on June 7, 2016
(Summer 2016) JAPAN – View photos and full article (in Japanese) here.
1. How did the International Golf Federation inform you of your victory in the Rio 2016 Olympic golf course design contest, and how did you celebrate?
We were at Doral for the 2012 playing of the WGC Cadillac Championship, and we were preparing our plans for the renovation of the Blue Monster Golf Course. We were informed that a decision was going to be announced while we were there and that a camera crew from Golf Channel would be filming the reactions of all 8 of the finalists. So we were miked up and had the camera crew ready at 6:30 on the Tuesday morning of the tournament week. We waited for nearly 4 hours for “the call” to come from Rio, and after 3 hours of waiting we were all getting pretty irritated. When “the call” came we were all ecstatic and quite proud of this achievement, but honestly we were a bit numb from sitting there for so long. As it turns out there was only one camera crew, and they were only filming us as they knew we were the ones who were going to be selected but it was a very clever diversion! We celebrated that night with my family and Jim and Donna Wagner at Joe’s Stone Crab in South Beach, Miami, as I recall it was a nice party!
2. You were selected for the job ahead of Gary Player Design, Greg Norman Design, Nicklaus Design and RTJII, a group of practices that has over 1,000 course design credits. At the time you had designed 11 courses. What convinced the evaluation committee to select Hanse Golf Course Design ahead of these highly experienced design houses that, in three out of the four cases, are headed by World Golf Hall of Fame legends?
I am not certain why we were selected ahead of the other designers, including the names that you mentioned. I believe that there were two main reasons, the first and probably most important was our commitment to being on site during the construction of the golf course. This is our normal course of action as we believe that the best golf courses are designed on site instead of in the offi ce. However, for whatever reason we were the only ones to be able to commit to this type of design presence, which included my wife, Tracey, and our youngest daughter, Caley, agreeing to move to Brazil with me. Secondly, I think that even though we were not well known in the public eye we were well respected by the people in the golfing world and our style of design was appreciated by them. So even though our name may not have been that well known, our work and our philosophy of design was familiar to the decision makers in the room.
3. Golf Digest Choice understands that your approach to golf course design and construction is different to the aforementioned firms. Can you explain the key differences in layman’s terms?
Our belief is that only through a strong design presence in the field can great golf courses be created. By being “hands on”, meaning that we are personally involved in the shaping and creation of the features of our golf courses, we feel that we can get the most out of our designs. Every day opportunities present themselves on site and if no one is there to capitalize on these opportunities they may be lost forever. This understanding and appreciation for the land and its subtle contours, for the angles of the sunlight, the wind, weather, and vistas can only be captured by being on site. We have a number of very talented associates with whom we are very fortunate to work with and they contribute to the quality of all of our designs. In Rio de Janeiro, we had a very international mix of talent on site with Neil Cameron and Benjamin Warren from Scotland, Kyle Franz from the US, and Ben Hillard from Australia, all of whom made great contributions to the golf course. However, our philosophy starts from the top down and my partner Jim Wagner, and I still get on bulldozers and excavators to shape our own work. Aside from being important to the creation of our work, this is still first and foremost fun for us to do, and when the designer is having fun and being creative that is a good thing for the golf course.
4. What was your design concept for the Olympic Golf Course? Did you draw inspiration from any famous courses or designers?
Our concept for the Olympic Course was to build a golf course that feels like it belongs on the site. We had a very flat, sandy site with great native vegetation. As a result our golf course embraces these characteristics through its use of exposed sand and native vegetation to provide the aesthetic character of the course. We had to move a lot of dirt to raise the lower sections of the property, however, we did this in a style that creates a section of the course that does not feel unnatural, rather it feels like a natural continuation of the property as it flows towards the ocean. Our main inspiration for the look of the course are the sand belt courses of Australia, principally the courses at Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath, and Victoria. The courses that inspire every course we build, including the Olympic Course are The Old Course, Augusta National, and the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club.
