Each year, the American Society of Golf Course Architects conducts our annual meetings – always at a different venue. In April, we held our event at The Woodlands in Houston. Each day is a mixture of business meetings, continuing education, formal dinners and….golf. Golf is always a welcomed activity by our members – imagine that! Some are very […]
Long has been the debate over the perceived push for longer courses or the accommodation thereof in the game. Frankly, this turns into a much broader topic than should be attempted in one post, but let’s take a shot and see where this goes. Where are we now on the whole issue of […]
I was fortunate enough to have two, sizeable renovation/construction projects going on simultaneously in Naples, Florida that commenced work in April, 2017. As we began the work, water levels in the lakes were at all-time lows. Banks were exposed down to unseen depths – lakes were half their normal size and volume. Concerns quickly mounted […]
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 […]
I have to blunt here…. to me, all the course ratings and rankings out there today have become rather insipid and an exhaustive re-statement of the impossible. But perhaps, there is another side of these listings to be considered? It cannot be argued that, in our business, it’s great if your course garners some attention […]
It seems that golf is at least somewhat inherently fun for most of us, right? Maybe because of the challenge it presents – man against golf course. Perhaps it is the camaraderie one can enjoy with friends. For some it might be the competitive encounters. It could also be because it is an outdoor activity […]
Surely by now the word is out….there is a world class golf resort on the coast of southern Oregon? It’s called Bandon Dunes. There are four 18-hole courses on the property and they’re all ranked among the Top 100 in the US. Yes, you say? You’ve heard of it? Oh, you’ve been there? Great! […]
I’m not attempting to be trite here! The subject of “fun” has become a trendy topic of late and, in all seriousness, FUN is something that has frankly been overlooked in our fine game for some time. Not because of lack of interest, but because the game became perhaps a bit too serious on […]
The past few years have been exhausting. Golf industry trends have been as depressing as the Nightly News. So when you hear a success story, it really stands out and makes you take pause. One such incidence involves a links style golf course in Rhode Island that I co-designed with Arthur Hills called Newport […]
Do you ever find yourself wondering what could have been? In 1995, our firm (AHSF) was commissioned to design Donald Trump’s first golf course…Seven Springs, just outside of Bedford in Westchester County, NY. It might be the least known and talked about of Trump’s golf efforts, but it had oodles of potential. The site […]
My friend, writer Chris Santella placed this interesting piece in the NY Times earlier this week called "Pitch and Putt and Behold the Glory." His placement is a timely one now with waves of non-traditional golf facilities popping up all over North American and the World. Why? The people have spoken and their messages are […]
This past week marked a bit of history, and perhaps the dawning of a new movement in high profile, international golf course architecture. Pennsylvania based Gil Hanse was appointed to design the official golf venue in Brazil for the 2016 Olympic games, and we take with that decision a few, key notes. Much to the […]