Golf course architects are special people. They’re intrinsically creative, envisioning the conversion of raw land into a field of play that will challenge and exhilarate golfers. They’re also experts in the diverse fields of geology and soils, hydrology, drainage, turf and landscape engineering, all while shaping the strategies on a golf hole that will beguile and bewitch players of all skills.

With its many natural attributes and geographies, the Pacific Northwest offers some of the most attractive palettes upon which a golf course architect renders his craft. As noted by the comments below, those who work regularly in our region relish the opportunity.

Participants in this Q&A are some of the top architects in the region and the U.S. Indeed, Tom Doak is one of the hottest designers in the world. His Pacific Dunes at Bandon Golf Resort frequently heads the list of America’s best modern courses. As the principal in Michigan-based Renaissance Golf, Doak has crafted a dizzying array of top-of-the-line layouts over the past 15 years. He recently collaborated with Jack Nicklaus in creating the ultra-high-end Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., which nestles alongside its classical neighbors, National Golf Links of America and Shinnecock Hills. Besides Pacific Dunes, Doak’s Northwest efforts include the private Tumble Creek at Suncadia in Roslyn, Wash.; the Rock Creek Cattle Company course in Deer Lodge, Mont. (to open next summer); Wicked Pony Golf Club near Redmond, Ore. (to open next fall); and the much-anticipated fourth course at Bandon Dunes, a C.B. Macdonald-inspired links that will begin construction in January 2008.

Olympic Course at Gold Mountain, No. 9

John Harbottle was literally born into the game of golf; his parents, John and Pat Harbottle, are both members of the PNGA’s Hall of Fame. John III is making his own indelible mark on the game as a golf course architect. The Tacoma native has several notable designs to his credit in the Northwest and California. His regional credits include: BanBury Golf Club in Eagle, Idaho; the new Juniper Golf Club in Redmond, Ore.; the acclaimed Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Complex in Bremerton, Wash.; Ridgecrest Golf Club in Nampa, Idaho; Sumner Meadows in Sumner, Wash.; and the new Palouse Ridge in Pullman, Wash. (to open in fall 2008). Others in planning include the initial course at the massive Cascadia development in Bonney Lake, Wash.; Quigley Canyon in Hailey, Idaho; and The Bunkers at Tillamook Bay in Tillamook, Ore.

John Fought was an accomplished player before launching his golf-design career. The Portland native, now based in Scottsdale, won the 1977 U.S. Amateur and is a two-time victor on the PGA Tour. His list of accomplishments in golf architecture is equally impressive. In the Northwest alone, Fought’s portfolio includes: the 36-hole Pumpkin Ridge (a co-design with Robert Cupp); Big Sky Golf Club in Montana (with Cupp); Langdon Farms in Aurora, Ore.; the South Course at Reserve Vineyards & Golf Club in Portland; Crosswater at Sunriver Resort (with Cupp); Washington National in Auburn, Wash.; Trophy Lake Golf & Casting Club in Port Orchard, Wash.; and Centennial Golf Club in Medford. Fought is currently finishing plans on the new Sundoon course in Dallesport in Washington State, across the Columbia River from The Dalles, Ore.

Talking Rock, No. 15

Montreal-based architect Graham Cooke and his British Columbia-based associate Wayne Carleton are very active in Canada and throughout the world, while also stretching their reach into Washington and Oregon. Among their B.C. credits: Talking Rock Golf Resort in Chase; Harvest Golf Club in Kelowna; three in Kamloops – Sun Rivers Golf Resort, The Dunes at Kamloops, and Sun Peaks Resort; and Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay. Two new courses in B.C. – Shadow Mountain Golf Course in Cranbrook and Black Mountain Golf Course in Kelowna – are now under construction. In the Evergreen State the firm designed Point Roberts Golf & Country Club and Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine, while in Oregon the firm created Myrtle Creek Golf Club.

Coeur d'Alene Resort, No. 5

Mike Asmundson, who lives in Port Townsend nearthe course he owns, Discovery Bay, has also enjoyed a rich career. His design resumé includes the Coeur d’Alene Resort Course (with Scott Miller); the back nine at Discovery Bay; and The Home Course in DuPont, Wash., which is owned by the PNGA. He’s also active in renovating several private and public facilities in Washington.

