Tom Doak, Life & Work

Index

Introduction

Chapter One Early life, Academic Career, Working Experiences

Chapter Two Design Style

Chapter Three Hazards

Chapter Four Greens

Chapter Five Pacific Dunes

Chapter Six Main Projects

Conclusion


Introduction

Tom Doak is a 46 years old golf architect and writer, he is the principal of the Renaissance Golf Design, a firm based in Traverse City, Michigan.

In a relatively short time, Tom Doak has ascended to the ranks of the most highly regarded golf course architects, past and present. Many golf aficionados compare his work to one of the greatest designers of the past, such as Alister Mackenzie or Donald Ross and many of his courses are ranked by the golf magazines at the top of the charts.

The way in which he designs places the highest priority in the conservation of the site’s features. This makes him one of the few spokesman of the minimalist philosophy that is about a way of creating golf courses that try to keep the existing features putting holes just where the terrain accommodates them.
From the cliffs in New Zealand (Fig 1.1), to the Californian desert (Fig 1.4) he laid out many courses around the world in completely different surroundings; his career has been a crescendo from the beginning with the opening of High Pointe in Michigan (Fig 1.2), but it is with the design of Pacific Dunes (Fig 1.3), on the rugged Oregon coast, that his fame reached the top.

Chapter One Early life, Academic Career, Working Experiences


Tom Doak started to enjoy the game of golf at 10 years old and at the same time he developed an interest to the grounds where he played on, focusing his attention on both the landscapes on which the courses where laid out and on the holes design, how architects fit all the features that are required for the game of golf on the existing terrain [1].
During his childhood he used to travel with his father in his golf trips and he became soon familiar with the most famous courses in the US, like Pinehurst no 2 (Fig 2.1), Pebble Beach (Fig 2.2) and Harbour Town [1]

He was particularly impressed by the visit to Harbour Town Links (Fig 2.3) at the South Carolina's Hilton Head Island designed by Pete Dye, his wife Alice and Jack Nicklaus in one of his first attempt of work as a golf architect. This course was very popular in the 1970s, period in which Tom Doak started to build up his own concepts of golf-design.
The Harbour Town Links course was very different from anything he and all the rest of the golf world were used to. It was a low profile course, short and tight and a startling contrast to the Trent Jones layouts that dominated at that time and the years before [2], which were characterized by massive use of water and all other feature appeared bold and unnatural on the landscape (Fig 2.4).

Harbour Town Links, South Carolina, USA, designed by Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus

Palmetto Dunes, few miles away from Dye’s course, is completely different; golf features do not match with the existing terrain, forms are completely unnatural

Understanding the particularity of Pete Dye’s work became the lit of the flame of Tom Doak’s passion in golf Architecture, that he further developed by reading the books written on the subject by architects of the past, such as George Thomas’ “Golf Architecture in America”, Robert Hunter’s “The Links”, Alister Mackenzie’s “Golf Architecture”.

The work of Dr. Mackenzie, one of the first architect who brought the shaping of a golf course to an artistic level, helped him understanding the importance of golf features’ placement on the ground, not only from the game’s point of view, but also from the aesthetical one.
The deep study of one of the Mackenzie’s masterpiece, “Cypress Point” became the burning flame of his passion. The way in which Mackenzie routed the course, changing landscape character area many times and the ability in finding the optimal backdrop for every green on the site, together with a brilliant bunkering, made the passionate student, as Tom Doak was, understand the importance of taking into consideration the nature of the site.
He therefore decided to apply for the Cornell University’s course in landscape architecture and after his first year of studies he definitely realized that designing golf courses would be the job of his life [3].

After college, he spent one year studying abroad in England and Scotland. This experience was very important for him. Being in the cradle of the game taught him the philosophy of golf: the fact that it was a natural and an affordable game and not merely a business.
He then started travelling and visiting all famous courses in Scotland, England, and Ireland where his ideas of golf-design started being shaped. He studied the placement of hazards, the layout of holes and the best use of existing feature on the site.
At that time he spent two months caddying at the St. Andrews’ Old Course where he saw many players of different levels and began to understand the game of real customers of the golf-architect work, how golfers of different skills interpret the hazards, and the different features of the courses.
He also travelled to other parts of the world seeking for the best courses ever built.