5. The TV audience for the Rio 2016 golf event is expected to be larger and more diverse than any in the history of the game. Was there any particular statement, visual or otherwise, that you aimed to make to the viewing public with your design, many of whom may be tuning in to watch golf for the first time?
We hope that the finishing stretch of holes that we have created will provide plenty of drama and opportunities for good scoring with birdies and eagles to finish the round. We believe that this will be an exciting way for casual golf viewers to see golf on television, focusing on positive outcomes for the golfers on the course instead of seeing them struggle to get it home. There will be plenty of pressure during the final round for the contenders to be the first gold medal recipient for golf in 112 years and we think that the combination of that internal pressure and the opportunities for scoring will make for compelling viewing. We also hope that the golf course will have a natural appearance, not perfectly manicured, and perhaps even a firm and dry appearance so that viewers will see that championship golf can be played in a natural environment instead of the highly manicured locations that most people would expect.
6. In 2014 The USGA successfully hosted back-to-back Men’s and Women’s US Opens at Pinehurst #2. The Rio Olympics will do likewise. How did this staging requirement impact your design?
The back to back Men’s and Women’s US Open’s in 2014 were our first test event and the lessons learned and the results from these competitions were very helpful to us. Along with our design consultant, Amy Alcott, we were focused on making sure that the tee shot strategies were compelling and consistent for both the women and the men. The placement of hazards down range for the ladies and having their landing areas be forward of the men so that they would be playing similar shots and clubs into the greens. Mike Davis, the Executive Director of the USGA, is very involved in the setup for the Olympic games and he has brought a wealth of knowledge and vision from these US Opens which will show us how we can setup the course for both competitions in an equitable fashion.
7. Would you like to see the IGF make any format changes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic golf event in Tokyo, for example, a team matchplay event?
I feel strongly that there should be a team competition for golf in the Olympics. I am sorry that this could not be accomplished for the Games in Rio, and I understand the practical reasons why this did not occur. However, I truly hope that for the Tokyo Games in 2020 that golf will be more creative in establishing formats that will show off the match play elements of our game, as well as allow a team component. When golfers compete for their team or country, it more accurately reflects the national identity of the competitors, which for many of us is what Olympic competition is about.
8. Hanse Golf Course Design is flying the flag for the Philadelphia school of design that emerged in the 1920s and 30s. Your predecessors George Crump (Pine Valley), A.W. Tillinghast (Winged Foot, San Francisco GC, Bethpage, Baltusrol), Hugh Wilson (Merion), William Flynn (Shinnecock Hills, The Country Club), George C. Thomas (LACC, Riviera, Bel Air) were responsible for some of the most creative golf course designs ever undertaken. The leading architects of the golden age expected future generations of designers to build on their achievements and take the art of golf course architecture to previously unimagined levels. However, from the late 1930s to the late 90s, very few golf courses of note were designed anywhere. Can you and your talented contemporaries add anything new and innovative to the design achievements of the golden age masters, or have the limits of originality in golf course architecture been fully explored?
Wow, that is quite a question and an honor for our work to be compared to the Philadelphia School of golf course architecture! I believe that the unifying force amongst all of these designers was an imaginative yet respectful approach to each piece of property that they had to work on. They were intent on maximizing the natural attributes of each site, and were not afraid to do so with innovative and interesting solutions for the creation of their golf holes. The unique characteristics of each site would insure that the designs were fresh, yet it was the thoughtful approach to the character of the features and the strategies that they created that made these courses daring and so compelling. The current work of architects like Coore and Crenshaw, Tom Doak, Mike DeVries, and David Kidd among others is much like the approach taken by the golden age designers. It is a site first philosophy that is also predicated on a thorough study and understanding of these great golden age golf courses. I also firmly believe that as success has come to those who subscribe to this philosophy it has allowed each and every one of us to be more innovative and creative in our work. I know that we as a group have become more confident in our ability to take chances and hopefully to create meaningful and forward thinking design. Whether Messrs. Crump, Tillinghast, Wilson, Flynn, and Thomas would approve we will never know, but we remain hopeful that this era of design and the talented people who are working in it will be as highly regarded and respected by future generations of designers.
