GOLF
THE GROUNDWORK FOR strong fold off + 6.0
FROM INITIAL PLANNING TO THE FIRST TEE SHOT , GOLF COURSE ARCHITECTS STRIVE TO HIGHLIGHT NATURAL BEAUTY INTO A MEMORABLE PLAYING EXPERIENCE .
| BY JAKE POINIER |
The philosophy behind golf architecture has remained constant for centuries : Build a course that maximizes the land ’ s natural beauty and tantalizes players with its gameplay . To get there , legendary sportswriter Herbert Warren Wind once noted , a golf architect needs to have “ the soul of an artist , the brain of an engineer and the heart of a golfer .” Today ’ s golf course designers can attest that truer words have never been spoken .
“ Every golf course that ' s worth its name is a function of the land upon which it ' s situated ,” says renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr ., who has designed more than 280 golf courses in over 45 countries on six continents throughout his career . An architect ’ s initial exploration of terrain generally takes place on foot . “ You want to feel the land through the soles of your feet , because they are as important to design as your hands and eyes ,” Jones explains .
+ 6.0 low
SPRING / SUMMER 2023 | SEA ISLAND LIFE 51