After his trips to continental Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand Tom Doak returned to the United States and started sending applications for a job as golf architect to many golf-architects’ company. The first and one of the few, that replied to him was Pete Dye. And so he started to work for his company being paid the princely sum of $4.50 per hour. His first assignment was to work with the crew at Long Cove. He was then involved mainly in the building phase of the courses During this time he learned how construction is inseparable from design, and how the architect has to be in charge of each project on the field as it is the only way to make sure that he gets everything as he wants for his project [4]. He also learned how to run a bulldozer, how to create an irrigation system and the agronomy part of the job.

After spending three years working on construction projects for Pete Dye and his sons, learning how golf courses are built at the highest level, at the age of 26 he got the opportunity to design his first solo design at High Ponte in Michigan. This was a great experience for him, because he faced the real problems of the business, not just from the designer’s point of view, but also from the economic one, furthermore large part of the earthworks were made by him with a small bulldozer.
He then developed his second course in North Michigan, called Black Forest and from here on his career started to rise.

High Pointe, Michigan, USA

THE POPULARITY OF TOM DOAK

Nowadays his firm has completed more than 25 golf courses and it currently has courses ranked in the top 50 in the world according to Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses in the world list [5].
The name of his company started to become popular first in the United States and , especially after the construction of the Pacific Dunes Golf Club, everywhere else in the world. This project in fact brought Tom Doak a lot of fame throughout the whole world.

During the time he spent traveling around the world and the United States reviewing golf courses, he realized what, from his point of view, was good or bad architecture, he therefore decided to combine all those essays in one book. “The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses” was his first book, initially released only in a private edition for forty friends. It became very popular in the golf aficionados’ environment, as he was the first golf writer who sharply criticized other architect’s work, and soon many copies were printed.
Not even magazines, especially for marketing reasons, had had bad press on any golf-course, and for this reason many golf architects felt infallible. Because of this episode we can understand how Tom Doak became so unpopular among his colleagues, and this might be the reason why he is not anymore a member of the “American Society of Golf Course Architect” [6], however without doubts it helped himself to became popular in the golf environment and made people speaking about him.

The Confidential Guide

He also wrote: “Anatomy of a Golf Course”, a complete, easy and understandable guide on how to design and build golf courses, and “The life and work of Dr. Alister Mackenzie”, written with James Scott and Ray Haddock, a tribute to one of the greatest architects of all times and to someone who mostly inspired and still inspires Doak’s design.

Chapter Two Design Style

His minimalist design philosophy - characterized by the utilization of natural topographical features and restraint in earthmoving - was formed during his year abroad, when he visited and played 172 different courses around the world, and during the period he worked with Pete Dye.

Historical background

In order to better understand better his way of designing, it is useful to have a look back to the work of architects that came before him, and to the art movements of the period when he grew up as a student.

After the Second World War, the new wave of golf architecture was led by the firm of Robert Trent Jones, and later from the beginning of the 70s from Pete Dye’s company.
During those years the evolution of design brought to the construction of golf courses that were characterised by massive earth movements, filling holes with many features, like water, bunkers and mounds.
From the beginning of the 1950s to beginning of the 1980s, golf architecture went away from the principle that led it from its origins at the beginning of the 19th century and through the “Golden Age” till the first 30 years of the 20th century. Shapes became less natural and it seemed like everything could be built everywhere without considering the existing features of the natural site shaped thousands of years by the effect of the elements of nature.

From the beginning of the 70’s under the influence of Pete Dye and his wife Alice, things started to change and shapes became, if possible, bolder and sharper.
During this period Landscape Architecture, and the Art Movement were influenced by the work and the shapes of the earth sculptor Robert Smithson. The way in which he created forms became the basis of a new wave of Landscape Architecture at the end of the 1970s, such as the one of Robert Hargreaves and Catherine Gustafson. It is also possible to see his influence in golf architecture as from the two picture below that show the 17th hole a the TPC of Sawgrass, designed by Pete Dye and Smithson’s Spiral Jetty.

