I have a major confession to make. I’m hooked on grass. I have been since I was in the 9th grade.
I’m sorry, you probably misunderstood me. It’s not the illegal substance I’m referring to; I’m talking about Turfgrass. It’s the art and science behind making grass playing surfaces the best they can be. The goal of my team is simply to make the best of your experience on the golf course day in and day out. That’s what gets me excited! It’s a job that stems from a passion for those of us in the business and ultimately a lifestyle that comes along with caring for this living, breathing organism. For me, it all started in 1994 after vandals stole several golf carts at a small public golf course in Reading, PA, where I was charged with keeping the fleet of said Yamaha golf carts clean and gassed that season. With damage inflicted upon several greens, my golf cart focus shifted to early mornings, helping the 3-man maintenance team, plugging out the damaged turf. I loved it and I never looked back. The seed was planted that August day, no pun intended. As my interest of the industry grew, it was off to see bigger and better operations - Reading CC to Oakmont CC, then off to St. Andrews for a year on the Old Course, Augusta National GC and then ultimately Highlands CC after completing my bachelors degree at Penn State. The journey has been fun and everyday I continue to learn more than I knew the day before. Surprisingly, one thing I didn’t fully appreciate during those days was the subject of golf course architecture. In the superintendent business there is a general unwritten rule that says, as an agronomist, stick to being an expert on grass. Unless an aspect of a design is impacting turf quality, we aren’t experts in the field of architecture and thus, it should be left to the professionals.
Fast forward to becoming the Golf Course Superintendent at Highlands CC. Over the first 10-15 years, we worked on a number of small projects, using a few different golf course architects. It wasn’t until 2018 that we committed to having an architect of record, namely Ron Forse. After spending a lot of time with Ron, working on our Golf Course Master Plan, the subject of golf course architecture really started to become a subject that I had a lot of interest in. Coming from being a simple ‘Turfhead’ to someone with a greater appreciation of how Donald Ross designed golf courses showed me that there is still so much to learn.
When Highlands CC was
constructed, starting in the mid 1920’s, none of the roads to Highlands were
paved. They were comprised of a gravel and dirt mix. First off, can you imagine what it might have
been like to drive on dirt roads, mountain roads specifically, located in a temperate
rainforest!? Imagine the mud, the
washouts and the erosion created by our excessive rainfall. It wasn’t until the 1930’s, when the Town of Highlands got the State of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina to pave roads leading to town. I
digress. The vision and courage it took
to take on a project like Highlands CC in that era is astonishing. The most fascinating aspect of golf course
architecture, in my opinion, is having the ability to look at a topographic map
and establish the initial routing.
Reading a topo map is one thing but being able to visualize, in a 3-dimensional
way, the lay of the land is something that takes a lot of practice and talent. As a superintendent, I’ve worked with surveys
and maps all sorts. Donald Ross was a
genius at routing golf courses. Architecture experts claim that Donald Ross courses lack a common theme among them because he was the master of using the given land to create a unique golf tracks.
The second aspect of architecture
that I find interesting is the architect’s vision for how the hole is
played. Most times, there isn’t just one
way. Many architects design holes that
offer the golfer the ability to make decisions on how best to play the
hole. This is why it’s so important to
manage tree growth on a golf course. One
tree becoming too large can reduce options the golfer has to play a hole. It shows how important the decisions made by
Superintendents and Green Committees can impact the architectural aspects of a golf
course.
"Ross’s work is so unique because he routed and designed from what he was given at each and every piece of property. His courses and holes seldom look alike due to the way he connected each and every hole to that piece of property. I’ve often said Ross designed his holes by visualizing golf shots and knowing how the ball would react once on the ground. He placed bunkers and angled his greens and edges to interact with what he perceived the ball movement, drainage, and other factors to be. His ability and willingness to route holes and place greens over, through, and across a variety of what would be considered severe topographic features to a modern-day architect was very impressive, especially considering the equipment at his disposal."
This is just a little insight into my newly found interest in golf course architecture! I am eager to continue to study this fascinating subject...