Andy Watson Golf Design

Two very important referendums are happening in Scotland today. The vote for or against independence for the nation, and also the vote for or against the inclusion of female members to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews.

Firstly, I hope that Scotland decide to remain as part of the UK as I am very proud professionally, to be associated with the heritage of the game, made so rich by the plethora of world beating courses both North and South of the border.

There is no doubt that Scotland is the home of this great game, but were it not for our British Union, then maybe it would have remained as an insular pastime, played only by a small minority north of the border. Thanks to our union and the ability of Scottish nationals to be able to travel through our vast empire, the game has reached all four corners of the globe, and that travel initially began through the rest of the United Kingdom. Heathland and linksland courses around Surrey and along the Lancashire golf coast are some of the best in Britain, if not the world, and they are there principally due to our expanding rail networks and our growing love of a game made popular through our union. A union which, I for one, hope remains.

Sand Moor Golf Club - Phase two in play

The second phase of works were completed last autumn and are now in play. I was fortunate enough to visit the course yesterday and find out how the new alterations were bedding in.

As you can see from the photographs above, the first year turf has knitted together brilliantly despite the cold, wet spring and the hot, dry summer.

#EisenhowerTree

There has been a lot of anguish over the news in the last few days about the ice storms in the U.S. claiming the famed Loblolly Pine, 'the Eisenhower Tree' from the 17th fairway at Augusta National, just weeks before the 2014 Masters is due to commence.

This particular tree is named after the former President Ike Eisenhower, a member of the club who lobbied (whilst in power) to have the tree removed. His pleas were rejected and the tree remained, and, I imagine to his frustration, the tree took on the former president's name.

Much debate has followed about what should be done to rectify the removal of this grand old tree.

My first reaction was one of happiness, as I believe that Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones never had the intention of tree lining every fairway and reducing the golfers thoughts to simply playing the long straight drive. Many of the original holes utilised much wider fairways giving the golfer more shot placement choices. A quick look through the history books however, shows that this particular pine was indeed part of the original layout, and must have been earmarked as a fine specimen to remain as a feature to play around. What is disappointing is that so many trees had been added around this tree, and it had become a fine specimen on the edge of a younger copse of pines, forcing the golfer down a straight and narrow chute, and diminishing somewhat its stature as a lone specimen.

Closer inspection of the copse on Google Earth has revealed an interesting tree though. As my picture at the top shows (17th fairway runs left to right through the centre of the image), the large Eisenhower Tree is the dominating feature, but as the copse has been placed around it, a similar specimen has been placed 15 - 20 or so paces behind the Loblolly, and directly in line with it. It is already of considerable size (although not as impressive as the Eisenhower Tree obviously), and with the removal of the original, has every opportunity to grow to a similar size as the now deceased giant.

Sand Moor Golf Club 17th Hole - February 2014

The second phase of work at Sand Moor Golf Club is now turfed and is bedding in nicely. The 17th hole is a particular triumph, with the new bunkers, although significantly reduced in surface area lessening maintenance hours, providing a strong visual and physical challenge to the approaching golfers.

The new bunkers feature rolled lips that will bring balls into the hazard from the green surrounds, and large sand flashes that stand up and face the golfer. Other features surrounding the green include open grass run offs at the rear left and rear right of the green, the latter, taking the shape of the bunker originally placed here when the course was built.

Yesterday I made my final visit to Saltburn Golf Club in Saltburn by the Sea. The course has seen three holes adjusted this autumn, and the par 3 9th above has been turfed and the bunkers have been lined ready for play in late spring next year.

The turf although patchy in places, has already began to bed in, thanks mostly to the mild and generally favourable weather we have had this Autumn. Lack of snow and heavy frosts have meant (barring a few heavy storms) that progress has been good, and the newly installed features should bed in nicely before they are sanded and hopefully put in play in time for the playing season in Spring 2014.

The top image shows the photomontage that I created to show what the hole might look like once complete. The second image, taken yesterday shows the finished product (without sand) and I am happy that it looks almost exactly as I had originally planned.