Smithson's Spiral Jetty

17th at Sawgrass, Florida, USA

Working for Pete Dye, Tom Doak realised that was the right time to go back to more natural shapes, bringing back golf architecture to the principle that leaded it during its dawning, from the beginning of the 19th century, to the end of the 1930s, when the “Golden Age” of golf design terminated.

The Architect realised that the site has to lead the design and the laying out of the course and not vice versa, he stated that is always possible to find something on the ground that is possible to use in the design to create a hole [7].

The Minimalist phylosophy

Since Tom Doak’s first solo design at High Ponte, his work was recognised as “minimalist”, a way of designing golf courses characterised by very few earth movements. He and his associates, tried to design holes in a way that the bulldozer would be seldom used, only when strictly necessary. His statement is to take as much advantage as possible of the topography of the site.

Cape Kidnappers, New Zealand, it is barely possible to notice the golf course

Doak always studies deeply the characteristics of the site, even the least noticeable, taking advantage of every detail , even those that are not possible to notice at first sight, such as a particular type of plant, little change in the slope and even wind condition.
They try to use machines only when it adds character to the area that come into play for a golf hole but the surroundings would remain almost untouched.

Tom Doak is not, however, a theoretical purist, there are some examples with particular poor site where he had to move massive quantities of earth to make a great course.
The Rawls Course at Texas Tech University and The Legend Club in South Carolina are evident examples of how minimalism in designing golf courses can be, in the true world, applied just to near-to-perfect natural site, it is like a stylist, when he has to design clothes for models, he does not need to use that much fabric to underline beauty, but to make an ugly woman appear prettier, something more has to be done.

Legend Golf Club, South Carolina, USA

The Rawls Course at Texas Tech University, Texas, USA

Chapter Three Hazards

Tom Doak way of design golf holes is quite unique, his aim is to make the game challenging for better player, letting the worst ones enjoying their round without being punished by the course.

Influences from the past

Studying the evolution of golf architecture after the 1950’s, Tom Doak became conscious that design was getting more and more distant from the principles that brought the game to fame. The links courses were as far away as possible to be perfect, the slopes were severe, even in the middle of the fairway, and hazards were very hard, like pot bunkers, high rough and undulated greens.
They were designed with the same principles that govern life, where everyone is the only one that is responsible of his actions and to get to the goal needs to work hard, in a proper way and every mistake, get punished.

Road Bunker at 17th at St. Andrews, a very penal hazard

Modern Golf Design is not anymore a metaphor of real life, it seems like that courses are designed to make the walk from the first tee to the 18th green as easier as possible, courses are easier, clubs spend million of dollars in maintenance to have the best condition as possible, every mounds is softened, blind shot are avoided and errant shots do not receive the punishment they deserve [7].

Green side Bunkers at Jack Nicklaus’ Bay Creek hazards are less penal

Tom Doak refuses to totally apply the concept of fairness to the game of golf, as life, golf should present unexpected situations, adding emotions and letting players do their best to respond to bad luck or to a trap made by the designer. This way of thinking is so far away from the common thoughts about design, either the penal philosophy, where the line of play is obvious or the strategic way of design, where unfair features are not part of the game.

One of the main goals of Doak’s design is making courses playable for all kind of golfer; he focused his attention especially on future members and golfers that will mostly play the course.
This is not common in the modern days where courses are designed to fit the game of the pros for eventual championship events that most of the time will never take place. Average golfer is then considered just in the forward tees placement, but this is often not enough to challenge all kinds of players in the same way. He sometimes fails in doing it, sometimes his hazards punish too much bad players, like for example when he uses steep banks for his greens; but maybe this is his way to tell people to improve their game and to teach them which skills develop more.

