Feed The Ball

Davis Love III needs no introduction. But just in case, he’s a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, has logged over 20 PGA Tour victories, won the 1997 PGA Championship, was twice victorious at The Players Championship and is a two-time Ryder Cup captain. He’s also a tournament founder (the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic at Sea Island), philanthropist and golf course designer. Love Golf Design, which he operates with brother Mark Love, is a craft-oriented and highly creative design firm that has produced courses like Diamante Dunes in Cabo San Lucas, The Plantation Course at Sea Island, Atlantic Dunes at Sea Pines, and Kinderlou Forest in Georgia. They’ve recently completed projects at Birdwood Golf Club at Boar’s Head at the University of Virginia, and Belmont in Richmond in conjunction with The First Tee of Greater Richmond, consisting of the restoration of 12 original A.W. Tillinghast holes plus the conversion of six others into a dynamic short course, expanded practice area and Himalayas putting green. Powered byWP Support and Maintenance Love joins Golf Digest architecture editor Derek Duncan and golf course builder Jim Urbina to discuss: –The Ryder Cup and setting up Whistling Straits; –What makes a great match-play course; –Preserving and fighting for the integrity of old courses; –Working with talented creatives like Forrest Fezler, Paul Cowley and Scot Sherman; –How to balance the needs of the skilled with the desires of the everyday player; –How Pete Dye defined a golf course architect; –And what types of courses attract him personally. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Derek Duncan discusses the breakdown of Golf Digest America’s 100 Greatest Courses list with Aaron Abrahms and Jimmie James on the Golf Nuts Podcast, Episode 15. Photos–Cover Page: The Plantation Course at Sea Island (photo: seaisland.com). Above: Dormant grass at Ricefields at Hampton Island Preserve; Below: more scenes from the abandoned Ricefields. The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 18, ft. Davis Love III appeared first on Feed The Ball.

James Duncan came to the U.S. from his native Denmark in the early 1990s to learn the craft of building golf courses. He learned from the best, working first with Tom Doak and Renaissance Golf Design, then joining with Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw to help construct courses like East Hampton, Old Sandwich, Bandon Trails, Clear Creek Tahoe, Shanquin Bay in China and many others. He has his own firm now, and he’s currently fulfilling a lifelong goal of founding and designing a new course, Brambles, in Northern California, along with Coore, Crenshaw and his own team of creative shapers. Duncan joins the podcast to talk to Golf Digest architecture editor Derek Duncan and golf course designer Jim Urbina about the Brambles site, meeting Jim and Tom Doak and Gil Hanse almost immediately upon arriving in the U.S., the value of traveling to see great architecture, architects as “editors in chief,” his attempts to have Brambles reflect the simplicity and essence of golf as he knows it, what a course would be if you had once chance in life to build it, using ground as a means of connecting to a community and beauty of keeping it simple. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Photos: Above–copses at Brambles’ soon-to-be 10th hole; Main Page–the green at the par-4 4th at Brambles, looking back. The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 17, ft. James Duncan appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Designer Troy Miller worked for Landmark Land Co. for a decade, building golf courses around North America, before leaving the company to settle down in his hometown of Charleston, SC. The move put him in a unique position to do something he’d first envisioned years before: help the city rebuild the popular but dated municipal golf course he grew up playing, that happened to be in the same neighborhood where he lived. With help from an organization called “Friends of the Muni,” Miller got the Charleston Municipal project off the ground and reimagined the design as the third installment in a trilogy of Seth Raynor courses, the architect who built two other clubs in the city in the years before Muni first opened in 1929, the esteemed but private Yeamans Hall and Country Club of Charleston. Miller pulled many of the famous Raynor and C.B. Macdonald template hole concepts into the Muni design, giving public players at last a taste of what private club members had long experienced. Miller joins the Feed the Ball podcast to discuss the how the Muni came into being, how smartly done municipal golf projects can be financially prosperous, Raynor’s presence and influence in Charleston golf, the advantage of keeping green-speeds lower, watching The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island get built and then being present years later when Pete Dye renovated it, The Ocean Course as a “golf safari” and a potential redevelopment of the Patriot’s Point course overlooking Charleston Harbor. Photo: the par-4 13th, “Road,” at Muni. Cover photo: the “Maiden” green at the par-5 15th. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The Redan green at Muni’s par-3 11th. The post Episode 75: Troy Miller appeared first on Feed The Ball.

PGA Tour and current PGA Champions tour player Tom Lehman, winner of the 1996 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Anne’s, has seamlessly managed to maintain an elite game while developing a golf course design outlook that almost entirely eschews consideration of elite players. Lehman stops by the Salon to speak with Golf Digest architecture editor Derek Duncan and golf course builder Jim Urbina about: Powered by GST Suvidha Portal –The importance of hitting your line when playing links golf; –how golf is too consumed with “championship golf;” –the overuse of multiple tees; –the similarities of old-school U.S. Open setups and links golf; –the curse of construction technology; –anchoring a routing on several special natural features; –and how some players just “get it” and “see it” when it comes to architecture (and others don’t). Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Photos: The Prairie Club, courtesy lehmandesigngroup.com The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 16, ft. Tom Lehman appeared first on Feed The Ball.

