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By Design
Throughout the history of golf,
new innovations have affected both
the way we play the game, and the
way golf courses are designed. The
topic of innovation was discussed
extensively at this year’s annual
meeting of the American Society of
Golf Course Architects (see sidebar).
Over recent years, the unmanned
aircraft system (UAS, or ‘drone’),
has emerged as a technology with
numerous commercial applications.
Originally more commonly associated
with military operations, when
Amazon revealed it was testing drones
for parcel delivery, it raised the profile
of the technology’s possibilities for
widespread commercial use. Indeed,
Japanese firm Rakuten has even
applied the parcel delivery concept to
golf, and is now testing a new service
that allows items such as snacks
and balls to be delivered from the
clubhouse to golfers out on the course.
Learning to fly
Jim Cervone, ASGCA, was also quick
to see the potential benefits of using
drones in golf design. “It dawned on
me that this would be a wonderful
addition to the toolbox,” he explains.
“When you get that drone out for the
first time, you’re like a kid. You just
want to fly it around and have some
fun. But that’s actually an important
aspect of it because you need to
be familiar with it and be able to
maneuver it properly,” says Cervone.
Ease-of-use means architects can
get to grips with drone technology
relatively quickly.
Another golf course architect and
drone operator, Mike Benkusky,
ASGCA, honed his skills using a
DRONE TECHNOLOGY
“We should understand innovation,
and move forward,” said Steve
Smyers, the outgoing ASGCA
President, at the recent ASGCA
Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.
Smyers was speaking at the
Donald Ross Roundtable Meeting,
where ASGCA Executive Committee
members and the foremost figures of
the golf industry that represent ASGCA
Leadership Partner organizations
gathered, as they regularly do, to
discuss the game today.
“Innovation has shaped the game
of golf throughout the course of
its history,” said Smyers, before
chronicling some of the game’s major
innovations, from the introduction
of the gutta-percha ball in the
mid-nineteenth century to changes
in the putting stroke, advances in
grass mowing equipment, irrigation,
turfgrass and the development of
modern club technology.
Participations at the roundtable
meeting discussed new innovations
that affect the way we use golf
facilities, play the game, and design
courses.
Scott Lamont of master planning
business EDSA explained how his
organization was working alongside
its developer partners to fully
understand the value of golf facilities
by using sophisticated performance
analysis, covering metrics such as
water saved, trees planted and jobs
created. Dana Garmany of Troon Golf
spoke about research that analyzes
the engagement and spending by
golfers from various demographics.
Future issues of
By Design
will explore
these and other topics discussed
during the meeting.
Golf and innovation: hand in hand