Tom Doak is a fan of the “Camouflage Concept”, one of the main design characteristic that makes his master Alister MacKenzie one of the greatest. Camouflage is a military technique that Mackenzie learned when he served as a doctor during the Boer War in South Africa, is it a way to make the enemy confusing taking advantage from natural cover and the men’s construction completely fit in the landscape to make the feel they are natural, he realised that greens in golf design have analogies with the objectives of a military campaign, the architect try to protect the hole with features that confuse the golfers in the same way who is attacked his own land.[8]

For this reason one of his favourite hazard is short grass, he thinks that in front of the view of short mown grass a golfer would feel safe, but it could be the most unfair hazard, if the slopes are used to change direction of the ball and let it roll in a hazard, he thinks that few players would recognise the trap and so the goal of defending the hole is achieved.
The way he uses mown grass vary a lot depending on the occasion.
He also often uses in his design sand faced bunker, another example of camouflage, they intimidate golfers and change the perception of depth.

Use of short grass as an hazard

The use of mown grass as an hazard is not a novelty in Golf Design, it is one of the main feature of many historical course, such as Pinehurst No.2 and Royal Dornoch, both of them famous for their mowed banks of the green; or the Murfield Golf Club, where contours of the fairway may collect balls toward deep pot bunkers or the mounded open approaches of most of the Scottish Links, where the decision of which kind of shot to play always put some struggle on golfers of all levels.

Royal Dornoch, Scotland, note the bank on the right of the green of the 16th

Tom Doak uses this feature extensively and it is useful to study deeply the various ways he apply this concept to distinct situations

Doak likes to used mowed banks as part of his design, even if he professes himself as an architect that accommodate the game of low handicapper, this feature makes them struggling much more than better players as we can see from the pictures of the 15th hole at Barnbougle Dunes Golf Links; scratch players would go back to the green, scoring, the worst, a bogey, others feel a lot of pressure due to the presence of the bunker behind the approach and the result could be disastrous on the scoring card.

Hole 15 at Barnbougle Dunes, Australia. Note the steep bank on the left of the green

The open approach is a feature that the architect understood better during the time he spent in Scotland, it is in fact typical of the British links and, due to the fact that he often tries to replicate this kind of course, it is possible to see the way he design the approach. For example at the 16th hole at Pacific Dunes after a tee shot placed on the left side of the fairway, the approach is open and the golfer can decide to play a flop shot, a pitch and run or a bump and run shot.

Hole 16 at Pacific Dunes and its open approach from the left

The use of parts of the fairway as an hazard was common at the beginning of golf architecture, but in the modern times has come back as quite a novelty in the have-to-be-fair golf courses, normally the low cut areas are trap-free, but Tom Doak decided to use contours of the fairway to let the ball roll into undesirable spots as was on the Links. This kind of hazard affects better players, especially because they are the only that could recognise it, and it will influence their choices.

Bunkering Style

In modern days, most of the times clients ask the architect to design which kind of course the desire in their piece of land, and therefore the bunkering reflects their desire it is often possible to see Links-type courses inland with its characteristic sod wall bunkers. It is therefore really difficult to define a typical style in Tom Doak’s bunkering. He gets inspired from different ideas from different past architects and he blends them all together with the landscape and with the desires of his clients.

In some courses, such as Pacific Dunes, Barnbougle Dunes he found inspiration in the sandy dunes, typical of the Californian coast and some areas of the British Isles, he uses to carve in the dunes bunkers to let them appear bold in the landscape, accentuating their visual influence on golfer’s mind. This kind of features has more effect on poor players than better ones, because the normally feel more pressure in executing shots influenced by hazard, further on if they are bold.

Bunkers at Pacific Dunes, Oregon

Bunkers carved in the dunes at Barnbougle Dunes, Australia

Tom Doak is also a fan of sand faced bunkers; he learned how to design this kind of feature while studying Alister Mackenzie’s work, in many of his courses is possible to see how the English architect influenced and still influence the placement and the shape of sandy hazards.
This will be easier to understand if we compare some pictures of the two designers: the style of MacKenzie bunkering at the Augusta National and at Cypress Point and Doak’s at Black Forest and at the Atlantic City Country Club; shapes are soft and the sand seems part of the ground itself.

Bunkers at the Atlantic City Country Club, New Jersey

Bunkers at the Black Forest Golf Club, Michigan

This approach in bunkering is, in my opinion, not really minimalist, more hazards than actually needed are shown, but the effect is great, and changes the visual depth to the golfers.