In a limited amount of original work, David Kahn has proven to be one of the most creative, courageous and expressionistic golf course architects working today. Along with partner Tim Jackson, the other half of Jackson Kahn Design, he’s reimagined the shaping and visage of the historic Dunes Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, built an artistic and technical tour de force with The Other Course at Scottsdale National, as well as the world’s most outlandish (and fun) short nine-hole course at the same facility (The Bad Little Nine). What consumes him most, however, is the rapidly declining health of his twin daughters, Amelia and Makenzie, who each suffer from a fatal neurological disease known as CNL3 juvenile Batten Disease. Powered byMicro ATM David joins Derek to talk about the emotional toll of caring for his daughters as they lose the ability to speak, walk and see, the shock of their diagnosis four years ago, and how he and his wife, Karen, have created the Fore Batten Foundation to raise awareness and money to fight the disease through one of golf’s largest and most prestigious online auctions, with bidding available for rounds of golf at America’s greatest and most exclusive courses. He also discusses the grueling curriculum of a landscape architecture degree, modifying Robert Trent Jones’ work at Eugene Country Club, his interest (or lack of) in historical restoration, hiding cart paths, finding a golf course owner with means (Bob Parsons at Scottsdale National) but also knowing what to do with the gifts of land and money, and the extreme luxury of complete creative freedom. Read more about the Kahns and the Fore Batten auction in my recent Golf Digest story here, and in Alan Shipnuck’s original story on the family from 2018, here. Listen to Derek Duncan discuss the book “The Match” by Mark Frost in the Good-Good Golf Podcast Book Club edition. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Photos: Cover page: the par-3 3rd at Scottsdale National; above: the sensational 18,000 square foot 17th green at Scottsdale National. The post Episode 74: David Kahn appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Canadian designer Ian Andrew, Feed the Ball guest from Episode 14, is back to visit with Derek Duncan and Jim Urbina. The conversation turns to topics of: –Choose Your Own Adventure golf architecture; –The satisfactions of playing “unknown” courses; –Golf as an emotional experience; –The importance of “compression and release” in design; –Creativity beginning with saying “I don’t know”; –How the best architects “fight” for contours; –and the genius of Stanley Thompson. Listen to Derek Duncan discuss the book “The Match” by Mark Frost in the Good-Good Golf Podcast Book Club edition. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Photos: Cover page, St. Georges Golf & Country Club, 1st hole, Clive Barber; above, Knollwood Country Club, 16th hole, Evan Schiller Powered byWordPress Support Phone Number The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 15, ft. Ian Andrew appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Larry Lambrecht has been one of golf’s most prolific and talented photographers for over 30 years. He’s shot golf courses and tournaments, as well as Super Bowls, World Series and other major sporting events, for virtually ever major publication. He’s also published a number of books and club histories along with his course photography, including, in 2004, “Emerald Gems”, a lusciously photographed book dedicated to the links courses of Ireland. Lambrecht joined Derek on the podcast to discuss what initially drew him to photography, shooting courses like Augusta National, being in the NFL Hall of Fame, transitioning from film development to computer editing, how the iPhone revolutionized the field of photography, how cart paths ruin photography, the natural photographic composition of Tom Fazio holes, the unique light of Ireland, meeting Eddie Hackett and his most harrowing visits abroad. Listen to Derek Duncan discuss the book “The Match” by Mark Frost in the Good-Good Golf Podcast Book Club edition. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Photos: Ballybunion by Larry Lambrecht (above); Cape Wickham by Larry Lambrecht (title page). The post Episode 73: Larry Lambrecht appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Golf course architect Forrest Richardson was elected in 2020 to be the 75th president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, a chair that’s been held by such notable designers as Stanley Thompson, Robert Trent Jones, William Langford (twice), Rees Jones, Robert Trent Jones, Jr., Alice Dye, Jeff Brauer and Steve Smyers. He joins Derek Duncan and golf course builder Jim Urbina in the Salon to discuss his plans for the society as well as: –Authoring a golf course design newsletter as a teenager; –making the ASGCA younger and more inclusive; –His long relationship with Desmond Muirhead; –His idea for the “Lighthouse Hole”; –Whether golf needs to develop more different “expressions” of the game; –The feasibility of stand-alone short courses and par-3 courses in towns and cities; –And whether golf needs to innovate to continue to exist. Click here to watch Forrest Richardson mission statement video for the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Listen to Derek Duncan discuss the book “The Match” by Mark Frost in the Good-Good Golf Podcast Book Club edition. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 14, ft. Forrest Richardson appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Architect Kyle Phillips began his illustrious career as an associate working for Robert Trent Jones II in California. He gained unique design and planning expertise working on a slate of international courses for Jones, which later helped him garner major overseas jobs once he opened his own firm in the late 90s. Those include Kingsbarns in St. Andrews, Yas Links in Dubai, South Cape in South Korea, Bernardus in the Netherlands, and numerous others. He continues to be one of the major figures in golf course architecture both domestically and worldwide. (Photo above: the 14th at Cal Club, from calclub.org.) Phillips joined Derek Duncan and golf course builder Jim Urbina from his home in northern California to talk about: –The prevailing modes of golf design when he started with Jones; –His major rebuilding of the Cal Club in San Francisco; –How golf architecture lost its soul in the 70s, 80s and 90s; –The importance of outside voices to a club’s self-perception; –Creating naturalistic holes (Kingsbarns) out of unnaturalistic golf sites; –How constructions and design moves from spans of acres to feet to inches; –The concept of “turning back geologic time” in golf design; –And the difference between the European concept of healthy turf and the American impulse to always “grow grass.” Listen to Derek Duncan discuss “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. Listen to Derek Duncan discuss the book “The Match” by Mark Frost in the Good-Good Golf Podcast Book Club edition. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Kingsbarns, 15th hole (kingsbarns.com) The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 13, ft. Kyle Phillips appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The Highland Course at Primland Resort Few people in golf have had as rich or wide-ranging life in golf as Donald Steel. He began his career as the golf reporter for London’s Sunday Telegraph in 1961, memorably covering, as a rookie writer, Arnold Palmer’s back-to-back Open Championship wins at Birkdale and Troon. A few years later, while continuing his reporting duties, he joined the architectural firm of Cotton, Pennink and Lawrie, assisting in dozens of new designs and remodels throughout the U.K. After opening his own firm in 1987, his design business flourished and he built a string of prominent new courses like the Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle in northern Scotland, the Abaco Club in the Bahamas, and Cherokee Plantation, The Vineyards on Martha’s Vineyard and the Highland Course at Primland Resort in the U.S. At 83, Steel has largely retired from golf architecture but he continues to be one of the profession’s wisest, most knowledgeable and most gentlemanly figures. Steel joined Derek Duncan via Skype from London to discuss growing up during the London Blitz, what era he thinks had the greatest balance between equipment technology and skill, playing in the President’s Putter, his recollections of Bernard Darwin, the quality of golf writing in the 60s and 70s vs golf writing today and the unique challenges of building golf in various countries and climates around the world. A video of Steel’s unique Le Tecina course at La Gomera on the Canary Islands. Listen to Derek Duncan discuss “The World Atlas of Golf” and Donald Steel’s contribution on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. Listen to Derek discuss the book “The Match” by Mark Frost in the Good-Good Golf Podcast Book Club edition. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Episode 72: Donald Steel appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Egypt Valley Country Club in Michigan Golf architect Chris Wilczynski has bridged two distinct eras–that of the course-a-day, turn and burn construction frenzy of the 1990s and 2000s, and now the current period of “slow” golf with its focus on boutique operations and club restoration. He began his career as an associate with Arthur Hills, one of the busiest designers of golf and real estate development. Since 2010 he’s operated his own Michigan-based business and conducted prominent renovations of courses like Warwick Hills in Michigan and Chautauqua Golf Club in New York, as well as several new designs including Esplanade at Azario near Sarasota, Florida, opened in 2020. Powered bywp support services Wilczynski joins the Feed the Ball podcast to talk about: –Teaching his class at Michigan State about golf construction and renovation during the time of Covid-19; –The most important factors in getting hired by clubs and clients; –Restoration vs. Renovation; –How golf course construction in the 1920s and construction today are both similar and different; –The “unifying vision” of Arthur Hills courses; and –The consequences of building small greens. Listen to Derek discuss the book “The Match” by Mark Frost in the Good-Good Golf Podcast Book Club edition. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Episode 71: Chris Wilczynski appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The Other Course–Scottsdale National After working for over a decade for Tom Fazio, Tim Jackson opened his own West Coast design firm with David Kahn, another Fazio alum. Jackson Kahn Design is known for their creative, ambitious ideas about design–as exhibited at, Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore Course and The Other Course and The Bad Little Nine at Scottsdale National–and also for their decidedly artistic approach to client presentation and development with state-of-the-art graphics, renderings and animations. Powered byWordPress Customer Service Tim joins golf builder Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan to talk about: –Tom Fazio’s mandate to “make it playable and make it beautiful”; –The design motivation: “rich guys suck at golf”; –The advantage of being able to show clients realistic photo-renderings of proposed holes and renovations; –The odd discomfort of working with a client without the normal constraints of a budget; –Sand Hills vs. Shadow Creek; –And creating one of golf’s most outlandish courses, The Bad Little Nine at Scottsdale National. Listen to Derek discuss the book “The Match” by Mark Frost in the Good-Good Golf Podcast Book Club edition. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 12, ft. Tim Jackson appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Kinloch Golf Club Lester George was an artillery officer in the U.S. Army who rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In the late 1980s, already into his 30s, he made a career switch to golf design, setting up a business in his native state of Virginia. In the mid-1990s he was introduced to a magnificent property outside Richmond that he would eventually develop, along with legendary Virginia amateur player Vinny Giles, into Kinloch Golf Club, now one of Golf Digest’s 100 Greatest Courses and the state’s number one ranked course. George has restored numerous Golden Age designs in the mid-Atlantic states and has also worked in locations from Florida to Texas to Connecticut and Japan. He later followed up the success of Kinloch with the brawny, exuberant, rough-and-tumble Ballyhack near Roanoke. George joins the podcast to talk about: –Getting jobs he was told he had no chance of getting; –Sequencing pars in a routing; –The importance of being able to read terrain; –The development of Kinloch and Ballyhack; –The forensic work used to recreate the Seth Raynor features at the Greenbrier’s Old White Course; –Potential upcoming projects on a sand mine in Chicago, river bluffs in Virginia and a new 22-hole Raynor template-hole design. Listen to Derek discuss the book “The Match” by Mark Frost in the Good-Good Golf Podcast Book Club edition. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Episode 70: Lester George appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Calusa Pines Golf designer Dana Fry began his career learning the business as an associate for Tom Fazio, and later forged a prominent partnership with Dr. Michael Hurdzan. With Hurdzan he created such top U.S. courses as Erin Hills, site of the 2017 U.S. Open, and Calusa Pines in Florida. Today he runs his business with partner Jason Straka. He joins the Salon to talk to Derek Duncan and Jim Urbina about: –When it’s appropriate to lengthen golf holes; –The extremities of Calusa Pines; –The need to change up design looks and approaches; –Being consumed by certain jobs (Arcadia Bluffs), and –The radical site swings between south Florida, coastal New Jersey, northern Michigan and central Wisconsin. Listen to Derek discuss the book “The Match” by Mark Frost in the Good-Good Golf Podcast Book Club edition. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 11, ft. Dana Fry appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Kirby was instrumental in the construction of Mauna Kea. It’s not unreasonable to suggest the path of golf architecture in the second half of the 20th century can be traced through Ron Kirby. His career has been a remarkable Zelig-like whirlwind placing him in the immediate proximity of Dick Wilson, Robert Trent Jones, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and many others. His name is on the design of over 70 golf courses on four continents, including Old Head in Ireland on one of golf’s most spectacular sites, and, most recently, the remodel of Apes Hill in Barbados. Ron generously lends his time to discuss his remarkable career, including the terror and talent that lived inside Dick Wilson, Trent Jones’ strength as a designer, Trent Jones’ limitations as a designer, Gary Player’s role in their design partnership, what was wrong with architecture in the 1970s, Jack Nicklaus as a master strategist, pounding and grinding Old Head into shape, and his late conversion from bunkers to grass hollows. Listen to Derek discuss the book “The Match” by Mark Frost in the Good-Good Golf Podcast Book Club edition. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball “GOLF’S BATTLING ARCHITECTS”, Sports Illustrated, August 2 1962 The post Episode 69: Ron Kirby appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Cascata Rees Jones‘ design work has touched public, resort, club golf and major championship golf as much as any architect of the modern era. He enters the Salon to talk with Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan about balancing the many voices that weigh in on projects in the “remodeling era,” constructing on technically challenging sites vs finding holes, if golf designs should be allowed to evolve or if at some point they should be locked in time, the challenges of working in the shadow of Robert Trent Jones and the value of having an architectural “style.” Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. TPC Danzante Bay The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 10, ft. Rees Jones appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The short par 4 12th at Gamble Sands From the original course at Bandon Dunes to The Castle Course at St. Andrews, to Gamble Sands in Washington and then to Mammoth Dunes in Wisconsin, David McLay Kidd has been one of the most innovative and courageous course designers of this generation. He joins Derek Duncan and Jim Urbina in the Salon to discuss “setting the table” at Bandon, if the Castle Course will someday be perceived as an overlooked jewel, whether its more desirable to achieve commercial or critical success, the redundancy of template holes, the revolution of fun and playability and building golf for the masses. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 9, ft. David McLay Kidd appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida Bruce Hepner and Jim Urbina both began working for Tom Doak at Renaissance Design in the early 1990s, spending many days and hours together on the road for well over a decade. Hepner opened his own business in 2012 and is now one of the most admired renovation and restoration specialists in the business. He joins Urbina and Derek Duncan to talk about the unsung heroes of golf construction, the starburst of Renaissance, how widening fairways and mowing lines can actually make a course play more challenging, the art of tree clearing and the best jobs that Renaissance golf didn’t get. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 8, ft. Bruce Hepner appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The par-4 10th at White Manor Few people in the golf design business knew Pete Dye better than Bobby Weed, who first interned for his mentor in the 1970s. Weed comes into the Salon with Derek Duncan and Jim Urbina to share his thoughts on how Dye continues to influence him, the overriding consideration of drainage, being courted by Jack Nicklaus, the classicism of S-shaped holes, how shaping allows the right-brain to kick in, the liberating effect of designing on a flat site like The Grove XXIII, pushing back against the trend of naturalism, working in sand versus taking on big problem sites and the value of quirkiness. