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By Design
FIVE TO FINISH
Arthur Little
Why should out of bounds
penalize the golfer
more than a water hazard?
A
self-confessed golf addict
since 1959, Arthur Little
graduated from Stanford
University in 1966 and entered the
venture capital world. In 1996, Little
and his wife Jann Leeming bought
Province Lake Golf in Parsonfield,
Maine, taking various steps to ensure
the course would suit as many
players as possible.
Although Little sold the course
in 2005, he continues to push for
inclusive golfing and varied tee
placement as senior trustee of the
Royal Little Family Foundation.
How is your game?
At the age of 73, my game is definitely
on the back nine. I’m a weak 8.1 index,
although I did shoot my age last year.
Which three people would make up
your dream fourball?
That’s easy. My wife, who is my
favorite golf champion, my late father
Royal Little, who introduced me to
the sport and took me to courses as
a teenager, and Chi-Chi Rodriguez,
who I played many times. My father
was one of Chi-Chi’s original tour
sponsors—something he told me five
years after my father’s death.
What is your favorite hole in golf?
I’ve played 526 courses, so I have a
lot to choose from, but hole eight at
Pebble Beach, California and hole 16
at Bandon Trails in Oregon quickly
come to mind. It took me six rounds
to figure out how golf course architects
Bill Coore, ASGCA, and Ben Crenshaw
wanted golfers to play the latter. My
favorite is hole 16 at Province Lake
Golf, where Jann and I really started
thinking about tee positioning. Our
son Cameron designed the hole so that
the pond on the left is reachable with a
well-hit drive, but the speed slot on the
right leaves the player with short iron.
Playing short of the pond leaves the
player with a long iron or hybrid. It’s a
very good risk/reward hole.
If you could change or add one rule,
what would it be?
The rules governing stroke and
distance for balls that go out of
bounds—drop a ball two club
lengths from the spot it went out.
Why should out of bounds penalize
the golfer more than a water hazard?
What project are you currently
working on?
Since 1998, Jann and I have been
trying to convince the industry
that there need to be golf courses
with two forward sets of tees at
approximately 4,000 and 4,700
yards to suit players with slower
swings (60-75mph). I’ve recently
worked with Coore and architect
Andy Staples, ASGCA, to set tees at
those yardages. During our visit to
play Coore and Crenshaw’s course
at the new Sand Valley Golf Resort
in Wisconsin this May, we’ll begin
marking the two forward sets of tees
on the upcoming second course,
designed by David McLay Kidd.
We are thrilled with the ASGCA
Foundation’s new Longleaf Tee
Initiative, so our family foundation
has pledged US$75,000 to support
the project.
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Photo: Pebble Beach Company
The eighth at Pebble Beach is one of Little’s favorite holes