Led by one of the Northwest’s most popular golf personalities, Peter Jacobsen, and Tiger Woods’ instructor, Jim Hardy, Jacobsen Hardy Golf Course Design is based in Houston, but its reach, as might be expected, runs deep in the Northwest. The firm’s senior vice president and managing architect is Rex Van Hoose, who provided the responses for this article. Among its credits in Oregon are four courses: Oregon Golf Club in West Linn; Creekside Golf Club in Salem; Stone Creek Golf Club in Oregon City; and Brasada Canyons in Powell Butte. It also recently did a major renovation of Salishan Golf Links in Gleneden Beach. In Washington, Jacobsen Hardy’s first design is the new Rope Rider course at Suncadia Resort. The company has also completed construction drawings for a nine-hole facility in Walla Walla called Illahee Golf Club. Another new track is Buffalo Ranch in Pray, Mont., with work scheduled to begin next year.

Let’s take a glimpse at the thoughts of these dignitaries about designing golf courses in our neck of the woods.

What unique topographic and climatic characteristics must be addressed in the Northwest?

Harbottle: The diversity of the land we work with is unique. In the Northwest we have mountains, valleys, rivers and wetlands; forests, coastline, deserts and farmland. We see everything from pure sand to rugged desert rock. Sometimes even in the same site. The glacier that once covered portions of the Northwest left pockets of well-draining gravels and sands, which makes great bases for course construction. However, the volcanic and sedimentary rock can pose challenges for even the largest-budget projects. Dynamiting gets expensive.

Carleton: The major climatic characteristic to deal with is water: water from the sky and water in the ground, especially in the fall, winter and spring. Courses in the Northwest for the most part try to be open for 12 months of the year, with a typical one- or two-week closure due to snow depending on the location, so building a course with strong grades, extensive drainage and capping all areas with sand is paramount.     

Van Hoose: We recently completed the design and construction of Brasada Canyons in Powell Butte, Ore., a “high-desert” region in central Oregon. It is exciting terrain, a blend of ridgelines and canyons (valleys) draped with sagebrush and juniper trees. With a stunning property like this, the architect can let the land dictate where the holes lay . . . That said, the terrain here is not without its challenges. For instance, there is a lack of clean topsoil suitable for growing quality turf in this region. In most instances, developers have two solutions available: A) “import” an acceptable soil, or B) “screen” the existing soils found on-site. Whatever the solution, the good/improved soil is used to “plate” the areas where turf will be planted.    

What native features separate designing and building a golf course in the Pacific Northwest from other areas of North America?

Doak: We've dealt with more rock on our sites in Montana and in Redmond/Bend than anywhere we've worked before. 

Fought: The tree cover is very large and can present a shade problem – more specifically mature fir trees. I love the land and the natural landscape in the Northwest; it is great for building wonderful golf holes.

Asmundson: The three most important considerations in grading a golf course are drainage, drainage and more drainage. You alter natural drainage patterns and you have the potential for a never-ending problem. Because of the varying topography and its orientation along with the scale of the native vegetation which can create air circulation and inhibit the amount of sun exposure – all of which combine to inhibit turf growth and regeneration and thus can negatively impact a course’s profitability. However, advances in turf culture . . . have made management of these micro-problems possible. The Northwest has typically six to eight months of predictable precipitation. Two months of dry weather in Seattle is the same as two months of dry weather in Phoenix. If you do not have a good irrigation system, then you are going to have problems keeping your golf course green. When it rains in Phoenix it can really rain and its drainage considerations are as necessary and sometimes more dramatic than those in the Northwest because of the intensity.

Is there any Northwest feature that you particularly like working with – trees, soil, topography, panoramas, etc.?

Carleton: The mature forested properties in combination with some diverse topography are great to work with. Great golf holes can be created in this type of setting, where a more traditional classic design can be implemented. The trees can provide a very private feel to the course, as every hole can be unto itself.

Doak: What I like about the Northwest are the large-scale landscapes and views which exist across the region, and the fact that there is so much diversity of vegetation and settings.

Harbottle: As a designer, the terrain is what really gives you the thrill. Just like when you are playing golf, the terrain lets you experience nature. Building courses through undulating fir forests and over the rolling prairie with distant views found here in the Northwest are great opportunities. They allow the course to reflect the natural character of the land on which they are built, rather than impose character that looks artificial or foreign to the region . . . Our Pacific Ocean coastline has to offer the most spectacular landscape for golf in North America. Where the sand dunes are spectacular, so is the course design. It can be reminiscent of the best links courses in Ireland or Scotland.

Prioritize your considerations when designing a course in the Northwest (budget, scope of course, difficulty, drainage, integrating views, knowledge of market and end-user)?

Fought: The landforms always dictate my routing of the golf holes. This not just a Northwest thing, I believe that golf should be draped onto the land vs. forced into the landscape. I think you take advantage of the natural features better when you do this. I always like to keep great vegetation and the Northwest has a lot of wonderful vegetation. I truly believe you get a better golf course and a lower budget with this philosophy.