The third image shows the second bunker up close. All the fine detail work has been completed by the green staff at the club, and they have achieved a great result. We have used a stack of four turfs to create a strong and imposing lip that will stand 2 inches proud of the finished sand line, and in the base we have lined the bunker with a blanket of upturned turfs, leaving the drainage channel open to allow the steady passage of water out of the bunkers through the installed perforated pipe work.

Autumn on the Golf Course

I feel very fortunate to be able to say that I took these pictures whilst at work. My job means that I get to spend a lot of time in or around golf courses, allowing me to capture the changing of the seasons.

Hole 12 Sand Moor GC First Appraisal Complete

Ground has been broken at Sand Moor GC for this season's development works. The strategy for the 12th hole will remain unchanged, and the bunkers will remain in situ, although the shapes and sizes of these features will be slightly adjusted.

The left hand features (top image) will remain in situ but the large sand splash mounds have been removed and the lips replaced into the face of the bunker to provide continuity and a more visually appealing challenge.

The right hand greenside bunkers (2nd image) will be conjoined to form one menacing hazard with three raised lips that will be visible from the approach. The existing bunkers were swollen and the lips had eaten through the mounds containing the bunkers. The leading edge had been raked through and in wet weather, sand was seeping out of the bunkers on the low side.

The new bunker (3rd image) combines the shapes of the existing features, and adds a third lip to create a daunting impression from the landing zone. A mound to the right of the hazard ensures no sand escaping in years to come, and also expands the catchment area of the feature. Paint lines are visible in the base of the bunker in this image and show where I have proposed to cut out some of the base of the bunker and leading edge to provide a run in, and also to centralise the low point. Paint lines are also visible in the faces. These show where I would like the shaper to alter the shape of the face to allow for a lip to sit within it and face the golfer in the approach. The visibility of the sand is key to making the bunker imposing, and a varied sand line helps to draw the eye of the golfer, and ultimately the ball, away from the target line.

I've just read this great article on a renovation project that is set to go ahead in Alabama, USA. The interesting part of the article for me as an architect, is being able to read the masterplan alongside the article.There are some fantastically interesting and inspiring bunker shapes, and an infinite amount of shot making variety through each hole. As my eye glances through hole by hole, it is clear that this course will not only look great, but the playing challenge will keep the golfer thinking through every shot, regardless of playing ability.

Have a read, and enjoy imagining playing your way through the landscape.

Saltburn GC - Autumn build programme

Saltburn is a James Braid designed course in the North East of England. This autumn AWGD has commenced alterations to the 7th, 9th and 14th (shown above) holes.

The 14th is played uphill and over a slight brow to a green not visible from the tee. It is a relatively short hole, and previously included two greenside hazards. The left hand hazard has been retained, and two additional bunkers flank the green on the same side (the roughed in versions of these are pictured).

The bunker lip lines include dropped noses (shown here in white paint) which from a distance creates the illusion of two separate hazards as the line disappears below the horizon created by the bunker's front edge. The resulting impression of this left hand side is hazardous, especially if a pin should be cut on the back left of this green as the bunkers will appear more numerous and more closely packed than they are in reality.

Alterations to the 13th @SandMoorGC

The 13th is one of the four holes that were added to the course when the two opening and two closing holes were closed and built upon back in the 1970's. It is a short par four of 336 yards nestled in the once available space between the long par 5, 12th hole at 529 yards, and the long par 4, 14th hole at 458 yards. It plays as a short downhill dogleg right surrounded by invasive birch and oak trees. When the hole was brought into play, the surrounding trees would've either been no existent, or at least considerably smaller than they stand today, and the hole now feels somewhat overcrowded.

AWGD has specified that the trees on the inside of the dog leg be removed to create a drive-able option for long hitters, or when the tee is forward, and also to relieve the claustrophobic atmosphere around this green complex. The fairway will also be widened to allow the hole to be played from a variety of positions depending upon the position of the pin.

The greenside challenge will be stiffened to counterbalance the opening up of the fairway options. The left bunker will be split in two and the run off to the left increased to pull balls towards the hazards. The right hand feature will be reduced in size, but moved to the front edge of the green to tighten up the run in reducing the possibility of finding the green successfully from the tee, adding to the level of risk and reward factor.