Saturday, November 22, 2014

Vineyards for Golf Course Water Conservation



As a prelude to these thoughts, let me tell you about a day that Dick Zokol and I spent with a developer and his team six years ago. We spent the day looking at a beautiful rugged site with enough room for a golf course, residential community and an organic vineyard. That day and that concept have stuck with us. So naturally when dealing with two clients in the last month that are considering turf reductions to reduce water usage, we started thinking about different ways to achieve those goals:

Drought in the Western US is having and will continue to have a huge impact on existing golf courses. There are many water districts that are paying water users, including golf courses, to remove irrigated turf areas. We can pretend to be stewards of the land by putting up more birdhouses or we can dig in and set about reducing water consumption on golf courses. This provides unique challenges for aesthetics and playability along with an opportunity for Wine?

Wine, yes wine, instead of taking the usual route of replacing high water use turf with native type grasses or vegetation, maybe it's time to convert those ares into vineyards. Imagine those excessive  out of play turf areas, planted to grapes.

There have been new residential developments that included golf courses and vineyards but using grapes as a means of reducing water usage on existing golf courses offers a wonderful opportunity for a sensible and gastronomically pleasing means of achieving sustainability.

Vineyards in California typically use between 80,000 and 160,000 gallons of water per acre versus turf that could use  between 750,000 and 1,500,000 gallons per acre. Water conservation is critical to the West and Vineyards may have a place in these efforts in reducing water usage on golf courses.

It's incumbent upon Golf Course Designers to help clubs and courses reduce their demands for precious water resources through innovative thinking. We already have the ability to provide options in playability so that the golf experience, not only, isn't diminished but in all probability, enhanced through Design/Conservation planning. Now we have another vegetative tool to help achieve that goal.

Can you play out of this?

How about this?


Water conservation efforts in some communities have proved unpopular and often times ran amok of the Homeowners Association's rules and regulations. Even property values can be affected by what is perceived to be less appealing landscapes when green grass is no longer wall to wall. But take that same  effort and convert a high water use turf area to a vineyard and quite possibly, you can play golf, drink wine, and conserve water; everyone wins.

Our efforts in Golf Course Architecture must continue to focus on great, immensely playable, sustainable golf!

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Shackelford on the Ryder Cup Task Force

We can always count on Geoff Shackelford to provide thoughtful insight into the goings on of golf. Today's blog on the Ryder Cup Task Force is just too good, so I pass it on to you.

And I couldn't resist my own comment on Geoff's post:
The Europeans still have a big chip on their shoulders and play that way.
How would a Task Force have helped Team USA at Medinah on Sunday when the US got Crenshawed?


Expendables 11: The (Ryder Cup) Task Force

The Task Force (that's capitalized) is set. There are even people on it who've been part of a winning team. Barely.
PGA of America Announces Ryder Cup Task Force

Past Captains, Players and PGA Leadership to Chart Course for Future U.S. Teams

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (October 14, 2014) – The PGA of America has announced the creation of an 11-member Ryder Cup Task Force, comprised of past Captains, players and PGA of America leadership.

The Task Force, co-chaired by PGA Vice President Derek Sprague of Malone, New York, and PGA Chief Executive Officer Pete Bevacqua of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, will examine the entire Ryder Cup process, including the selection of United States Ryder Cup Captains; the Ryder Cup Points System; dates by which the Team is determined; dates of Captain’s selections; and the selection of Vice Captains.

The Ryder Cup Task Force was created following the 40th Ryder Cup, which concluded Sept. 28, at Gleneagles in Perthshire, Scotland, where the U.S. was defeated by Europe, 16½ to 11½.

“The Ryder Cup is our most prized competitive asset, and the PGA of America is committed to utilizing our utmost energy and resources to support one of the biggest events in all of sport,” said PGA of America President Ted Bishop. “The Ryder Cup Task Force, co-chaired by Derek Sprague and Pete Bevacqua, is an exciting and comprehensive initiative that will guide the PGA in developing the right strategy and building ongoing processes and infrastructure for future generations of U.S Teams.”

In addition to Sprague and Bevacqua, the members of the Ryder Cup Task Force are: past Captains Raymond Floyd, Tom Lehman and Davis Love III; past Ryder Cup Team members Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods; and PGA Secretary Paul Levy of Indian Wells, California.

“I think this is a great step by the PGA to accomplish what we all want – to win the Ryder Cup,” said Woods, a member of seven U.S. Ryder Cup Teams. “The Ryder Cup is very important to every player who has the honor to represent his country. I’m excited to be part of this group.”

