By Design - Spring 2020

HERE ARE LINKS TO OTHER RECENT “TARTAN TALKS,” NOW FEATURING OVER 20 E PISODES: 5 According to the 2020 Golf Facility Market Trend Watch report, master plan and short game developments are now the two most popular types of projects for golf architects. Respondents to the study— commissioned by the ASGCA and conducted by Sports & Leisure Research Group (SLRG)—included hundreds of golf course architects, superintendents, general managers, facility owners/operators, golf professionals and industry leaders. Eighty-eight percent of architects reported that in the last two years that they have been employed to develop a golf course master plan—the most popular type of project the recent study finds. Jon Last, SLRG founder and president, said: “It is interesting to note the continued increase in general managers thinking their golfers would welcome enhanced short game areas and practice ranges; it’s a full 20-point increase over two years.” The report notes that short game area developments that architects have been involved with has jumped from 75 percent in 2018 to 85 percent in 2020. Download the highlights of the report at: asgca.org/wp-content/ uploads/2020/02/2020-Market- Trend-Watch-FINAL.pdf Sharp rise in master plan and short game developments T he USGA has created a new exhibition that examines golf courses through art. ‘The Art of the Golf Course’ will be on display at the USGA Golf Museum until the end of August 2020. “Visitors to this exhibition will draw parallels between the choices made by artists and those of golf course architects, whether to create playing interest and challenge, or visual interest and beauty, enhancing their appreciation and understanding of the golf course as a work of art,” said Hilary Cronheim, director of the USGA Golf Museum. Curated by Rand Jerris, the USGA’s senior managing director of public services and former director of the museum, the exhibition showcases a variety of perspectives through paintings, prints, drawings, photography, sculpture and the museum’s fine art collection. The exhibition features panoramic images by photographer John Yang and bronze sculptures of green complexes by Henry Whiting II, as well as artwork by golf course architects, including a rare watercolor by A.W. Tillinghast and a selection of drawings by Desmond Muirhead. Industry news USGA showcases the art of the golf course Photo/image: USGA Golf Museum Photo: Lohmann Quitno