9. Which contemporary designer has had the greatest influence on your work? Please explain.
Without a doubt there is one “designer” who has had the greatest influence on our work and that is Bill Kittleman. Bill was the long time golf professional at Merion Golf Club and a true renaissance man. We partnered with Bill in the 1990’s and early 2000’s and he was a great mentor to Jim Wagner and I. The way that he looks at golf courses, the beauty in the landscape, the understanding of the foibles of the average golfer and the abilities of professional golfers was a living classroom on site for us in the early days of Hanse Golf Course Design. He taught us how to “see” the lines in features, the scale of properties, and ultimately the importance of variety in design from the simplest contours to the arrangement of golf holes. Bill still works with us locally on projects, and as we get ready to prepare a master plan for the East Course at Merion he will be very involved in our thoughts on that great old golf course.
10. What were the key steps or “breaks” that led you from studying Landscape Architecture at Cornell University to becoming a golf course architect? In today’s market how would a young Japanese set about building the expertise and experience required to embark on a career in golf course design and restoration?
The key breaks for my career occurred from being at Cornell and winning the Dreer Award which allowed me to spend a year in the British Isles studying golf course architecture. Tracey and I spent nearly a year in the UK, 5 months living outside St. Andrews and 6 months outside Oxford in England. Tom Doak had won the award several years previous to me and when I was applying for the award I contacted Tom to ask for advice and for a letter expressing how the Award had impacted his career. Tom wrote me a very nice letter and asked if I would like to join his team building his first solo design at High Pointe in Michigan. I eagerly accepted the position and spent the summer before heading off to Britain working on the crew picking rocks, digging ditches and learning the rudimentary skills needed in golf course construction. While in the UK I met Graeme Lennie, the golf professional at Crail Golfing Society and through an interesting introduction we became the best of friends and remain so to this day. My good fortune came because when I finished my Masters degree at Cornell, Tom off ered me a job and gave me my start in the business, and he was an amazing teacher. However, when it came time to start my own company, our first solo design job came about because of my relationship with Graeme and my familiarity with the Crail membership as they selected us to build the Craighead Links for the Society. So without the Dreer Award I may have never gotten my first job in the business with as talented a designer as Tom Doak, and without the Dreer Award we certainly would have never gotten our first solo design in Scotland which launched our company. For young designers looking for a career in golf course architecture, the most important piece of advice I received from Tom Doak, was to see as many golf courses as you can. Study them, figure out in your own mind why you think that they are great, what about them works, and what ideas can you take from them that will help you in your future career. With the existing downturn in golf course development I believe that the best way to approach a career in golf design is to get on a construction crew, do whatever is necessary until you eventually learn how to shape, and once you become a valuable contributor to the construction process some designer will take notice and from there opportunities arise. If those opportunities never do arrive, at least you will have seen the world, contributed to golf course architecture and learned how to build a golf course, which is the second most valuable piece of advice I received, “In order to design a golf course you must first know how to build one.”
11. Where do you place Harry Colt and his design partner C.H. Alison in the list of all-time great architects? What is their legacy in modern golf and golf design?
Colt and Alison were clearly among the greats of our profession. There golf courses were always so solid, wonderfully routed, and strategically sound. The artistry in their features, particularly the bunkering of Alison, was often in scale with the site, but could occasionally be wonderfully bold and creative. I believe that they are appropriately revered in the British Isles, Europe, and Japan, however, their work in North America is not nearly as well known and as a result they probably do not receive the acclaim that they should amongst the lists of golf course architecture greats.
12. Your designs at TPC Boston in the United States and Castle Stuart in Scotland host regular events on the PGA TOUR and European Tour. These courses both departed with pre-conceived notions of tournament venue design. How did you square this away with owners, tournament directors and rules officials?