The 41st Ryder Cup will be contested at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, in September 2016. The U.S. has lost three consecutive Ryder Cups and eight of the past 10 biennial competitions. America last won a Ryder Cup in 2008, and its last overseas victory occurred in 1993.

“Competing in a Ryder Cup is the experience of a lifetime, and serving as Captain is the ultimate honor,” said Love, a six-time Ryder Cup Team member, a 2010 Vice Captain and the 2012 U.S. Captain. “Having experienced all roles within this great event, I am deeply committed to serving once more to help direct Team USA to be a force again in the Ryder Cup.”

The Ryder Cup began in 1927. The U.S. leads the overall series, 25-13-2. However, since 1985, Europe owns a 10-4-1 advantage.
It looks like an Expendables cast. Former A-Listers, B-Listers, C-Listers and stand-ins for the former A-listers who said no.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Presidio Renovation Continues for Suny, Zokol Golf Design

 Presidio Golf Course
Hole #14

The Par 4, 346 yd 14th after bunker renovation and green expansion, temp green in foreground

The Presidio Renovation is going very well and this hole represents the halfway point with 9 holes completed and 9 to go. Our mission at Presidio was to create an Era-appropriate renovation. This golf course has been designed, redesigned and altered by so many hands from the greats, Fowler and Simpson to Palmer to various golfing Generals that had "ideas." So, unlike many great old courses, where golf architecture historians can identify a specific period of time when the golf course was deemed to be at its best, the Presidio was in constant flux. Dick and I, along with the folks at Presidio, felt that using Fowler and Simpson and in particular Simpson for our design cues and general concepts was in keeping with and enhancing the property's golf history.

Before


This was a typical look at the Presidio with no real story told from the tee or for the approach shot, We, Suny, Zokol Golf Design, tend to favor visuals to help tell the story or to help the golfer generally identify the strategy or better yet for them to develop their own unique strategy.

Take a look at the front bunker in the before and after pictures. The bunker in the before picture was a green-side bunker, in the after photo, that bunker is some 25 feet in front of the green. This is simply a depth perception manipulation that we used to create a subtle challenge to the golfer that knows the yardage but looks at what is perceived as a green-side bunker that is actually much closer. The green was enlarged by almost 1,500 square feet and extended to the players' right with some great pin placements. A false front was added to allow players to "see" the green from the fairway. Short grass is being added around the back and right side of the green. We can't wait to see how the golfers react to the finished hole and we're looking forward to the next nine holes!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

William Flynn on the Ball and Course Length

Joe Valentine and William Flynn

Growing up in Philly, I was a Flynn fan before anybody started talking about him. And, having worked at Merion for Richie Valentine whose father, Joe Valentine, was Flynn's construction foreman and successor as Superintendent upon Flynn's departure, I heard all of the Flynn stories along with some pretty good Dick Wilson stories. But, what I wanted to document in this post, was just how forward thinking Flynn was.

Here are his thoughts from 1927 on the ball and length of holes and golf courses.



Again the question of the ball has a great bearing on what type a certain length hole will be. Time was, and not so many years ago, when a hole 400 yards long on average ground was a good two-shot hole for the star players; now, the same hole is perhaps a drive and spade for the better class golfers.

In view of this the architect of today plans his full two-shot holes from 440 to 500 yards, depending on the character of the land and if the distance to be obtained with the ball continues to increase it will be necessary to increase the length of all holes on golf courses accordingly if the same standards of play are to be maintained.

All architects will be a lot more comfortable when the powers that be in golf finally solve the ball problem. A great deal of experi- mentation is now going on and it is to be hoped that before long a solution will be found to control the distance of the elusive pill.

If, as in the past, the distance to be gotten with the ball continues to increase, it will be necessary to go to 7,500 and even 8,000 yard courses and more yards mean more acres to buy, more course to con- struct, more fairway to maintain and more money for the golfer to fork out. 

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

An Addiction- Golf Courses and Little British Cars

Little British Cars and Golf Course Architecture...connected?


I have to admit to all of my friends that I have a problem. Yes, I'll admit it publicly and in electric print, I own a 1968 Triumph GT6 and I enjoy driving it and working on it. Being a LBC (Little British Car) means that at times, I work on it as much as I drive it.

Perhaps, LBCs and Golf Course Architecture are inexorably tied together for me. Both are a constant work in progress and can never be perfect. Both are linked by their unique character and require a "feel" to understand them. Even more to the point, each can drive you mad.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Pinehurst and the US OPENs...Firm and Fast and Brown?

