“Short-Sighted” Visionaries

Some clubs are finding that “coming up short” may be the best way to break out of golf-round stagnation, as they gain big benefits from small-course strategies.

For Roger Anderson, owner of The Club at SpurWing, and for the members of BallenIsles Country Club, the idea was that it would not only keep older members involved in the game and at their clubs, but also attract new, younger members and their families.

For entrepreneurial visionaries Mike Keiser, Paul Schock and Mitch Harrell, it was thought to be the perfect complement to their trophy-destination properties.

And for Bob Griffioen, owner of Island Hills GC in Centreville, Mich.? Well, he just thought it was worth a try, because it might help overcome the deadly trio of barriers to increased golf participation: time, money and difficulty.

The “it” in question is the short course, in any of its many forms—par-3, executive-length, tricked-out practice holes, or some other variation on the 18-hole championship theme. And while there’s no hard-and-fast definition of how and why “it” should be rolled out, short courses do seem to be providing clear value when added to any golf program’s bag.

Meeting the Challenge
At The Club at SpurWing in Meridian, Idaho, Anderson seized the opportunity to acquire 50 acres adjoining the existing club and hired architects Damian Pascuzzo and Steve Pate to use the land to create a 9-hole, par-3 layout called the Challenge Course.

The new short layout not only provided lots for 23 new home sites with golf course views, it also inspired Anderson and General Manager John Thomas to create a new Challenge Only membership category at the club. Designed to appeal equally to younger members with families, as well as older folks who might not be able to handle the regulation-length championship course, Challenge members pay a reduced initiation and lower dues. Something is definitely working—Thomas says the club has been adding nearly 100 members per year.

BallenIsles CC, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., saw a similar opportunity. With architect Kipp Schulties already engaged to do a $5 million redesign of the club’s North Course, the decision was made to incorporate an executive-length layout of just under 4,000 yards within the footprint of the newly redesigned course, by placing executive-length tee boxes within existing fairways.

“We’re a mandatory membership club, and many of our members are pre-retirement and still working,” says the club’s Director of Marketing, Brian Merbler. “We thought if we bring in a real short course, it might be an attraction for our members who are still working and have some time constraints, or have younger family members. And I can’t say that’s the reason, but in the last month, we’ve had a couple of 40-something new members, and one 30-something join.”

Sources of Amusement
Mike Keiser and Paul Schock, a pair of admitted golf purists, grew accustomed to hearing “Are you nuts?” from industry veterans as they pursued plans to develop golf meccas in the isolated venues of Bandon, Ore., and Valentine, Neb. They’re now accustomed to having the last laugh because of their successful ventures—and it’s notable that both visionaries have added short courses to their acclaimed layouts at Bandon Dunes and The Prairie Club, respectively.

Keiser brought in Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw to design the 13-hole, par-3 Bandon Preserve course a few years ago, and last year it did more than 8,000 rounds (at $100 per), with the proceeds going to the Wild Rivers Coast Alliance environmental protection agency. “It’s a blast to play; it’s quick and as scenic as any course in the country,” says Josh Lesnik, President of KemperSports, which operates Bandon Dunes for Keiser.

The inspiration for Bandon Preserve, Keiser says, came from a combination of topographical necessity and his realization that many members of his Baby Boomer target market were no longer able or willing to complete golf-fests on the full-length Bandon layouts.

“I host a lot of buddy trips to Bandon, and I began to notice that instead of playing 36 a day, many of the guys in the Boomer bracket had gone to maybe not playing the second round—and you have to remember that at Bandon, the second round is half-price, and if you play a third that day, it’s free,” Keiser says.

That led Keiser to remember that when he first showed Crenshaw and Coore the dunes area that now holds the Preserve course, “they said it was too hard to get up there and back down if you were going to have par 4s and 5s, although it would be great for a short course.