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. The Grove XXIII’s par 3 5th. The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 7, ft. Bobby Weed appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The par-4 17th at Ohoopee Match Club. In this volume of the Salon, architect Gil Hanse sits with Derek Duncan and Jim Urbina to discuss how he and design partner Jim Wagner build golf courses. They talk about the sanctity of being on machinery, if routing is more vital to a good course than shaping, the importance of “cooling off,” the importance of “living” the golf course through the design process, cheating evolution, giving himself permission to push the envelope, the heroic strategies of Ohoopee Match Club, developing a feel for the ground, whether or not we’re in a “Second Golden Age” of design or if it’s more a period of revivalism, and the lasting impact of the best modern architecture. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 6, ft. Gil Hanse appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The fourth at Cape Wickham (photo: capewickham.com.au) Architect Mike DeVries steps into the Salon with Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan to discuss arguably the granddaddy of all design topics, routing. The long and winding conversation touches on the exposures of Cape Wickham, sacrificing extraordinary holes for the sake of rhythm and continuity, routing around natural greensites, if routing is a skill that improves over time, laying out Kingsley Club over difficult terrain, “throwing the scorecard away,” resisting building “concepts” into course routings and opinions on the 18th hole at Whistling Straits. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. Pacific Dunes The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 5, ft. Mike DeVries appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Thad Layton, principal at Arnold Palmer Design Company, enters the Salon to talk to Derek Duncan and Jim Urbina about Palmer and the rules of architecture. Specifically the discussion revolves around fundamental rules, when it’s advisable to break them, whether it’s ever permissible to design crossing holes, working within the constraints of conservative developers, straight versus irregular water lines, Palmer’s architectural principles, addition through subtraction, and how architects can artistically distinguish their work in a design culture where most practitioners feel liberated. Palmer’s Island nine at Champions Retreat in Georgia. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Top photo: Naples Lakes (photo: napleslakesfl.com) Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 4, ft. Thad Layton appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The Old Course (photo: hiddenlinksgolf.com) Golf course designer and renovation specialist Jeff Mingay enters the Salon to talk about St. Andrews with Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan. The central theme is, if The Old Course is so great, why aren’t there more courses that are like it? Topics include the importance of boundaries to traditional golf expectations, blind tee shots, the Old Course’s infinite variety, democratic vs. dictatorial design, St. Andrews’ ugliness, its resistance to emulation, encouraging golfers to utilize ground contour, grassing lines, whether the course is still relevant for tournament golf and the influence of the design on Old Macdonald. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. “Hell” bunker at Old Macdonald. The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 3, ft. Jeff Mingay appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The second green at Sand Hills. Designer Bill Coore comes into the salon to discuss greens and putting surfaces with Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan. Topics include the importance of shaping greens and surrounds in relation to single holes or the entire golf course, the 14th and 2nd greens at Sand Hills, building “floating” greens and finding natural landforms, looking vs. seeing, reading a site’s guideposts, finding and fabricating greens when there aren’t great green sites, fallaway greens like the 9th at the Sheep Ranch, and the evolution of the Coore and Crenshaw greens. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. The 14th green at Sand Hills. The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 2, ft. Bill Coore appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The contour of Wolf Point (photo: nuzzocoursedesign.com) Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan discuss George Thomas, Pete Dye’s par-5 holes, Riviera, the Ghost Tree at Old Macdonald, whether bunkers have become too sanitized, “reasonable” green speeds, Stimpmeter readings from the 1970s. Powered bycowin app download Then Don Mahaffey enters the salon to talk about the beautiful simplicity of Mike Nuzzo’s Wolf Point, the PGA Tour’s bunker sand standard, using local sand for bunkers and going bunkerless. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 1, ft. Don Mahaffey appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The 17th at Streamson Red For almost 25 years, Jeff Bradley has been known as the preeminent builder of golf course bunkers in the U.S. Working primarily for Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, his artistic bunkering has helped define the strategies and style of places like Cuscowilla, Bandon Trails and Friars Head. In doing so, Bradley has influenced a generation of young shapers. And while he’s consulted and worked shaping projects for a number of other architects and design firms, including Michael Hurdzan, his priority and allegiance continues to lie with Coore and Crenshaw. Jeff joins the podcast to discuss recent bunker restoration projects like Talking Stick and Seminole, the story behind the bunkers at Sand Hills, the challenge of playing most minimalist courses and what would be his favorite set of bunkers. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. The post Episode 68: Jeff Bradley appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Wilshire George Waters began his design career after spending a summer living and doing course maintenance in Dornoch, then getting an internship with Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design. He worked construction projects for a variety of designers, including Doak, then wrote the seminal book on sand based courses, Sand and Golf: How Terrain Shapes the Game. Today he is the manager of education for the USGA Green Section. Waters joins the podcast to talk about Dornoch and links golf, the importance of presenting strategy across a range of skill levels, the beauty of inconsistent hazards, the Doak and Nicklaus approaches at Sebonack, jazzy bunkers and transitioning from builder to educator. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. The post Episode 67: George Waters appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Barton Hills Country Club (Title page photo from Jon Cavalier. Above photo from tylerraedesign.com courtesy of Andy Johnson) Tyler Rae is gaining a reputation as one of the most talented up and coming golf course renovation and restoration specialists in the business. He’s worked with noted designer Ron Prichard for most of the last decade and now has embarked on his own, with an impressive client list that includes clubs like Northmoor and Skokie Country Clubs in Chicago, Atlantic Golf Club on Long Island, and Wampanoag in Connecticut. Tyler joins Derek to discuss getting to the point where the designs of Mike Strantz need to be restored, the camaraderie of early architects, the staggering number of Donald Ross courses, William Flynn’s crew at Shinnecock and deciding how loyal to a particular time period he should restore a historic club. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. The post Episode 66: Tyler Rae appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The Mark Bostick Course at the University of Florida Designer Scot Sherman began his career working for the Dye family before joining Bobby Weed as an associate. He’s now the lead designer for Love Golf Design, the firm of brothers Mark Love and Davis Love III. In addition to overseeing new projects for them, he’s currently helping prep the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island for the 2021 PGA Championship. Topics in this discussion include bizarre and frightening encounters on job sites, the influence of Pete and Alice Dye, how historic architects (Raynor, Ross) seep into his work, walking the fine line between preserving and eradicating historic Tillinghast architecture at Belmont in Richmond, and the intrigue of small courses. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Episode 65: Scot Sherman appeared first on Feed The Ball.