Tom Doak designed a few of Links-style courses where he was able, in my opinion, to create a bunkering that gives American golfers the same experience, the challenge and charm of Scottish links-style golf. Designing sod bunkers he takes advantage of all the courses he saw in Great Britain.

Bunkers at Royal Dornoch, Scotland

One of the best examples of this kind of style from the Architect is “Charlotte Golf Links” in North Carolina. The undulation of the terrain, the size, the shape and the wall of bunkers make the player to forget that he is playing 300 miles from the sea. Mounds, walls and bunkers are perfectly integrated among themselves and colours are all blended together in the landscape, making it unique in its area [9].

Bunkering Style at the Charlotte Links, North Carolina

Chapter Four Greens

Tom Doak’s green complexes are interesting to analyse, because most of them have some features in common that could help the understanding of his way of thinking about design.

From the beginning of golf architecture, slopes on greens have tent to reduce because the enhancement in mowing equipment has brought an increasing in the speed of the ball on the surface; moreover the desire of amateur to have the same green condition of professionals’ tournaments on their home course, forced architect to decrease greens’ movement, in order to design playable surfaces.
Tom Doak is one of the first person in today’s golf architecture, that tried to invert this trend, he many time exaggerates slopes, forcing green keepers to have on their greens cutting heights comparable with those used in the 1930s.

Steep slopes at the 4th green at Lost Dunes, Michigan

Barnbougle Dunes, Australia, Hole 18, Green

Studying Doak’s Green complexes the first thing that one notices is that most of them, sometimes over 50% in some courses (10 of them at Barnbougle Dunes, 9 at Pacific Dunes, 7 at High Pointe) are aligned from front right to back left with an hazard, such as a bank, or a sandy hazard that runs in the same direction.

Greens at Barnbougle Dunes

It is possible to argue that this kind of design is done to accommodate the game of high handicap players who would tend to slice the ball more than others.

Chapter Five Pacific Dunes

Pacific Dunes is part of a world famous Bandon Dunes Resort in Southern Oregon; it is set by natural sandy dunes and the Pacific Ocean. It is considered the best work made by the Renaissance Design and it is ranked at the top of many charts compiled by Golf magazines.


ROUTING

Looking at the scorecard the routing is quite unconventional (Fig 5.1), after the opening with two par 4 and a par 5, there are eight hole without a par 5, with four par 4 in a row (holes 6-9) and a back to back par 3 (holes 10-11), the finish is very exciting, in the last 7 holes there are not two holes in a row with the same par, with variations in angles of play, hazards and length, it seems to me that the architect routed the first 11 holes to accommodate the placement of the last 7.

Pacific Dunes, Oregon, Routing

The routing gives me the impression that Tom Doak likes to change landscape character areas often and he seems impatient to bring the golfer to the sea as soon as possible. From the 2nd tee is possible to see the water in the background, it then goes back into the dunes, and then to the sea again, the last hole on the sea is the 13thwhich is quite surprising, because the player then spends the last 1/3 of the round in the dunes, forgetting about the water and the sound of the waves. The architect justifies his choices, stating that the topography, including the existing dunes and the valley between them guided his design, but I feel like the choices in the sequence of holes and not having one or two holes on the sea later on during the round doesn’t maximise the use of the features of the site. People go to play on the Pacific Ocean to feel the contact with the water, to flirt with the natural hazard, and have a good memory of the views of the shore, players don’t want to spend the last hour and a half in the middle of the dunes remaining only with some memories of them instead, once back home This works perfectly in its neighbour course, Bandon Dunes, use the water feature with this point of view, the last hole on the sea is the 16th and the 17th and the 18th which bring back the player to the clubhouse crossing the whole property.

Bandon Dunes, Oregon, Routing

HOLES

The round begins with a short par 4, with a wide fairway and a green without many hazards to defend it, playing near the bunkers on the right edge of the fairway does not give rewards, because the angle of the green welcomes shots from the left side, from my point of view the better choice is playing a long iron/fairway wood, leaving a 100 yards as approach.

The second is middle-length par 4, the main feature of the hole is a bunker in the middle of the fairway, carrying it the approach will be easier and more open, due to the fact that the slope of the fairway after the hazard will pull the ball onto the left side, having the best angle to the green.

