A S E CON D LOOK ◗ JEFF MINGAY
THE SECOND HOLE AT THE OLD MACDONALD COURSE AT BANDON DUNES GOLF RESORT IN OREGON.
This is the second in a series of articles where writers look into the GreenMaster archives, examine articles they have contributed and discuss what has changed and what hasn’t.
THE “ROAD GREEN” AT THE OLD MACDONALD COURSE IN OREGON, A GREAT EXAMPLE OF A CHALLENGING, BUT ENTERTAINING COURSE DESIGN. PHOTO CREDITS: JEFF MINGAY
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In Search of the Ideal ◗ There’s been an ‘ideal’ in golf
architecture for about 100 years now. That ideal is to design courses that adequately challenge better golfers, but, more importantly, also provide opportunity for everyone to enjoy the game. Eleven years ago, I wrote a column for this magazine titled “Simple Strategies to Improve Basic Layouts.” My advice was simple: More short grass, more hazards in the direct line to the hole and more slope and contour in and around the greens can turn a comparatively basic layout into a much more interesting and enjoyable course for golfers of all abilities. More than a decade later, I’m preaching the same to client clubs across North America where I’m consulting on golf course improvement. If you design a varied collection of interesting greens, with meaningful slope and contour, and dig bunkers where golfers want to go (rather than on the margins of
holes), you can cut super-wide fairways and eliminate long grass from around the greens without threat of the course being deemed “too easy” by low-handicappers. Some added lateral forgiveness is really all weaker golfers need to enjoy the game. A recent trip to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, on the southern coast of Oregon, reminded me that I was on to something back in April 2003 when the aforementioned column was published. All four 18-hole layouts at Bandon are exceptional. But the resort’s newest course, Old Macdonald (opened in June 2010), is one of the best representations of the “ideal” in the world. “Old Mac” is a tribute to pioneer golf architect, Charles Blair Macdonald (18561939). Born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Macdonald won the first U.S. Amateur championship in 1895. Today he’s better known as the “Father of Modern Golf Architecture.” Macdonald designed