From the upper tee at Sand Hills’ 5th hole (the 4th green in the foreground). As superintendent of Sand Hills Golf Club for the last 13 years, Kyle Hegland has one of the most unique jobs in golf. The world-renowned course is located in one of the most extreme environments for golf — an arid climate ripped by savage winds and brutal winters. Yet Hegland’s expertise in creating and maintaining a fast, dry and consistent playing surface that ideally shows off Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw’s architecture, at least when the club is open for play between the months of May and September, has made him one of the most skilled and envied professionals in the turf and greenkeeping business. Kyle joined Derek on a cold Nebraska morning to talk about adapting to life in the Sand Hills, his awe at building golf in such uncompromising conditions, the potential for new holes at Sand Hills, the necessary fear of watching grass go dormant and be on the verge of death, the difference between putting on subtle versus highly contoured greens, Sand Hills’ weakness and strengths, and finding a spiritual home in Australia’s Sand Belt. The fifth green with the subtle ridge Hegland speaks about. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly podcast at TalkinGolf.com Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Episode 64: Kyle Hegland appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The Gunnamatta Course at The National (photo: renaissancegolf.com) Brian Schneider joined Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design in 2002. For the last 17 years he’s played a vital role creating some of this generation’s greatest golf courses around the world: Ballyneal, Old Macdonald, Cape Kidnappers, Rock Creek Cattle Company and others. He was the lead design associate on Barnbougle Dunes, Dismal River Red, Grand Saint Emillionnais Golf Club in France and, recently, the Gunnamatta Course at The National in Australia. He’s also a highly respected consultant and restoration specialist for esteemed clubs like Hollywood (New Jersey) and Garden City (Long Island). Brian joins Derek to discuss highlights from 2019, the intention behind a 6,000 yard/par 68 course at Sand Valley, what makes the courses of Walter Travis so strong, the unique allure of the French designs of Colt and Simpson, when it might be more appropriate to remodel an old course instead of restore it, when it stops making sense to try to make a design appear natural, the difference between grass growers and those that present playing surfaces, how each Renaissance Design member feeds off the skills of the others and what it takes to be on a Tom Doak shaping crew. Check out photos of Llanerch (and other places) on Brian’s Instagram feed. Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly podcast at TalkinGolf.com Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Subscribe to Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play The post Episode 63: Brian Schneider appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Old Elm (photo: jdrewrogers.com) Drew Rogers hung out his own design shingle in 2010 after working 18 years with the firm of (Arthur ) Hills & (Steve) Forrest. While working for Hills he gained extensive expertise building new golf courses, albeit it to the specifications of Hills and his clients. Today, Rogers’ own architectural point of view is evident at a slew of remodel projects around the country, including at courses originally built by his former employer including The Club at Mirasol, Miromar Lakes and Quail West, all in south Florida. He’s also become a prominent restorer of historic courses, and is currently revitalizing designs by Donald Ross, Willie Park, Jr., Tom Bendelow and Charles Alison. His work at Old Elm in Chicago, a one of a kind collaboration between Ross and Harry Colt, has been especially rewarding. Drew joins Derek to talk about the need to adapt to a social media world, the potential pitfalls of working in the Macdonald-Raynor mold, imagining doing historical restoration work in the pre-information age, discovering little-known designers like Harry Smead, what it was like to work through the monster development boom of the 1990s, finding his voice managing projects for Art Hills and revisiting past work, how the drive for 7,000-yard courses killed character and variety, and the low actual cost of creating intriguing architecture. Read Drew’s musings on the Good Doctor’s return to Augusta. Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly podcast at TalkinGolf.com Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Subscribe to Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Wild Harry Smead: Pine Hills A fantastic look at Pine Hills in Wisconsin, a Harry Smead course Drew Rogers will help revitalize. The post Episode 62: Drew Rogers appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Sebonack When the story is at last written about the current era of neoclassical architecture, Jim Urbina is certain to be featured as a star character. He represents a distinct branch of the Dye architectural tree having begun his career working on projects for Pete and Perry Dye. Later, Tom Doak hired Urbina at Renaissance Design, where he played a major role creating blockbusters like Pacific Dunes, Old Macdonald and Sebonack. And for the last decade Urbina has been one of the profession’s leading historical restoration specialists with ties to some of America’s greatest courses, and he may yet have a few more spectacular new courses up his sleeve. Jim joined Derek from his home in Colorado to talk about the effect instant feedback can have on the creation of art, how a golf course achieves an essence of timelessness, the thought of someone other than Coore & Crenshaw getting the Sand Hills site, architectural design as a “brand,” the post-War shift toward streamlining and “framing,” how Dye “explained” how he wanted his greens shaped, the potential dangers of designing in the Instagram era, the desire of modern consumers to foresee their experiences and whether or not the vibrancy of Golden Age designs should be enhanced and made “better.” Watch Jim and Connor Lewis discuss the lost Lido Course on Long Island in this Golf Channel feature. They also discuss it in greater detail on the Talkingolf History podcast. Riverdale Dunes — creativity + ground contour = fun (and a packed golf course). Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly new podcast at TalkinGolf.com Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Subscribe to Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play The post Episode 61: Jim Urbina appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Rockwind Community Links Over the last 15 years, Andy Staples has created his own space in the field of golf design by pioneering sustainability and efficiency in course construction and operation. He’s also helped create and popularize the concept of “Community Links,” a way to better integrate public golf into the lifestyle of the surrounding communities. His practice is hitting a perfect groove between working with municipalities to revive public golf in creative, inclusionary ways and orchestrating impressive remodeling and restoration programs at historic clubs like Meadowbrook Country Club in Michigan and Olympia Fields near Chicago. Andy and Derek get together to talk about having a “voice” in architecture and the copycat nature of the business, the benefit and detriment of having a design “brand,” carving out a niche by emphasizing the sustainability aspects of golf design, the popular romanticism of the “design/build” method of construction, finding ways to bring Willie Park Jr. back to Olympia Fields, whether or not the idea of a renaissance of community golf is gaining traction, creating a national legacy fund to support municipal golf and what single thought he would beam into the brains of every American is he had the power. Sand Hollow in southwest Utah, which Staples designed and built with architect John Fought. Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly new podcast at TalkinGolf.com Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Subscribe to Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play The post Episode 60: Andy Staples appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Giants Ridge Quarry Course Jeff Brauer began his career in 1977 working for Dick Nugent and Ken Killian in Chicago and represents a vital link to a previous generation of architecture. Since opening his own design firm in Dallas in 1984, he’s specialized in building public and resort courses in all parts of the country. In the last 20 years Brauer has found particular success in the central states, from Texas to the upper midwest, including Giants Ridge and Superior National in Minnesota, Colbert Hills and Sand Creek Station in Kansas, Cowboys Golf Club between Dallas and Fort Worth, and the new Tempest Golf Club about two hours east of Dallas. Jeff joins the podcast to discuss the merits of the “old” way of building courses — the design/contractor bid method — versus design/build, the usefulness of engineering formulas, how ultra-wide fairways place too much emphasis on the driver, giving the green light to bulldoze your own work, the influence of mid-century land planners and landscape architects on golf design, the technical proficiency of “Dark Ages” designers, how architecture can unwittingly change or evolve to fit advances in technology and the necessity of architects to strike out and do something different than the status quo. Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly new podcast at TalkinGolf.com Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Subscribe to Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play The post Episode 59: Jeff Brauer appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The smooth surface of Kingsbarns. Dave Wilber, aka the Turfgrass Zealot, is one of the world’s foremost authorities on golf grasses and soils. Agronomist to the stars, Wilber has consulted with and been instrumental in developing grassing plans for some of the world’s greatest courses, including places like Kingsbarns in Scotland and Friars Head. He’s also been a pioneer in the development and usage of modern fescue-based surfaces at Pacific Dunes, Ballyneal, Barnbougle Dunes and elsewhere. Recently he was profiled in a Golf Digest feature story detailing the anxiety, depression and mental health issues that afflict many people, including him, inside the golf agronomic business. Dave talks to the podcast about how greenkeepers either have “it” — a green thumb — or not, what was going through his mind as he sat with Ron Whitten to discuss his struggle with depression for the Golf Digest story, the stress and anxiety inherent in the superintendent position, how Sand Hills ignited a new phase of fescue turf discovery and experimentation, wannabe architecture wizards, being a golf archeologist on older courses, how turfs and grasses evolve over time, how “heirloom” grasses saved his ass at Cal Club and how spiritual connection can override pure architectural analysis. Listen to Dave on his own Turfgrass Zealot podcast. Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly new podcast at TalkinGolf.com Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Subscribe to Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play The post Episode 58: Dave Wilber appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Tripp Davis is arguably the most skilled amateur player among active architects. He helped the University of Oklahoma win a National Championship in the 1980s and has been a ranked amateur for most of his adult life, even reaching the quarter finals of the 2009 U.S Mid-Amateur. Fluent in both original design, remodels and historic restoration, Davis has created notable new courses (Grand Elk Ranch and Club, Colorado; Old American, Texas) and continues to revive important historic courses like Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club (Maxwell/MacKenzie), Spring Lake (Thomas/Tillinghast), Engineers (Herbert Strong) and Deepdale and Meadow Brook (Dick Wilson). Tripp and Derek talk about how the “belief” mentality is vital for aspiring architects, the role of self-confidence in designing golf courses, whether having an innate artistic sense (the “eye”) is paramount, the inversion of the Dye-Fazio “difficulty” quotient, the way Dye and Coore use ground slopes differently, the difference between copying versus finding inspiration in others’ work, the relevance (or non-relevance) of strategic thinking to modern professionals, the possibility of the PGA TOUR losing its entertainment value and his thoughts on how the days of building new courses on new sites has essentially ended for most architects. Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly/bi-weekly new podcast at TalkinGolf.com Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play The post Episode 57: Tripp Davis appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Paul Cowley has worn many hats in his golf career: land and landscape planner, structural architect, superintendent and construction engineer. The majority of his golf architecture career, however, was spent running projects and designing courses for Mark and Davis Love III. Known inside the industry as one of the most creative and original thinkers, Cowley helped the Loves build some of the most interesting and inventive courses in the Southeast, as well as Diamante Dunes in Cabo, where he now lives and works. Cowley managed the construction of Tiger Woods‘ and Beau Welling’s El Cardonal course at Diamante, and he currently runs all aspects of design, planning and construction for the resort. The putting course at Diamante. Some wild fun on some wild slopes. Paul joins the podcast to talk about how Davis Love III took design inspiration from Seth Raynor and Donald Ross (“Rossnor”), the need for everyday “common man” golf, his tangled up in blue voyage as a young man from New York to New Orleans to Pebble Beach, the architectural petri dish that was Barefoot Landing, feeling like an explorer on his first visit to Diamante, the tragically unfulfilled possibilities of Fezler-Cowley Design, “high concept” architecture born of necessity, the role of land planning in modern architecture and the possibility of an original Shangri La design. Derek also joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here. Listen to Derek discuss the future of golf design with Rod Morri and Adrian Logue on the iSeekGolf podcast, Episode 111. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Cowley’s office at Diamante in Cabo — part Alister MacKenzie, part Louis Leakey. The post Episode 56: Paul Cowley appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Bandon Trails Tom Dunne founded the independent golf journal McKellar in 2017. Featuring alluring artwork with a playful point of view and stories from the best writers in the business, McKellar has become one of the brightest stars of a much welcomed revival of boutique publishing. In the course of traveling extensively to explore different courses and cultures, Dunne has cultivated an original, incredibly researched outlook on golf and the many ways it’s presented and enjoyed around the world. Tom and Derek get together to discuss and debate the merits of Atlanta’s new 9-hole reversible Bobby Jones Golf Course, whether the positives of community golf outweigh flawed architecture, the motivation to found McKellar Magazine, the fundamental satisfaction of possessing things that others don’t have, the mystifying allure of Veblen good courses, how highly cultured service can often be distasteful, the “commercial imperative behind a lot of subcultural activities,” the value of first-look criticism, the need for architecture to modulate excitement and the famous Mucklemouth Meg bunker. Derek also joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here. Listen to Derek discuss the future of golf design with Rod Morri and Adrian Logue on the iSeekGolf podcast, Episode 111. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Outro: “How to Rent A Room,” Silver Jews Bobby Jones Golf Course in Atlanta The post Episode 55: Tom Dunne appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Dutch architect Frank Pont made a dramatic jump from the diverse worlds of engineering, corporate banking and mergers into golf course design in the mid-2000s. Since that time he’s become one of Europe’s most active and respected practitioners in historical restoration and remodeling. Through his work at some of the most prominent old courses on the continent and in the UK he’s become intimately familiar with the designs and tendencies of Harry Colt, Charles Alison, Alister MacKenzie, Herbert Fowler and Tom Simpson. He’s also done exceptional original work — see: Swinkelsche. In this podcast Frank talks about the benevolent neglect many historic courses experienced, recreating the distinct greens and bunkers of Simpson, the need in historic restoration to leave ego at the door, the obstacle of “invincible ignorance” of club members, the “3-percent” problem of tree growth, the benefit of the robotization of maintenance, triangulation in routings, “jam session” golf design, the consistent craftsmanship of Colt, whether (and in what ways) the old architects would have used heavy machinery and his suggestions for two of the greatest golf trips in the world. Listen to Derek discuss the future of golf design with Rod Morri and Adrian Logue on the iSeekGolf podcast, Episode 111. Derek also joined Tom Dunne, publisher of McKellar Magazine, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Above Photo: Golf d’Hardelot, Le Pins Course, Hole 5 (Frank Pont) Blackwell’s 6th hole (photo: Frank Pont) The post Episode 54: Frank Pont appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Eric Iverson has worked with Tom Doak at Renaissance Golf Design since 2001. He’s widely viewed by his peers as one of the business’s most skilled