Tiger Who!?

Dear GRG Client,
Welcome to 2018’s first Staples Golf Design Quarterly! I find myself writing during my kids’ spring break, getting some early morning work in! Quite a lot is going on in the golf biz right now, as we debate the golf ball, and are inundated with constant Tiger updates, my world keeps coming back to the reality of the design business in 2018, and how to keep working on great projects with great people. Enjoy!

Community Led Architecture – What’s That???

I recently came across an urban planning article about the re-envisioning of the City of Detroit’s waterfront, and how community based input is driving the design. It got me thinking about how design in general is evolving towards a holistic approach and how best to integrate a community’s interests into a final design.

I’ve spent a fair bit of time refining my own process of asking input from residents, members, staff, etc. It’s a vision I call Community Links. I think this area of our business has the largest room for improvement, as the days of if you build it, they will come are over, and we as architects are tasked with building pride and enthusiasm around projects in order to get them “sold.” We are becoming as much marketers and PR specialists, as we are designers, and driving support for our work will be integral to our future successes.

Getting Rid of "Municipal"

I recently attended a golf caucus in southern California, led by my friend Craig Kessler, where the group was discussing the operational issues of many of the areas municipal courses. I was struck by all the stories about lack of support, and courses struggling to show value. I stood up and made a declaration: “Let’s stop using the word municipal; it gives a negative connotation to this type of facility. Let’s use community instead! The wordcommunity is really what we’re trying to accomplish, right?? Makes sense to me!”

To my surprise, many seemed to be willing to jump on this bandwagon. It’s a switch that will take some time to actually stick, but don’t be surprised if you see me stop using muni, and shift entirely to community; fair warning!

The Ball Debate from My Perspective

A colleague of mine, Ian Andrew, a Canadian golf architect, was recently interviewed on Golf Talk Canada, discussing the issue from an architect’s perspective. He summarized my own feelings perfectly.  The technology debate is not about protecting a certain score, or overall records. It’s about the long-term sustainability in terms of limiting overall acreage, annual maintenance costs, reducing our footprint, and addressing the safety of courses, and their adjoining property from a ball traveling too far.  Interestingly, a yard or two gained each year, continues to have lasting impacts 10 or 20 years down the line! At what point will it stop? It should have stopped years ago. You can listen to his interview here, and skip to the 55-minute mark.

Other Happenings!

A couple of quick updates here: We’re rockin’ and rollin’ through master plans for San Jose CC in northern CA, and the University Club of Milwaukee. Both plans are progressing nicely, and should be finalized in the near future. Our Community Links program in San Luis Obispo, CA, continues to forge ahead, gaining Board approval for their 1st round of funding. I’m in the process of two large public bid processes, as well as a few other private club opportunities. Needless to say, I’m in new biz mode!

I was also fortunate to speak recently at the joint USGA/ Northern CA GCSAA in Napa, at the spring event for the Michigan GCSAA, as well as be interviewed by Ran over at Golf Club Atlas. We covered everything from the Meadowbrook CC renovation, to my thoughts on sustainability, to the role we as golf architects have on "growing the game," among others.You can check out the interview here; I'm quite happy with how it turned out!

Thanks for everyone’s interest in SGD Quarterly! I love the comments, so please feel free to continue to share with me what you're liking. Negative feedback welcome too but go easy alright?!

All the best,

Andy Staples, ASGCA