By Design - Issue 54, 75 Years Special Report

10 SPECIAL REPORT M uch has changed since the American Society of Golf Course Architects was formed in 1947. Wars have been waged across the globe, nations have risen and fallen, man walked the moon, the internet has transformed almost everything we do, and a pandemic forced huge swathes of the world’s population to retreat to their homes. But has golf changed too? While the 14 ASGCA founding fathers may barely recognize much of life today, the grounds upon which we play golf would be remarkably familiar. Yes, there are now vastly more golf courses – just a few thousand across the world in 1947 has become nearly 40,000 in 2021 – but their basic arrangement, typically 18 holes ranging between 100 and 600 yards with hazards of sand and water, remains largely unchanged. So that’s a good thing, right? Aspects of golf that appealed to previous generations continue to drive interest in the sport now. Or is the opportunity for more people to enjoy the game being lost, if it doesn’t adapt to appeal to future generations with a completely different lifestyle to our predecessors? In this special report to mark 75 years of ASGCA, By Design spoke with golf course architects to explore this confluence of tradition versus advancement and identify fundamental aspects of the profession that have long been important to ASGCA, and will continue to drive the design of golf courses over the next 75 years. This is what we found. 1. Sustainability is the number one priority for golf course developments “Sustainability is at the core of advances in golf course design in recent years and is essential to the future of the game,” says Brit Stenson, ASGCA, whose career included spells as director of design for the both the PGA Tour and IMG, the latter of which saw him design courses all over the world. In the 75 years of ASGCA, some key aspects of golf course architecture have endured, and will continue to drive design for the next 75 years. Toby Ingleton reports life for Designed