DIGEST
07
Engh breaks ground
in North Dakota
Construction is underway
on a new course for the
Minot Country Club in
North Dakota. The new
course will replace one built
in 1928 and destroyed by
flooding in 2011. The land
was acquired by a group
of the club’s members who
hired Jim Engh, ASGCA, to
design the new course.
Jones receives
GCBAA award
ASGCA Past President Rees
Jones has been awarded the
Don A. Rossi award from
the Golf Course Builders
Association of America.
The award is presented to
individuals who have made
significant contributions to
the game of golf, help the
sport’s growth, and inspire
others by example. “Rees
has a unique opinion when
it comes to building golf
courses and believes courses
don’t need to be long to
be challenging or hard to
be fun,” said Justin Apel,
GCBAA executive director.
New academy
for Granite
Tom McBroom, ASGCA,
has added a short game
academy at Granite Golf
Club in Ontario, Canada.
Superintendent Phil Scully
said: “We have designed
it so you can practise any
shot you can imagine,
without telling you where
to go. There are an infinite
variety of shots out there.”
Golf architect family tree in development
History
G
olf architect Richard Mandell,
ASGCA, is creating a comprehensive
family tree of golf course architects
from the profession’s earliest flowerings in
Scotland in the nineteenth century to the
present, global industry.
“I plan to track who worked for, with,
and under golf architects and designers
throughout the world from the time of
Allan Robertson to the present,” said
Mandell. “I’d like architects to
provide me with the information
on which architects they have worked
for, who has worked for them, and who
has worked alongside
them, and when.”
“Any information is helpful,
including partial information
sent to me multiple times as
things come to mind. My goal is to further
the efforts of Geoffrey Cornish, who
undertook a similar effort years ago.”
Architects can contact Richard
with details of their career history at
Dye
Fazio
Trent Jones
Thompson
Ross
New solutions for neglected courses
Development
A
new project has been set up in the US
with the objective of finding creative
solutions to the problem of neglected
and underfunded public and private open
spaces, including golf courses.
The Parks Legacy Project, whose board
members include golf architect Forrest
Richardson, ASGCA, aims to upgrade
open spaces while also creating long term
financial sustainability for sites involved
in the venture.
“We first look for the potential to
redevelop underused land. This land can
either be within the property, or located
somewhere else that is under control of
the municipality or owner,” said project
board member Michael Farrar. “On a golf
facility we look at ways to reconfigure
the golf course, change its make-up to a
shorter layout or perhaps reduce holes
from 27 to 18, 18 to 9 or from a regulation
length to a shorter layout.”