Pinehurst #2, 2014 US OPEN

The USGA's Pinehurst ideas are great and the idea of having the Men's and Women's (and pre-teens) OPENs back to back is just tremendous! Whether it's viewed as a success or not, it was an idea that had to be tried; I hope that it works. The "Firm and Fast" setup, I love, but I don't think that USGA Executive Director, Mike Davis or the rest of us help spread the Firm & Fast movement by preaching to golfers that brown grass is the answer. Firm and Fast, and green grass are not mutually exclusive and provide a workable solution for golf course conditioning.

As a big fan of the work being done by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, I think that the renovation of Pinehurst's #2 is wonderful. It was planned with F&F conditions for the OPENs and regular play in mind; it's good for golf. There are those that miss the traditional US Open setup with narrow fairways and penal rough. I wasn't one of them, I liked the wide fairways and waste areas of Pinehurst for the OPENs. Perhaps, in the future, the setup will be dictated by the venue's inherent characteristics and qualities versus a committee's whims.

The USGA's agenda of pushing "Brown is the New Green" is noble in its intent but can not be supported as a viable option. First of all, I'm a Firm and Fast advocate and have been for all of my career. As a Superintendent, I was providing firm and fast conditions on a regular basis some 30 years ago, before it was in vogue. In 1985 at Cherry Hills, I caught a lot of flak for the golf course being too firm for the PGA Championship but the golf course wasn't brown, it was green both during and after the Championship..."Firm, Fast, and Green."


Pinehurst Director of GCM Bob Farren (second from left), is flanked by No. 2 Assistant Superintendent John Jeffreys (far left), No. 2 Assistant Superintendent Alan Owen (second from right) and No. 2 Superintendent Kevin Robinson (far right). (Photo by John Gessner)


The Pinehurst golf course maintenance staff under the direction of Director of Grounds, Bob Farren, and Superintendent, Kevin Robinson can provide virtually any conditions desired. If the USGA wanted "Firm, Fast, and Green," Messrs. Farren and Robinson would have provided it. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the course, the setup, and the center row irrigation with brown edges and especially with the way it played for the OPENs. I just think that golfers won't buy into "Brown is the New Green" and that we should focus on "Firm, Fast and Green."

Achieving F&F while turning the golf course brown is very simple, just turn off the sprinklers for awhile. What the USGA may not have considered fully, is that in order for golf courses to recover from the normal wear and tear of carts, mowers and golfers, is that the grass needs to grow. Brown, dormant grass doesn't grow much and recovers slowly, if at all, from any kind of traffic. Let's encourage the USGA to change their mantra from "Brown is the New Green" to Firm, Fast and Green.


Sunday, March 23, 2014

Frank Hannigan...A Friend...He will be Missed

Richard H. Sikes (left), Frank Hannigan (center) and Joseph C. Dey Jr. examine the position of Sikes' ball during the 1963 U.S. Amateur at the Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa. Sikes sought relief from a hole he thought was made by a burrowing animal. He was not granted relief and lost in the championship match to Deane Beman. (USGA Museum)

Frank Hannigan was perhaps the loudest voice of reason in golf. His wit and reasoned, straight forward discourse and writings are going to be missed. He could never have been accused of political correctness. Golf needed him but wouldn't listen.

But I'll also miss Frank Hannigan because he had a profound influence on my career. I met Frank, or Mr. Hannigan as I referred to him in those years, at Merion during the 1981 US Open. Frank needed to see a few things on the course and I was charged by Richie Valentine (Merion's Superintendent) to take him around. Now, in those days the Open was a much more intimate, championship centric event, so that I, as the Assistant Superintendent, got to spend one on one time with Mr. Hannigan, quite an honor.

Based on that little bit of time that we spent together chatting about golf, The Open and Merion, I called on Mr Hannigan in 1984 for a letter of reference for the Cherry Hills Country Club Superintendent position. And now, these 30 years later, I remember well, that conversation. I asked Mr. Hannigan if he remembered me and he said that he did. He asked me what I had been doing since The Open and I told him that I was the Superintendent at Rolling Green Golf Club. Frank got all excited as he talked about what a great golf course Rolling Green was and about the 1976 Women's Open that was held there. Then we talked about the Cherry Hills opportunity and he said that he would gladly write a letter of reference for me.

Well, I got the job at Cherry Hills at the ripe old age of 25 years old and I had no way of knowing what Frank had written in his letter until years later when Cherry Hill's General Manager, Joe Vincent, gave me a copy of the letter. Frank's letter to those of you that knew him was just so typical. I'm paraphrasing a bit; Frank wrote that he didn't know whether or not I could grow grass but that I ran the US Open at Merion. 

