The Brilliance and Beauty of Bland Golf Holes
Colton Craig learned an important lesson about golf course architecture in the most unlikely of places. Walking through the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, full of what he calls “wild exhibits that stimulated the artistic side of my brain,” the Oklahoma City-based designer came to an empty room with white walls. “The vacant room was […]
12 Golf Course Architects Reveal the Holes They Wish They Designed
Ask any golf course architect what course or hole he or she is most proud of having designed, and most will demur. Typically, they don’t want to single out one as being any better than another. But they do have opinions on the work of others. For this story, I asked 12 course architects to […]
10 Top Volcano Holes in the U.S.
The most fearsome tee shots in golf are those where the golfer has nowhere to miss. The Volcano green certainly qualifies. A bit of a rarity in the golf design world, Volcano holes have a green that is built up on at least three sides, often appears to be raised above the tee box, and […]
How Bunkers Show the Evolution of Golf Course Architecture
To understand how golf course architecture has evolved, just look at bunkers Don’t plan on a discussion about Donald Ross’s bunkers being a quick one, especially if you’re talking with architect Ron Forse. After two hours on the phone with the Ross-renovation specialist (well over 50 courses, plus others by Seth Raynor, A.W. Tillinghast, William […]
LINKS Golf Podcast Ep. 78: Thinking Outside the Box in Golf Architecture with Agustín Pizá
Golf course architect Agustín Pizá joins the LINKS Golf Podcast to discuss his outside-the-box approach to course design. Pizá shares with Digital Editor Al Lunsford his idea of “Wellness Golf”—creating a golf space for connecting with nature and “unlearning” the traditional way golfers think about the game—and details studying in Scotland, learning from greats like […]
Gil Hanse’s Architecture 101: Now On the Tee
The lowly teeing ground is only lowly if you overlook its strategic—and pleasure-producing—impact In hindsight, our discussion of a golf course’s features should logically have started with tees, since they are the starting point for each hole. However, tees are not the first feature that comes to mind when thinking about a golf course. In […]
Forrest Richardson: The Innovative ASGCA President
He’d never say it, never hint at, or even joke about it. He’d reject the idea absolutely, in fact, and ask that you never repeat it. But technically, in a manner of speaking, it could be argued—quite convincingly actually—that Forrest Richardson is currently the highest-ranking golf course architect in America. No, he’s not the best-known […]
5 Myths About Golf Course Design
Golf course architects are the artists—the ones who are able to take a vision, move a ton of dirt, and create a masterpiece for golfers to enjoy. Their work can be quite grueling and tedious—Rome wasn’t built in a day, just as any renowned layout wasn’t imagined and constructed overnight. To dig a little deeper […]
Personal Bests
The big-name architects designed courses that anyone-including you-can play. Here are the best from each of them. One of the great things about golf is how many courses are open to the public. Another terrific feature is that so many different individuals brought their aesthetics and expertise to the task of designing courses. Put those […]
The Buck Club Finds A Site for Its New Course “The Tree Farm”
“It’s very real! Time to get it on!” The excitement in golf course architect Rob Collins’s voice could only be relatable to someone who has been able to blend their career with a life passion. Someone like PGA Tour pro Zac Blair. Blair, Collins, and Tad King, the other half of King-Collins Golf Course Design, […]