GolfPlus - Nov 19 Digital Edition (Nov 19) | Page 46

From the Greens
SENSIBLE GOLF COURSE
by Wg Cdr Arun Kumar Singh (Retd)
President, GCS&MAI
ARCHITECTURE & GROWING THE GAME
obby Jones was undoubtedly the
greatest golfer of his generation and
many consider him to be the greatest
player of all time. His record is
certainly unmatched as he remains
the only player to win the ‘Grand
Slam’ in the same calendar year
(1930). He achieved this extraordinary feat in
the days when American golfers found it tough
to master the British Links courses and when
the Atlantic had to be crossed in a less than
pleasant long ship journey. Bobby Jones was a
man of many talents - an accomplished lawyer,
an Air Force offi cer, WW II veteran etc. He had
a great insight into the game and created the
iconic Augusta national before he co-founded
the Masters Tournament.
Augusta national was an Architecture
St Andrews, Old course
watershed moment for golf which showcased
the genius of its founder. Bobby Jones had
invited Alister Mackenzie to design his
course and shared his vision with him. Alister
Mackenzie then proceeded to not only design
Augusta but many more master pieces and is
deservedly considered to be a patron saint of
American Golf Architecture. Bobby Jones,
perhaps gave the architects the best defi nition
of a good golf course and said – ‘’The purpose
of any golf course should be to give pleasure
to the maximum number of golfers, offering
problems a man or woman can attempt
according to his or her ability. It will never
become hopeless for the duffer, nor fail to
challenge and interest the expert – and like the
Old Course at St Andrews, it will become more
delightful the more it is studied and played. A
good course should attract a player to play it
again and again.’’
Bobby Jones
50 G o l f P l u s
NOVEMBER
The wisdom of Bobby Jones is as true and
applicable to golf course architects today as it
was those many years ago. A well -designed
golf course must answer the question posed by
the great British Architect Harry Colt – ‘’Will
it Live?’’.
An important purpose of building new golf
courses is to attract more people to play the
game. The expenditure incurred in constructing
a new course needs to be controlled to make
it affordable for golfers to play. British golf
courses in particular (also many American
courses) have shown the futility of 5 Star
clubhouses and the usefulness of building well
priced courses. Accessibility and affordability
for golfers has remained (and will remain) the
most important pillar for growing the game.
History has shown that golf courses built
at enormous costs for ‘Luxury’ have often
disappeared.
The Cradle Short Course, Pinehurst Resort
2019