J Drew Rogers

Golf and the Landscape

My Daily Journal from England – Day 5

Many feel like golf courses are many times defined by their greens. Whether that is completely or singularly valid or not, this is not for me to decide.  But in the case of today's course, Royal Cinque Ports (Deal), the greens and their integrated surrounds certainly played a huge part in the dynamic identity of […]

My Daily Journal from England – Day 4

You know how sometimes you just go along for the ride with something, having mixed expectations…sort of lacking that total emotional anticipation of something great?  Today was very much like that for me… maybe because there was such bemoaning about the horrid weather that was forecasted… or maybe because I simply had not done my […]

My Daily Journal from England – Day 3

Today, The Berkshire. Hebert Fowler crafted two courses here…the Red and the Blue. We enjoyed the Red Course, which gains it's reputation not only as a fine heathland test, but also because of the arrangement of holes.  The Red Course features 6 par 3's, 6 par 4's and 6 par 5's…which I must say, is […]

My Daily Journal from England – Day 2

Wow.  Sunningdale proved to be heathlands golf at its finest. The weather today was something on the line of a complete washing machine cycle.  Sun, then wind, then driving rain… then sun, and repeat again. We played Sunningdale, the New Course… which is hardly such, but nonetheless the newer of the two courses, designed by […]

My Daily Journal from England – Day 1

To Heath and Links Study Tour is now underway in England.  Today found us all arriving to London, getting our bearings and making a refreshing and insightful tour of Sunningdale Golf Club and their noted “Lost Holes” by Harry Colt on the New Course.  Without getting into complicated details, a number of holes were repositioned […]

My Daily Journal from England

Recently my marketing manager (wife) remarked to me that I have not been diligent with my blogging efforts… and she is right (she’s always right). And to her credit, she suggested that I post daily blogs during my upcoming tour of England’s finest golf courses – just check in with some details from the day […]

Is There a Silver Bullet in Golf Course Architecture?

  As you might imagine, architects get pressed quite often to profess our opinions about what makes one golf course better than another.   And while I think that is more an individual preference (or left to magazines), there are some courses that stand out among the rest.  But why?  Is it their great beauty?  Is […]

Sage Advice

  I have heard from some of you lately, wondering when they could expect to see the next blog.  Sorry that things have been a little busy….but here’s an entry to hopefully get things back on track. I don’t know about you, but I both enjoy and find it worthwhile to sort through all the […]

Jens Jensen & the Evolution of Today's Landscape

  Now I can recall sitting in a college lecture hall, over 20 years ago, listening to my Landscape Architecture History professor babble on about English gardens, pocket parks, Sir Humphrey Repton, Capability Brown….and a fellow by the name of Jens Jensen.  Why do I remember his name?  Even then, it struck me that his […]

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