be taken out):
1. Select a planting location so the mature canopy of the tree will not protrude on the line of flight between a fairway and tee.
2. To allow for vital air movement and exposure to sunlight, resist the temptation to plant dense groves of trees around grees, tees, and fairways.
3. Never try to completely fill in rough areas between adjacent fairways with trees for the sake of safety.
4. Never plant larger trees closer than 75 feet from a green or tee; they will become serious competitors for available water and nutrients.
5. Without question, flowering trees add unmistakeable beauty to any course. However, due to their tender bark and dwarf stature, they are extremely sensitive to mower damage. This sensitive nature makes most flowering trees a poor candidate for use on a golf course, unless they can be carefully protected. Even at Augusta National, the beautiful flowering dogwoods and azaleas have been planted under large pines, where there is never an occasion to operate heavy mowing equipment.
6. Try to avoid screening out scenic vistas, including the clubhouse, with trees anywhere on the course. Once a scenic vista has been lost, it is usually forgotten.
7. It is often best to avoid
using a standardized tree planting as yardage indicators.
8. When selecting a tree, choose species that match the existing vegetation and have favorable characteristics.
9. Try to naturalize the appearance of large tree plantings by “randomizing” the distance between each tree.
10. To prevent unnecessary neglect of newly planted trees, never plant more than the maintenance staff can adequately maintain.
If these guidelines could become recognized and adhered to as unbreakable tenets of course management, course architects and designers believe, the scourge of all courses—trying to copy the look of other clubs that are seen on TV or in members’ travels—would be forever vanquished.
A Tale of Three Courses
The course renovation trend has ramped up to such a pace that even some courses that were created after the 1980s are already being redone. One of the most interesting examples in this regard is in the Chicago area, where The Ivanhoe Club, which originally opened in 1991, has already undergone a major overhaul.
The renovation took place over a 60-month period and encompassed 27 holes in total. In the process, The Ivanhoe Club was transformed from three nine-hole courses that were all thought to be too similar in style by the members to three remarkably distinctive nines, now called Forest, Marsh and Prairie, and each with completely different characters that completely fit with their names. Forest covers wooded ground that includes the highest elevation in Lake County. The Marsh course breaks out into more open, low-lying surroundings accented by wetlands, while Prairie covers a largely treeless expanse.
The five-year renovation schedule at Ivanhoe was accomplished while ensuring that 18 of the holes would always be open for play. Over the course of the renovation period, all 27 holes on the three courses were rebunkered, tees were repositioned, and each green complex was rethought.
Ivanhoe’s General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, Raymond Kondziela, thinks that the $4.5 million renovation was not only successful in putting his club in position to rival leading Chicago-area courses such as Medinah, Shoreacres and Olympia Fields, but also to merit consideration for a PGA Tour event.
Prior to joining Ivanhoe, Kondziela was the General Manager at Waynesborough Country Club in suburban Philadelphia, where he was involved with much of that club’s $10 million clubhouse renovation and also helped to attract the PGA Tour’s SEI Pennsylvania Classic to the club, for the Tour’s first appearance in the Philadelphia area in more than 20 years. C&RB
Summing It Up
• There is a backlash against the new game-improving technologies and course renovations are trying to take the game back to its roots in skill and shotmaking.
• Trees can be the downfall of a good course. Less is often more.
• Remodeling University teaches that it’s best to complete a course overhaul at once and to utilize course history to ensure that the original design isn’t lost forever.
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