The Seminar – Part Six – The Architects Panel

 

 

 

The Panel

 

I was asked to join the panel with Graham Cooke and Doug Carrick when Tom McBroom didn’t show. I wasn’t surprised to find out that help far stronger opinions than the other two. I think a lot of that has to do with where we all are in our career paths. They are both well established while I feel that I have something to prove.

 

I see far more dramatic changes around the corner than anyone else seems to. I’m convinced that the near future is going to bring greater regulations on inputs and on water use in particular. I see this having an impact on maintenance and ushering a change in playing conditions. The future of golf course design in Canada will involve designing course that will remain fun and playable under firm and fast conditions. 

 

Since new courses will have to accommodate firm conditions and fewer inputs, we will have to change our designs to accommodate how much the ball will bounce and run. The ground game will make a major comeback. Designers will need to recognize this change and build course that accommodate or encourage this option which will lead to less bunkering and better use of natural features in design.

 

I see a future where environmental sustainability is mandated. The designs we produce will have to disturbed less of the site, collect more of the run-off, re-use the water available and preserve more of the native vegetation with the design. Our future is in our past.

  

The beauty of this change is that it’s just what we need in this trying time. The courses will become more playable for the average player, cheaper to build, and cheaper to maintain. Golf design is going back to a much simpler approach. 

 

May 27^th, 2010

 

 

The Seminar – Part Five – Golf is Fat

 

 

The 5th at Hayling Island by Simpson in 1933

 

Lorne Rubenstein was the keynote speaker before the architect’s panel.

 

I consider Lorne to be one of the best speakers I know and was curious to see where his comments would go since his talk was going to lead into an architecture discussion. I would not be disappointed. He began by handing out a picture of a par three designed by Tom Simpson on a links course few have heard of called Hayling Island which near Portsmouth, England.

 

I had to smile since this was very near where I lived just before immigrating to Canada.

 

He talked about the simplicity of the design, the single pot bunker slightly off-set from the centre, the complications of the slopes around and the green, the slopes of the green and how each day brought a new challenge. He then pointed out how little soil was moved to create this fascinating hole. It was all part of his commentary about how we need to return golf back to “the simple game.�

 

He reasoned golf had gotten fat, buoyed by carts, fancy clubs, championship courses and pristine conditions. Everything about the game has become extravagant, overdone and expensive. He reasoned through this example that none of this was necessary and in fact the last few decades were clearly counterproductive in bringing people to golf. Golf had lost its way and our generation of architects was often to blame.

 

 

The hole from the air in all its simple glory

 

He reasoned that architects and owners had to learn to say no to accommodating the power game, say no to cart golf, say no to expensive course, say no to major grading, say no to flashy designs, say no to the last few decades of decadence. We need to return back to a design style that made sense for players, owners and most importantly the cost of the game.

 

We need to return to the core values of the game and think long and hard about where we want the game to be in 10 years. We need to think of what type of game we want to leave the next generation of players to experience. We need change.

 

May 26th, 2010

 

 

The Seminar – Part Four – Effective Communication

 

 

Peter Beresford courtesy of RCGA

 

The next speaker was Peter Beresford from the RCGA talking about Effective Communication. It was interesting to me personally, but I was at a loss to figure out where it fit in with the other topics. I took many notes and thought about them in terms of Weir Golf Design.

 

Peter used David Stern’s famous quote “The brand is everything and everything is the brand.� He explained that everything you do, anyone who represents you, or anywhere you appear, you are representing the brand. It reinforces the need for me to speak well, send a clear message, have the respect of those you work with, but it also reminds me of the importance of avoiding projects that don’t fit. With Weir Golf Design we turned down another project two weeks ago because it didn’t fit us. We need to make an impact with the first design since we will be under intense scrutiny.

 

Peter later on said to “Manage your own information so that it gets out correctly and it gets to who you want to here it.� That is certainly what I would like to do with Weir Golf Design. I think it’s crucial that we tell our story directly. That is why I blog and speak on a regular basis. We have a story to tell about our design philosophy and people need to know that we believe in something a bit different. Rick Young made a point to everyone, if you have a story or message to get out "Go directly to the Media."

 

“Tell your message, re-tell your message and tell your message again.� This is Jack Welch’s quote about the fact that you have to repeat yourself as much as five times if you really want to drive a point home. This is where I need to improve when dealing with non-golf club situations where people’s focus is not just on golf design.

 

I look back to a presentation I gave recently where I carefully explained how we could use the set-up of the course to increase the difficulty for the tour players. I explained how hard the course would become by shifting pins to the edges of the drop-offs, firming up the greens and surrounds, and shortening up the turf on the greens and the surrounds. My mistake was not repeating this a few times since I was asked if the course would challenge a tour player at the end.

 

We always have more to learn, whether its about design, running a business or how to communicate. I've listened to a lot of people about marketing and communications and I think that has been the key reason why I'm where I am today.

May 24th, 2010

Next up Lorne of Golf is Fat!

Wednesday - the architects panel

 

 

The Seminar – Part Three – Future Trends

 

Carrick and Tyers Biarritz at Turnbery - more golf than you may expect!

 

The main speaker was Stephen Johnston who keyed in on the emergence of family as a key factor in the future. He also felt that women would play a larger role in selecting private clubs for the family and that attracting women was actually the key to future success. He mentioned that niche marketing was better than trying to appeal to all people at the same time. Figure out what you are and sell your club as the best of “that� kind.

 

I agree with his points, but not his conclusions. I agree that women represent a key demographic for private clubs in the future, but was surprised no one mentioned minorities as a key to the growth of the game as urban centers become more cosmopolitan.

 

I think the key issues are cost, time and family. My generation is not interested in private clubs at the same age as past generations. We are having children later and putting family before golf. This means that future demographics at clubs are likely to rise unless more juniors can come through the system to become adult members.

 

I can afford to join my local private club, but the fact that I have little spare time leaves me unwilling to spend approximately $500 per round to play 10 times a year. Now if they need could ever figure out that an alternative for me, they would enjoy the money I would spend in the clubhouse since I would definitely use the facilities much more than a senior member who plays his 150 rounds a year.

 

The panel discussion finally got interesting when the talk got to alternative facilities like Turnberry Golf Club. Turnberry has 16 par threes and two par fours. The speed of play is about half a regulation 18 and the cost is around $35. If you live near Brampton you have just been offered an alternative that is cheaper and less time consuming. I certainly enjoyed the alternative!

 

I wish we concentrated more on how to provide alternatives than on how to make old ideas viable. Golf badly needs some new thinking in North America if it’s going to ever grow again. Otherwise I’ll simply spend every week-end doing things with my family.

 

May 19th, 2002

 

 

Next week:

1. Marketing and the RCGA

2. Lorne's vision for the future of golf

3. The Architects Panel (which I was part of)