Van Hoose: I can’t single out any one particular characteristic, as there is never only one you’re dealing with in the Northwest – the topography is dramatic, the trees are majestic, and the panoramas are breathtaking. And that’s a good thing, because quality landscape settings never possess just one element. Memorable landscapes are formed by the combination of features and how they’re arranged. In music, a lead guitar doesn’t sound nearly as dynamic without the rhythm guitar, and vice versa. In golf, when we evaluate the probability of creating something special, a “good site” makes all the difference in the world. A good site has natural variety that can be managed, leveraged, enhanced. It’s the architect’s job to orchestrate the golf along with the natural characteristics of the site — without screwing it up!

What are the primary obstacles to overcome when designing a course in the Pacific Northwest?

Asmundson: First, it is important to understand what the client’s intentions are for the development of a golf course, nature of the project, type of golf course, end user, type of development, anticipated budget and timing. After that the single most important factor in developing a golf course is the routing itself. If the land plan is inefficient and not well-balanced and adaptive to the site and you position golf holes in the wrong place, then you have created never-ending problems that can bring a project down. 

Doak: Often the soils are not conducive to construction and turf maintenance, and that's an expensive problem to fix. Deluxe irrigation systems are also required to deal with the severe summer droughts experienced throughout the region.

Harbottle: In the Northwest we are environmentally aware and are held to the highest standards in environmental design. This can place a burden on ownership as we wade through the permitting process. It is often long, but can result in courses that are better for the game and the environment. The seasons in the Northwest can also affect scheduling. Most of the work we do takes two seasons to build. In Southern California or Arizona we just work right through the year until we finish the course. In the Northwest, we do the grading, drainage and irrigation one season; install the erosion control for the winter months; then complete the finish work and grassing the following season. It can take as much as six to nine months longer to open a course here.

How do the golf courses in the Northwest stack up against those in other parts of the world?

Van Hoose: Thanks to Bandon, the Northwest has several highly ranked courses, but it’s a double-edged sword: More attention perhaps for the Northwest, but folks tend to think of Bandon first and the region’s other great tracks as secondary. There are some great inland designs in the Northwest. That said I believe it’s safe to say that Mike Keiser’s Bandon efforts can be credited with the recent influx of many Northwest golf developments – developments that are quickly gaining reputations for offering high-caliber golf experiences. I believe we will see more Northwest courses making future lists of the world top 100 as more and more golfers make the journey to experience what it has to offer. 

Doak: There are some terrific courses in this region. There should be more. It's one of the most beautiful parts of North America and the population is expanding.

Carleton: In my mind the Northwest has a number of great courses of differing design styles that make it a great destination for any golfer. Some are very well known and are highly ranked in the United States and the world and have hosted major events. Bandon Dunes Resort is a great example: a world-class setting with three wonderful golf courses which are fully accessible to the public. B.C. also has some great courses and Stanley Thompson’s Capilano in West Vancouver is consistently ranked in the top 100 in the world and one of my favorites to play. Washington also has some wonderful facilities, both private and public. 

Fought: Before the early 1990s the Northwest was at the bottom of the golf course ratings. The courses were very short and overgrown with trees. I think when Pumpkin Ridge, Crosswater and Bandon Dunes were built to higher standards people across the country took notice. I think the Northwest is considered a great new area for people to visit and play. I think a lot of good things are coming for the Northwest.

Harbottle: Many of the world’s best courses are outside the Northwest, but we do have some fine courses here. Especially some of the modern courses are as good as any in the world. They attract players of all abilities from around the globe and have tested the best players in international competitions. In the Northwest we certainly land as many courses on the “best new lists” as any other region in the country.

Asmundson: Golf courses in the Northwest are every bit as good as those in other parts of the world; both traditional and contemporary. Work produced by capable designers from Vernon Macan, Stanley Thompson and Chandler Egan to Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Ted Robinson and Robert Trent Jones to name a few of the contemporaries. More importantly than the designers . . . are the contributions and achievements golf course superintendents have provided. And that is the ability to effectively grow and manage turf grasses, with particular emphasis on poa annua, and to provide exceptional playing surfaces throughout the year.

What is the future of golf in our region insofar as new golf courses?

Doak: The Northwest seems to have been a boom area for golf course development in recent years, and I hope that continues. My one concern would be that construction costs are fairly high in the region and that may become a limiting factor.