We really had no problem squaring away the design concepts on either project. At TPC Boston they were looking for a change to the venue, as the original design had not met with kind reviews from the players. Jim Wagner and I partnered with Brad Faxon on this design and our goal was to make changes to the course so that it could be presented in a fashion that made it appear as if it belonged in New England. These aesthetic changes allowed us to use tall waving grasses on the bunker edges, stone walls, and a more rustic flavor for the golf course. The changes were in concert with perhaps the first major renovation of a PGA Tour venue where the course was shortened instead of adding length. The original perception of the course was that it overly favored the long hitters, and while we did not totally reverse that thought, we tried to add some variety to the lengths of the holes as well as the interest in the features. At Castle Stuart, the design of the course, in partnership wth Mark Parsinen, was already complete when it was selected by the European Tour to be the host course for the Scottish Open. During the design process we talked about the potential of hosting a tournament, however, the emphasis was first and foremost on building a course that would be enjoyable and playable for every type of golfer. We were truly delighted when Phil Mickelson, among others, gave it high praise for its design and adaptability.
13. Your restorations of Winged Foot West, The Country Club and Los Angeles CC North are slated to host the US Open in 2020, 2022 and 2023 respectively. How do you simultaneously restore a golden age classic and prepare it to host modern pro golfers who can hit the ball 100 yards further than their 1920s counterparts?
We place a heavy emphasis on trying to equate the playing characteristics of today’s technology to the original design intent of these great designers. We do not go so far as to say that the intention was for the player to hit a 5 iron in the day of the original design so it has to be driver and 5 iron today, but rather it is more based on the instinct and feel of how a course is meant to play, as well as the strategic merits of the hazards on the golf hole. For instance, if Thomas intended for the barranca on the 17th hole at LA North to be a key component of the drive on the hole and it no longer is, how far back do we need to move the tee in order to restore that character to the hole? We also make certain that we can place the tee in a natural position instead of bringing in dirt and creating artificial raised tee boxes. The final consideration is how do we build tees that do not detract from the pace or flow of the holes. Many of the great old courses are compact in nature and have a wonderful flow from the green to the next tee. We hate building new tees where you have to walk 80 yards back to a new tee and the walk the same path back after you have hit your tee ball, these types of changes really feel forced and take away from the charm of these great old courses. When it comes to bunkers, if we feel that we can place new bunkers in an advanced position on the hole to challenge the length of modern hitters we will do this. However, it must occur in concert with the design intentions of the original designer and it must fit into the topography of the site in a natural way that is consistent with the other bunkering on the course. If done correctly this type of sympathetic restoration is completely in keeping with the evolution of golf courses. Golf courses are not a static environment, they are constantly evolving and even the original designers came back and modified their courses in an attempt to challenge better players during their time.
14. Can you explain the difference between restoration, renovation and redesign? Have you seen any courses in Japan that would benefit from the restoration of authentic golden age aesthetics and design values?
In my opinion, restoration is practiced when the intent, style, and character of the original designer is retained and or restored to the golf course. The attention to detail in restoration must always be focused on the work of the initial designer and exhaustive research should be done to figure out exactly what the designer did on that particular site. Renovation occurs when elements of the original design are retained but additions or enhancements to the design are implemented by a new architect. These changes can be aligned with the original style of the course or they could be a departure from that design philosophy. Redesign is when the new designer completely overhauls and changes every element of the golf course, including the routing. Of all the courses in the world, I would love to see Hirono restored to its authentic golden age aesthetics and design values. It is an amazing, world class golf course in its present condition. However, in my opinion if it was carefully restored to the original design and presentation of Alison, it would be one of the top 10 courses in the world.
15. C.H. Alison’s plans for Tokyo Golf Club’s lost Asaka course were recently rediscovered in the archive of the Japan Golf Association’s museum. Will you seek any inspiration in these plans as you move forward with your work at Tokyo Golf Club?
It has been a great honor for us to work with Tokyo Golf Club since 2008 as the consulting golf course architect for their golf course. I am very excited to see the original Alison plans for the Asaka location, and to work with the committee at the Club to see if there are any elements that might be applicable to the current design of Tokyo Golf Club. Our initial master plan for the club focused on the work of Ohtani and was an effort to restore his character and features to the course. Since his work was so heavily influenced by Alison, it might be reasonable for some of these features to make it on to the current golf course.