Over the years, I kept in touch with Frank and we'd run into each other occasionally. Frank would have me laughing at his take on some of my exploits in the industry. I felt that we were kindred spirits, in that each of us stood up for what we believed in and called it the way we saw it. Golf will miss Mr. Hannigan.

Trees and Frank Hannigan: An interesting aside to many of you, Frank Hannigan was one of two men responsible for the tree removal movement, looking critically at the over-planting of trees on golf courses. This movement led to the rediscovery of more varied strategy, better turf conditions, improved vistas, and quite often, a return to the golf course architect's original intent.



Friday, March 21, 2014

Goats and Golf at The Presidio

Organic Weed Control

There are some old goats at working at The Presidio and I'm not talking about Richard Zokol and me working on Suny, Zokol Golf Design's "Era Appropriate Renovation." The Presidio Golf Course has their own herd of goats providing weed control.  And much to the surprise of Superintendent, Brian Nettz, some of the goats were pregnant.

Surprise!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Template Holes...the case against them


Template holes stifle originality in design.

How can I say that? These template holes are revered by golf course architecture-philes. The greatest Golf Course Architects in history went to the well with these template holes, but should we?

Alps, Biarritz, Cape, Cardinal, DellEden (High-out), Eden (High-in), Gibraltar, Hell's Half Acre, Island Green, Long, Maiden, Perfection, Postage Stamp, Punch Bowl, Redan and reverse redan, Reef, Road, Sahara, Short


There are great, earth shattering examples of these  template holes out there and no one debates that but I have a question. How is going back to the well on these classic/historic template holes any different than Tom Fazio repeatedly creating holes with similar playing characteristics and aesthetics for which he is roundly criticized by Golf Architecture's intelligencia? How many of today's Designers are guilty of this design repetitiveness? And don't even get me started on the Tour 18 concepts that may or should cause intestinal discomfort for some of us.


If a designer has preconceived notions about what good is through their love of template holes, one might suggest or infer that they'll go into their default design mode instead of exploring options and possibly finding "new" and different golf holes, nary I say, a great, new original golf hole worthy of template status.


More thoughts on today's Golf Course Design:



Thursday, February 13, 2014

An Homage to Riviera's #10...Sagebrush #13


#13 at Sagebrush

Riviera is once again hosting golf's best and it causes me and many others to think about the Tenth hole. The Tenth hole, has come to embody the drivable Par 4. My partner Richard Zokol loves this hole with all of his heart and soul. Professional golfers, Golf Design aficionados, and virtually anyone that would ever even think about discussing the drivable Par 4 will automatically default to talk of the Tenth at Riviera, the prototypical drivable Par 4. It is "the" drivable Par 4 and everybody knows it.

So, when we, Whitman, Zokol, Suny, were designing Sagebrush and there was an opportunity for a fairly short downhill Par 4,  Zokol wanted to embrace the embodiment of Riviera's Tenth. We didn't want to, nor did the topography allow for a copy of the hole, but the spirit of the Tenth could be captured in a very different aesthetic and topographical environment.

Whitman threw up his arms and told Zokol to figure it out. There was really nothing there for a green site; it all had to be created. Even though the 13th green looks as if it belongs to the property and was always there, it is by far the most manufactured green and surrounds on the course. 

The hole plays downhill at 320, 292, 188, 178 yards and Zokol wanted the layup shot to require a very difficult approach shot to offer significant encouragement to the golfer to drive the green and that the further to the right that the shot was missed the more difficult the recovery shot.


#13 From the Tee

As we talked about the hole and it really all came down to a green and the surrounds which had to be created, I wasn't sure that I was "getting" the vision. And that caused me to get out some modeling clay (plasticine) and sculpt what I thought Zokol was looking for. He loved the model and we gave it to the shaper to build after having hauled a lot of fill into the area. What happened to the model...well, rumor has it that Whitman placed it gently into the irrigation pond.

Take a look at the hole and you'll see that the bunker gets deeper and deeper as you go further right and back. And then the short grass continues to slope away drastically the further to the right and back. All of that with a green the slopes rather smartly from the right to the left with OB to the left of the green.


The scale of this picture that Zokol took of me after he and I finished the bunker with Italian Grape Hoes shows just how much more difficult things get the further right and back you end up.

Did the hole work? Did it capture the essence of Riviera's Tenth? All I can tell you is that a high percentage of golfers attempt to drive the green. In fact, there was a hole-in-one on the 13th by Chuck Kobasew, a right winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL. We took that as a sign of success.