“So I called them back, and they settled on 12 par-3 holes at first,” Keiser says. “Then Bill [Coore] found another hole that became the 13th, and the course opened two years ago. It’s become a resounding success, and some guys are even using it as a warm-up round, rather than adding it on after 18 on one of the championship courses.” This year, Keiser anticipates, the Preserve could see as many as 20,000 rounds.

At The Prairie Club, Schock asked the championship course’s designer, Gil Hanse (also the creator of the 2016 Olympics course in Rio de Janeiro), to carve a 10-hole layout from a 15-acre parcel near the main course. Hanse teamed with architect/author Geoff Shackleford to create the “Horse Course”—a name, according to Kyle Schock, the Prairie Club’s Director of Sales and Marketing, that comes from the basketball shot-making game of “HORSE,” because there are no permanent tee markers. The competitor who has “honors” can choose where to tee off on each hole, depending upon their strengths or the clubs they’ve chosen to carry.

“Almost a third of our members play [the Horse Course] every time they come out, and probably two-thirds of our public,  stay-and-play players play it,” says Kyle Schock. As at Bandon Preserve, many members or resort guests who have a little left in the tank after a round on The Prairie Club’s championship layout, but not enough for another full-length 18, now put a cherry on their day with a short-course round.

Express Purpose
At Troon North in Scottsdale, Ariz., the flagship course of Troon Golf, the goal was somewhat different when management decided to create what is called the Monument Express course within the confines of the front nine of the multi-course facility’s Monument Course.

“Troon North is a destination ‘wanta play’ for serious golfers, but we wanted to give families a place to play, too,” says Mitch Harrell, the club’s General Manager and a Troon Golf Vice President. “It’s sort of a grow-the-game experience for us, designed to be cross-generational and with a hugely relaxed dress code. At times we even cut larger cups.”

The Express course is not designed to be a profit center per se, Harrell adds. Play is limited to late afternoons, free Callaway clubs are provided if needed, and adults pay $50 while kids play free. The Express hosted approximately 4,800 rounds in 2013, Harrell estimates, but probably 50 percent of those were free to kids. “It’s never been about money; that’s not what it’s for,” he says. “It’s about using the golf course at that time of day and adding opportunities for families to play golf together.”

Wave of the Future?
The Challenge Course at Monarch Dunes Golf Club in Nipomo, Calif., an artfully designed par-3 adjunct to the championship course that was also designed by the team of Pascuzzo and Pate, not only provides an alternative to the “big course,” it hosts the club’s Get Golf Ready introductory program. Director of Golf Jason Porter says Monarch Dunes’ course hosted approximately 15,000 rounds last year.

“It feels like you played real golf,” says Pascuzzo of the short courses he’s helped to create. “Maybe this is what new courses are going to see as a good idea.” Kipp Schulties, the BallenIsles architect who says he is currently in negotiations to remake a high-profile, 27-hole South Florida club into 18 holes and a par-3 layout, thinks it’s an idea whose time has already come.

“I’m very big on contracting golf,” he says. “Maybe multi-dimensional clubs are what you’re going to see in the future.”

As for Bob Griffioen at Island Hills, he is admittedly willing to try virtually anything to get people involved in the game he loves. He had architect Ray Hearn, who originally designed the full-length, upscale Island Hills layout, come back and lay out a series of “Quik Courses” within the original course, ranging from five holes to 12 holes, all priced accordingly and fitting into whatever time window a customer has available. Need clubs? Griffioen and his wife Jo will lend you some, no charge. Need introductory lessons? Those are free, too.

With the golf industry’s increasing concerns about declining participation rates, the cry is often heard that more “bunny slopes” are needed to help young or new golfers learn the game on venues that offer a shorter time commitment, less cost and less difficulty. National Golf Foundation figures show, however, that as of 2012, par-3 or executive stand-alone courses constituted only slightly over 1,000 of the 15,600 total golf facilities in the U.S. But as all of these examples show, “short courses,” when introduced in the right way and in the right settings, may indeed have the potential to go a long way toward reversing participation trends.