and creative shapers and construction specialists. He helped craft such instant classics like Ballyneal, Cape Kidnappers, Barnbougle Dunes and Streamsong Blue. He also ran the Stone Eagle, Rock Creek Cattle Company and CommonGround projects, among others. He continues to work globally on projects for Renaissance, and will be spending much of the next year at Rosapenna in Northwest Ireland coaxing the new St. Patricks Course out of stunning seaside dunes. Iverson joined Derek to discuss the difference between minimalism and naturalism in golf architecture, the effect phones and digital cameras have had on design, the obligation of marrying a design to soil type, considering how a golf course will be viewed by both spectators and on television, the satisfaction of the Rock Creek project, golf on the Front Range of Colorado, the easy 85-percent of work that would improve almost every golf course, setting reasonable goals for public course revitalization and the keys to creating compelling par-5’s. Listen to Derek discuss the future of golf design with Rod Morri and Adrian Logue on the iSeekGolf podcast, Episode 111. Derek also joined Tom Dunne, publisher of McKellar Magazine, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play “Shrink the Game” by Ken Kearney “Language Matters” by Jason Way (geekedongolf.com) Above Photo: Rock Creek Cattle Company The third at CommonGround with these sneaky bunkers hidden to the left behind a line of raised mounds. The post Episode 53: Eric Iverson appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Canadian Trevor Dormer has been in the golf construction business since the early 2000’s and has become a prominent member of the industry’s talented “under-40” (for now) group of construction specialists and shapers. He’s worked around the globe with, among others, Nicklaus Design, Rod Whitman, Ron Prichard, Bill Coore, and Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner. Dormer has spent the majority of the last year and a half in Thailand, working on Hanse Golf Design’s new Ballyshear course at the Ban Rakat Club, an homage to the lost C.B. Macdonald “Lido” course on Long Island. Trevor and Derek spoke about the unnaturalism of Donald Ross, the “tells” that shapers often leave behind in their work, how an artist’s raw early work is often their best, the collaboration gene that his generation of designers share, the pressure to produce with limited opportunities, the Christmas card from Mike Keiser, whether naturalism in architecture is what golfers always want, how architects may be pre-wired toward creating naturalistic landscapes, building the Lido in gumbo clay and the robust culture of international insect cuisine. Listen to Derek discuss the future of golf design with Rod Morri and Adrian Logue on the iSeekGolf podcast, Episode 111. Derek also joined Tom Dunne, publisher of McKellar Magazine, to talk about his story in Volume 2 about Dave Axland–listen here and here. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play The post Episode 52: Trevor Dormer appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Bruce Charlton joined Robert Trent Jones II in 1981 and the two have been building courses across the globe for nearly 40 years. The firm has earned considerable acclaim for their entire body of work, but their undisputed masterpiece is Chambers Bay near Seattle, site of the 2015 U.S. Open (won by Jordan Speith). Built on an abandoned sand and gravel mine on the shore of Puget Sound, the course is an eccentric ode to links golf with bouncy fescue fairways, heavy undulation and grass covered sand dunes. Charlton joined the podcast to talk extensively about the creation of Chambers Bay, how the design team transformed the messy and derelict site into a U.S. Open-worthy venue, the importance of mining permits, the balance between working with existing landforms and creating original golf features, how the firm has carried forth the lessons of Chambers Bay into their subsequent work and how golf architecture lost its way in the 80s and 90s. Listen to Derek discuss the future of golf design with Rod Morri and Adrian Logue on the iSeekGolf podcast, Episode 111. Derek joined Tom Dunne, publisher of McKellar Magazine, to talk about his story in Volume 2 about Dave Axland–listen here and here. Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play The old Steilacoom Mine, the future Chambers Bay. The post Episode 51: Bruce Charlton appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Dave Axland and Rod Whitman, two of modern golf’s most skilled and admired construction men, met in the 1980s through Bill Coore. Axland has been an associate and project manager for numerous Coore-Crenshaw courses since the mid-1990s including Sand Hills, Talking Stick, Friars Head, Old Sandwich, Chechessee Creek plus numerous others, and has designed Wild Horse and three more courses alongside Dan Proctor. The Canadian Whitman, a protégé of Pete Dye as well as Coore, is the architect behind Cabot Links in Nova Scotia, considered one of the world’s best seaside courses. The two architects joined the podcast from on location at Cabot to talk about their work on the resort’s new 10-hole short course, how Rod first put Dave to work at Wolf Creek when he showed up with Proctor, the early days of the design-build movement, the art and freedom of building short courses, the art of collaborating in the field, the secrets of Friars Head, the push and pull between drawing from precedent and designing authentically, and their picks for the most strategic holes they’ve designed. Derek joined Tom Dunne, publisher of McKellar Magazine, to talk about his story in Volume 2 about Dave Axland–listen here and here. Derek also recently joined Ricky Lee Potts on The Wednesday Match Play Podcast, Episode 131 Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Outro: The Sundogs, “Up to the Sky” The post Episode 50: Dave Axland and Rod Whitman appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Rees Jones has spent nearly 35 years preparing, modifying and remodeling golf courses for major championship events. In addition to the 100 original courses and dozens of renovations he’s orchestrated, he’s infused his vision into such venerable American tournament courses as Pinehurst No. 2, Oakland Hills, Medinah No. 3 and The Country Club for the staging of nearly 25 U.S. Opens and PGA Championships. He’s also overhauled a number of his father Robert Trent Jones’ most noteworthy major championship courses including the Atlanta Athletic Club, Hazeltine and Bellerive. Jones joins the podcast to discuss Bethpage Black (site of this year’s PGA Championship) as a tournament course and how the setups for the PGA and an upcoming Ryder Cup will differ, how equipment and swing technology have altered his approach to renovations, his opinion about the use of a tournament golf ball, the necessity of rough for the professional game, why Tiger Woods has had so much success on his re-designs, how Robert Trent Jones’ aesthetic evolved and the importance of trees on golf courses. Photo: Bethpage Black (reesjonesinc.com) Derek joined Tom Dunne, publisher of McKellar Magazine, to talk about his story in Volume 2 about Dave Axland–listen here and here. Derek also recently joined Ricky Lee Potts on The Wednesday Match Play Podcast, Episode 131 Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Outro Music: “Keep Together,” Wasted Potential Brass Band The par-3 17th at Danzante Bay The post Episode 49: Rees Jones appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Kye Goalby, one of the most accomplished design and shaping specialists in the construction business, is at the top of the call list of just about every A-list golf architect when exceptional feature work is needed. For the last 20 years he’s worked on some of the world’s most unique projects alongside Gil Hanse, Brian Silva, Tim Liddy, Dan Hixson and Tom Doak, with whom he’s helped build over a dozen courses (including Ballyneal, Old Macdonald, Tara Iti and Rock Creek Cattle Co.). He also operates his own full-service design and renovation business, working with clients and clubs across the country. Kye takes a moment from his hectic schedule to talk about syringes of bull juice and other tales from the road, dealing with The Shark at Abiko Golf Club, getting inside the concepts and methodology of historic bunker building, the urge (or non-urge) of golf architecture to break free from the past, true minimalism, his father Bob Goalby’s influence in creating the modern Champions Tour, tales from the Masters, his thoughts on the evolution of Augusta National and what his most memorable Doak project has been. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. Desmond Muirhead’s Oak Village course in Japan. Photo above: West Bend Country Club (westbendcc.com) Main page photo: Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club, Hole 3 Outro Music: The Clean, “Anything Can Happen” The post Episode 48: Kye Goalby appeared first on Feed The Ball.