Harbottle: I think new courses in our region will become better and better. Competition in the marketplace will influence the new courses being built and the improvements that are made to existing courses. We are entering an era where we need to build great affordable courses. Although there will always be a market for a few exclusive or expensive venues, the majority of the players wish to have a great experience that they can afford to play on a regular basis.

Van Hoose: Ah, where did I put that crystal ball? That’s a hard one to answer because it depends on a lot of things. However, I’ll say the future primarily depends on two conditions: Demand and the ability of developers/owners to make a profit. We have seen quite a slowdown in new course openings nationwide, and that probably won’t change in the foreseeable future. A lot of this can be attributed to increased difficulty in obtaining entitlements, and it is no secret that costs involved with bringing a golf course online have increased dramatically. I believe the current demand is for affordable public/resort golf courses, and only developers who have the right pieces of property will be able to offer this type of facility.

Do you try to integrate a “signature feature” when designing a new course?

Doak: We try to let the most prominent features of the property become the "signature" for the course. At Pacific Dunes that's the use of the coastline and how often we get back to it; at Tumble Creek it's the view up the Cle Elum River Valley.

Carleton: Our goal is always to let the site dictate the design of the course, so in saying this, the signature feature would be the site itself. We have had the privilege to work on some great pieces of property in the Northwest and spend a considerable amount of time on-site to firstly develop a routing plan that suits the land and become very hands-on throughout the construction process. I believe this is required in the creation of great golf holes and thus the development of signature features. Sometimes this is part of the original design philosophy and sometimes features are discovered and evolve after operations like tree-clearing are completed and you see what the site is really all about.

Fought: No, I try to build the best 18 holes I can. A golf course must be good from beginning to end. This idea of a signature hole was promoted by developers trying to market their courses. You never read about signature holes at Pebble Beach or Pinehurst No. 2 or Augusta National.

Who was your mentor, and why?

Harbottle: I have studied and admired the work of Golden Age designers like Macdonald, Raynor, Tillinghast, Ross, Mackenzie and Thomas. However, my true mentor was Pete Dye. He was kind enough to let a college kid come under his wing, learn how to design and build a course from the ground up, and head off on his own. Pete taught me a lot about strategy, grading and challenging the best players in the world. His wife Alice kept me thinking about the average players, especially the ladies. Pete sent me to Scotland to see, play and study the real links courses and I have continued to study many courses around the world to see what makes their designs great.

Doak: I learned everything I know about how to build a golf course from Pete Dye and his family. I didn't copy his style of design, but I did take his hands-on approach to construction with me. My design style is a synthesis of all the great courses I've seen around the world, both here and abroad.

Van Hoose: When I was a sophomore at Strongsville High School in Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. Kozma, my economics teacher, organized what he called “Career Day” for all his students. “Career Day” was a big deal because, in the end, it counted for 75 percent of your grade. We were given a list of local businesses and instructed to choose a firm we’d most like to visit and find out about. Well thank God Mr. Kozma was a golfer, because somehow Arthur Hills and Associates (listed as Golf Course Architects) made the list. I visited their office in Toledo where I spent the day with Steve Forrest and talked with Arthur Hills himself . . . By the time Steve was through enlightening me I not only knew I was going to pass, I knew I wanted to be a golf course architect . . . I always thought I’d work for Arthur Hills and Steve, but timing prevented that from happening . . . I will never forget what Steve did for me – he gave of his time and he didn’t have to. So whenever a high school kid or a college kid calls with questions about golf design, there is no doubt about it – I take the call.

Fought: That is an interesting but somewhat difficult question for me. Bob Cupp helped me a great deal learning how to build a course, however, we have opposite opinions about design (he is into modern – I like classic). My real mentors on the design side are Donald Ross, A.W. Tillinghast, George C. Thomas and Alister MacKenzie.

Carleton: I have been fortunate enough to have a couple of mentors. From the design perspective my mentor would be Graham Cooke. I have worked with Graham since I graduated from university in 1991 and he has always provided great direction and allowed me to flourish as an architect. My other mentor would be Dennis Pellrene, who recently retired as the golf course superintendent at Capilano Golf & Country Club and, before that, Dennis was at Scarboro Golf Club and Glen Abbey Golf Club in Ontario. My original goal was to become a superintendent and Dennis was the one who pushed me in the direction of golf course architecture, when I worked with him at Scarboro, which is the only A. W. Tillinghast course in Canada. It was a great place to learn and begin to develop my career.

