Imagine building 26 golf courses at the height of the golf development bubble, with nine figures in public pension money — in an effort that now loses money year after year. Welcome to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
In theory, 12-hole designs should be cheaper to play, build, and maintain. But in the staid industry of golf course development, there’s been no rush to test the theory. The minds behind Sweetens Cove are ready to change that.
A California bill to support repurposing municipal golf courses has been miscast as a threat. In truth, it is an opportunity, if the golfing world will take it.
Tobacco Road Golf Club, near Pinehurst, N.C., is a paradox: a wild adventure among manmade features, through rugged conditions laced with sand and brush.
Tom Doak’s renovated design at Memorial Park in Houston strikes the balance between a high-profile, PGA Tour-worthy venue and a lovable municipal course that’s accessible to its community.
“I think it was Bill Coore that put the philosophy best: ‘You want to maintain this golf course so that it browns in, rather than greens out.’ You’re constantly working that edge where golf ends and where the site begins”
The course is not perfect. It’s not even a perfect representation of what its masterminds were trying to achieve. But Bobby Jones is miles closer to what urban public golf must look like 20 years from now to stay relevant.
Even by golf’s standards, golf course architecture badly underrepresented Black people. That failure endangers the game’s viability for Black and white players alike.