David Marcucilli’s first passion is his hometown of Newtown, CT, where he’s attempting to orchestrate the funding and design of a new all-season public green space that will include his conception of innovative, non-traditional golf. He hopes it will become a place of sociability, togetherness and pride for a town that is still suffering from the unspeakable trauma and loss of the Sandy Hook shootings six years ago. Though still in his 30’s, Marcucilli already has experience in almost every aspect of the golf business. He holds a degree in agronomy and turfgrass management, was an assistant superintendent at one of the country’s largest private clubs and is currently Design Coordinator at Nicklaus Design. David talks to Derek about how he got into the golf business, his vision for the community golf project tentatively called Pootatuck Meadows, the need to sell the idea not as golf but as a parks and recreation amenity with substantial environmental benefits, the importance of creating recreational opportunities for the families and children of his hometown, exploring the concept of paying green fees by time or number of holes played, introducing cool season grasses into certain desert environments and some new/old inspirations at Nicklaus Design. Derek joined Tom Dunne, publisher of McKellar Magazine, to talk about his story in Volume 2 about Dave Axland–listen here and here. Derek also recently joined Ricky Lee Potts on The Wednesday Match Play Podcast, Episode 131 Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Main page photo: Renegade Course at Desert Mountian (nicklaus.com) The post Episode 47: David Marcucilli appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Matt Dusenberry opened his own design firm in 2013 after years of building courses all over the world at Greg Norman Golf Course Design. He’s demonstrated incredible range in renovation work ranging from the flat Florida coast at Sandhill Crane in Hobe Sound to the magnificent mountain setting of the Cornerstone Club in Colorado. Particularly inspiring is his Golden Age-inspired remodel of the Keney Park municipal course in Hartford, Connecticut where he riffed on the sharp, jazzy design ideas of Devereux Emmet and his 1920s-era compatriots, and also the open concept, play to anywhere ground-game design at Ellerstina (above) near Buenos Aries. Matt joins Derek on the podcast to talk about the explosion of golf in his home state of Wisconsin, the radicalism of Pete Dye’s architecture on impressionable minds, the (perhaps) waning desire for “championship” caliber golf courses, the returning demand for character and variety and playability, working on real estate golf projects with Greg Norman, the failure of Florida golf, the potential of “paddock” golf, keeping Keney Park right on the edge of severity, the lost idea of the clubhouse being integrated into the playing character of the golf course and the range of methods between pure design/build and the architect/contractor model. Photo: Ellerstina (dusenberrydesign.com) Listen to Derek talk to Ricky Lee Potts on The Wednesday Match Play Podcast, Episode 131 Read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play The post Episode 46: Matt Dusenberry appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Canadian designer, author, artist and historian Keith Cutten returns (Episode 15) to discuss his new book, “The Evolution of Golf Course Design.” The book traces how golf course architecture has morphed and changed through time, and, more importantly, examines the underlying societal and economic forces that continually shape the way golf has historically been created. Keith talks to Derek about the difficulty of working and building Cabot Links, turning the design knob to “11” on new short courses, applying the concept of natural selection to golf course design, the market dominance of neoclassical naturalism, the “Dark Ages” of golf writing and lack of primary source material beginning in the 1940’s, the influence of modernism in golf design, the rise of the superintendent, the danger and optimism of changing societal tastes, whether more golf media equals better golf media and the economic advantages of the design/build model of construction. Photo: Algonquin Resort, New Brunswick (www.algonquinresort.com) Listen to Derek talk to Ricky Lee Potts on The Wednesday Match Play Podcast, Episode 131 Read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Outro: The Sundogs, “Recreation” The post Episode 45: Keith Cutten 2 appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Jim Wagner and Gil Hanse have been design partners for over 20 years. Though Hanse’s name is on their courses, Wagner has been equally influential in their concepts and outcomes while overseeing a dedicated group of shapers and designers known as the Cavemen. In the last 10 years the two men have taken their small company to the highest elevations of golf architecture with designs like the Olympic Course in Rio, Castle Stuart in Scotland, Streamsong Black and Ohoopee Match Club, plus major renovation and restoration work at Pinehurst No. 4, Los Angeles Country Club, Winged Foot and Merion. Jim takes a break from flying around the world to make a rare appearance on the podcast, talking about the difficulty of young designers breaking into the business, laying awake at night, moving up the architectural scale, the Bill Kittleman factor, quirk and fear and thought disruption in design, hanging with Donald Trump, expanding the concept of Streamsong Black’s “borderless” greens, designing holes for match play rather than stroke play and being on the job with the Cavemen. Photo: Ohoope Match Club (photo: hansegolfdesign.com) Cover Page Photo: Boston Golf Club Outro: Wasted Potential Brass Band, “Spending My Days” Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play The post Episode 44: Jim Wagner appeared first on Feed The Ball.