The third hole is the first and only par 5 until the 12th. The fairway is divided by two massive fairway bunkers that define two distinct landing areas. To get to the pin in two is better to play on the left, due to the angle of the green and to the presence of a sandy hazard on the right side of the green The fairway bunker on the right side of the fairway is an example of camouflage, the distract player will be tempted to carry on with it, thinking that the architect placed the hazard to suggest the best way to the green, the smart player will avoid it, noticing the bunker on the right next to the green.

The forth hole runs straight along the coast line, the tee shot is quite hard, because the landing area is between a cliff and a large bunker, as it is the second shot. The hole does not really imply strategy, it is quite long (464 yards) and the only way to make a par is hitting two straight long shots between hazard, making the hole a penal one; this is, in my opinion, his way to challenge best golfers, the only ones that can reach the green in regulation, high handicapper can play on the left, short of the bunkers for a relatively easy 5. In the winter this hole could be very tough, due to the prevailing wind coming from front-right.

Pacific Dunes, Oregon, Hole 4

The fifth is the only par 3 of the first nine, the shape of the fairway and the green’s angle suggests to aim to the green bunker on the left. The green is very long and the characteristics of this hole may change substantially with the condition of the wind and the pin’s placement.

The sixth is the first of four par 4 in a row that the architect placed between the dunes. The fairway bunker tempt the player to carry it. The reward is very high, due to the angle of the green and the bunker on the right of it, this hole is an excellent example of using short grass as an hazard near the green, the front right of it have steep mowed banks, so slightly inaccurate shots will roll down the slope with a difficult recovery shot.

The seventh is the longest par 4 of the course and like the forth, there is not much strategy implied. Golfers need two long straight shots to get to the pin but missing the target on the left or on the right will put them in a lot of trouble Placing the tee shot in the short grass area is fundamental to get to the green, a large dune 50 yards before the green and bunkers force an eventual lay up at 85 yards before the target. The green has a strange shape with a tip on the back right of it, making this pin placement very challenging.

The eighth is another example of camouflage, from the tee, the best way to get to the pin is playing on the left avoiding the right side that has a bunker on the fairway and one near the green, the angle of the green make the approach from the left easier too.

The ninth presents two holes in one, due to the presence of two distinct greens The one on the right has an higher elevation and it is protected by bunkers on the left and on the right sides, it is anyway better to play on the high side of the fairway to avoid to have an approach with bunkers on the front of the green. A better strategy, when then pin is on the lower green, could be to play near the ridge of the fairway that runs parallel to the line of play, the ball will roll in a perfect position for the approach, living the bunker on the front left of the green out of play.

The tenth is the first of two par three in a row, it is the maximum expression of the minimalist philosophy that we can find at Pacific Dunes, the hole just lays on the ground, without any hazard and it seems like a path that brings the visitor to the sea

The eleventh is a short par 3 playing in the wind during the summer the small green is surrounded by bunkers but those in front appear further away from the green than they are. They are very bold and it makes them more in play as they really are.

The twelfth is the second par 5 of the round, it plays into the prevailing wind and it is very difficult to reach the green in two The shortest way to get to the hole is cutting the dogleg on the left, but the angle of the green and the large bunker in front of it make this shot almost impossible, the bunker in the middle of the fairway influences more short-average hitters, because it comes in play on their second.

The thirteenth is the first of just two par 4 of the second nine, as all the long par 4 of the course, it does not give much chance to strategy, it is played into the prevailing wind and, when it blows, two long straight shots between the dunes on the right and the cliff on the left are the only option left to the player.

Pacific Dunes, Oregon, Hole13

The tee shot the short par 3 of the fourteenth is the last feel of the sea that the golfers can have during the round, the hole challenges just the high handicaps, because its length and the almost symmetric hazards near the green make the tee shot for good players a formality.

The par 5 of the fifteenth plays shorter than the actual yardage, the wind blow from the back and makes the hole reachable in two for long hitters. The hole is more challenging for the high handicaps, because a set of fairway bunkers make their second very challenging. The right bank of the green is mowed, making the left side safer.