Asmundson: William Teufel (helped me) cut my teeth on local remodel work. During that tenure, I got the opportunity to meet and perform some work in Los Angeles for Lyle Anderson, who in turn introduced me to Scott Miller. Scott was a senior designer for Jack Nicklaus managing West Coast, Hawaii and Asian projects. Scott hired me to go to Kobe, Japan as an on-site construction manager. As it turned out, Scott ended up leaving Nicklaus and starting his own company in Scottsdale. He asked me to go to work for him and the rest is history. I spent eight years with Scott and it wasn’t until I struck out on my own did I fully appreciate all that I had learned under his tutelage.

What is your one favorite moment in the entire process of designing a golf course?

Doak: For me, it's the day when the routing puzzle finally comes together after weeks of study. At the other end, it's a thrill to go out and play all 18 holes for the first time – usually well before the grand opening with just a friend or two.

Harbottle: Planning the course is a creative and fun process. However, working in the dirt with the shapers (the bulldozer operators) and evolving the design into a sculptured course is far and away my favorite part of the process. We call the operators shapers, because they deserve a special name for their ability on the machines. The shapers are artists who sculpt the dirt like modeling clay. Like the land itself, their work has a big impact on the design.

Van Hoose: I really enjoy the site-evaluation and routing phases of the design. I have always been an outdoorsman, and I love being on-site wherever we’re working . . . I find it fun to explore large parcels of land searching for the best possible locations for tees, greens and fairways. It’s true we spend plenty of time with topographic maps and aerial photographs in the office. But the real interesting and subtle features of a site cannot be found looking at map in your office – you have to get out and see it in person.

Carleton: Seeing your vision become a reality and watching golfers enjoy what you’ve created.

Fought: I have a passion for design so everything is interesting to me. I must say however, I love it when the course is greening up and everyone gets excited.

Asmundson: I enjoy discovering a routing plan that is totally adapted to the site and balances the relationship between development and golf without either component being subordinated to the other. I (also) like it when I am able to build the perfect green with a skilled shaper in two to three hours.

How important is overall length – primarily due to technological advances in equipment and balls – when designing a modern golf course?

Harbottle: Length isn’t as important for the average golfer, although you still need a variety of lengths to keep the game interesting for them. Length is much more important to test the skills of today’s better players. We don’t wish to design courses that are just for the select few who average over 300 yards a drive, but we do build longer courses today than we did 20 years ago.

Doak: I think most architects (and most clients) are overreacting to what they watch on TV. The best 1 percent of golfers has gained a lot of length in the last 10 years through equipment advances, but it hasn't lowered handicaps much at all for the other 99 percent. We are building our courses a bit longer than before – and some of our sites in the West have been at altitude, which has to be factored in – but we try to challenge the best players at the green, not with excessive length that drives up the cost of construction.

Carleton: This is a common question that the entire golf industry is talking about. There is no doubt that technology is affecting how we design some of our courses, but as it has been documented, the technology mainly benefits the better players and, in our opinion, what it does for the average player is help them maintain their distance and accuracy. Length is always part of the initial discussions with our clients and, if we have the land available, we create courses with a back-tee distance of 7,200-plus yards. In saying this, we do think that course length is only one element in the development of a good course and, recently it seems, that maybe too much emphasis has been placed on it.

Fought: Unfortunately, we have to be aware of the great lengths that players hit the ball today. However, we don’t have to worry about that for most players. But when you are building a modern championship course it is a big consideration. Placement of hazards and doglegs must be adjusted to work for today’s super-length players.

Van Hoose: Length is important when you want to increase difficulty and challenge. You see, it’s easy to make a golf hole hard, for the majority of us – you simply increase the distance. If you want to make it hard for the Tour player, you need to increase the distance and grow the rough up around a narrow fairway. Five would be a good score on a 495-yard par-4, right? Well, it is for “Joe Country Club,” but it’s merely a driver and 7-iron (maybe) for today’s Tour players and top amateurs. On our most recent projects the overall length from the back tee has increased, but not so much from the other teeing areas. We understand the need to have challenge for the back-tee player (for us, length is part of the equation), but we avoid tricks and gimmicks that only hurt the higher handicapper. We want golf to be fun and enjoyable for them!

Asmundson: Length is important, and recent advances in technology, training and athleticism have produced a geometric explosion in the spatial requirements of new golf courses which threatens older courses with obsolescence. Golf courses require 30 percent more land today than 10 years ago, and recent environmental gains in turf-management practices are being negated by this expansion.

Jeff Shelley is the editorial director for www.cybergolf.com and www.golfconstructionnews.com. He’s authored three editions of the book, “Golf Courses of the Pacific Northwest,” written numerous articles and edited two golf magazines.

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