By Design - Summer 2015

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As the golf industry slowly begins
to rebound, it is important to
recognize the bubble growth
of the past few decades has harmed
the segment of golf that should be
the primary avenue to growth for
the game. That segment is the small
country golf course, whether private
or public, that serves those who
enjoy the game for its simple virtues
of overcoming obstacles, enjoying
the company of family and friends, a
commune with nature that settles the
soul, provides a semblance of exercise,
and provides that high when a golf
ball is struck purely.
That golf course model has been
closing at a rapid pace as more
expensive golf courses that failed to
hit the mark their feasibility studies
targeted in fatter times have reduced
their fees. Now those ‘country club
for a day’ facilities are in direct
competition with the more established
icons of the community that serve the
everyday golfer.
These country courses consider
upgrades on a shoestring budget,
often with the last bit of capital
available in a last-ditch effort toward
survival. Time and again, the decision
to go ‘in-house’ leads to the inevitable
short-cuts that result in more money
spent on fixing the short cut than if
done correctly in the first place.
The first cost-cutting decision in the
process is often to eliminate the golf
course architect (and his/her fees).
Inevitably that is always the move that
hurts the most. Most golf architects,
though, are worth far more to the
bottom line than their fees. This value
comes not only in controlling costs, but
also in creating more value per dollar.
A club seeking to cut costs without
bringing in a professional clearly has
corner-cutting in mind. This usually
comes as a result of not knowing the
myriad ways to accomplish specific
tasks. An architect may introduce an
alternative approach that may cost more,
but it usually involves proper execution
and materials resulting in better quality,
or more value through an approach
that may indeed cost a bit more in
implementation. In other words, getting
more bang for one’s buck.
Yes, if you hire a golf architect, the
cost of the project may exceed one’s
initial budget. The reason is that
one of the golf architect’s primary
goals is to ensure clients perform
tasks the proper way, rather than the
cost-cutting way. So, yes, it is more
expensive to utilize a golf architect
than not… on the surface. Yet, most
likely, that initial budget never
included realistic quantities or costs
because, frankly, it just costs more to
do it the right way.
Once the decision to cut the architect
is made and a project is underway,
that unrealistic budget is strictly
adhered to by cutting quantities
and scope instead of assessing the
overall approach. More corners are
cut, resulting in a project that didn’t
achieve its initial purpose, yet sapped
the club of its only remaining capital.
Most likely, additional work will be
required sooner down the road than
later, rendering any cost savings moot
in the process.
Without proper professional
guidance, a club can spend much more
out of the gate by taking 10 seemingly
simple steps rather than five steps that
may require slightly more time and
money. Yet the result is much more
value. That value and time-saving
expertise is what the golf architect can
bring to any size project.
Even with something as innocuous
as replacing bunker sand, a seasoned
expert may find a solution where one
wasn’t even looking. Simply fixing
a bunker edge or reducing a bay for
playability in the process could save
the client extra effort or provide a
much better product at a fraction of
its cost to implement.•
The second part of this article, where
Mandell provides more detail on how a
golf course architect brings value to even
the smallest of design decisions for any golf
course, is available at
And visit the Free Publications section
of the ASGCA website to download the
‘Selecting Your Golf Course Architect:
Questions & Answers’ flyer.
Mandell also organizes the Symposium
on Affordable Golf, with this year’s event
taking place in Canton, Ohio on 12-13
October. For more information, visit
Affordable Golf | Richard Mandell, ASGCA Associate
The first cut
is the deepest
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Richard Mandell, ASGCA Associate
Based in Pinehurst, North Carolina,
golf architect Richard Mandell’s
philosophy is founded on simplicity
in design and inspiration in the land.
24 | By Design
In the first of a two part article on cost reduction,
Richard Mandell, ASGCA Associate, highlights the
importance of consulting a qualified golf architect