The sixteenth is one of the most interesting par 4 of the course The best option for the tee shot is flirting with the left edge of the fairway and the bunker. From there the approach will be easier due to the angle of the green and the grassy hollow that borders its front-right. The golfer can choose from the kind of shot with which he could feels more confident: from a pitch and run, a flop shot or a bump and run, the slope of the fairway welcomes running shots. The option of cutting the dogleg on the right is also available, the second will be shorter, but the only approach available a flop shot, because of the grassy hollow in front of the green.

Pacific Dunes, Oregon, Hole 16

The seventeenth is the last par three of the course and it plays longer because of the prevailing wind. The safe area is on the right side, because of the deep bunker on the left, preceded by a ridge It is anyway protected by a small sandy hazard. The placement of the forward tee is interesting because it forces poor player to carry the green’s hazard to get to the green. The set of the green is spectacular as it is bordered on the right by a large dune covered by gorse.

The final hole is very long, a non-reachable in two par 5 The left side of the fairway is the best spot to aim due to the tall rough on the right. The green is slightly bowl shaped so shots will automatically move towards the center of the green. Three greenside bunkers protect the hole, making the pitch quite challenging.

Chapter Six Main Projects

In this chapter the routings of some of the most considerable holes of some of the golf courses the architect designed will be analysed. This will explain furthermore his approach to the peculiarity of each site and the way he tries to challenge the golfer. We will see where the minimalist concept that really reflects the design is and where instead he decided to add something to the landscape to improve it.

BARNBOUGLE DUNES

Located on the edge of the small Tasmanian town of Bridport, the property for the golf course is a narrow strip along a secluded beach, clearly one of the most spectacular properties made available for golf in the past fifty years. The front nine holes run out and back through dunes ranging up to sixty feet high, while the back nine holes climb up onto broader undulations, offering views of Bridport Bay, the beach, and the town to the west.

Barnbougle Dunes, Australia

The course as many variations and the are not subsequent holes that are similar one each other, the course is short, but green complex are very challenging, because most of them have steep bank to protect them. In designing this course Doak used his favorite hazard, the short grass, extensively.

BEST HOLES

The opening hole is a short par 5, but there are some subtle features and the player has to recognize them to do not find him in troubles. The bunker on the right is in play in the second shot, but the best angle to approach the green is from the left side of the fairway due to the angle of the green from front-left to back right, the mowed bank that runs in the same direction and the large bunker on the right of the green.

Barnbougle Dunes, Australia, Hole 1

The par 4 of the third is one of the most interesting hole of the course, the fairway is split in two by a ridge. The left side more difficult to reach, due to the presence of a large bunker and it is not always the best area to aim from the tee. The position of the pin affects the strategy of the entire hole, when is placed on the back-right of the green the risk of hitting on the left side of the fairway gives a big reward, because the approach is more open if compared with other areas. When the hole is located in the middle of the green or even on the left the best angle of approach is from the right.

Barnbougle Dunes, Australia, Hole 3

The par3 of the seventh is one of the shortest hole in the world, but it is devilish, it is played into the prevailing wind and the choice of the iron to play which can be a dilemma. The green is surrounded by every kind of hazards: bunkers, mowed banks and dunes with long grass. Miss the green and it will be very difficult to make a par, especially for high handicaps, the recover for them could be the greatest challenge ever tried. It is very interesting to analyse how the architect hides from the tee the depression behind the green, the dunes seem closer than they actually are and this could confuse the golfer, especially the poor one in judging the depth and therefore the choice of the club. The angle of the back tees is strange compared to the green’s one, for the championship tee the shot is more open than the one from the main tee.

Barnbougle Dunes, Australia, Hole 7

The twelfth is a drivable par 4 and the name of the hole “Temptation” explains very well the feelings of the player from the tee. The bunker on the right is the direction to aim to get to the green, this side of the hole is full of traps and slightly misplaced shots in this direction could bring to a very high score. An intelligent way to play this hole is hitting a long iron or a fairway wood on the left of the bunker and let the ball roll near the green helped by the slope, from there the pin is very near and there are no further hazards to protect it.

Barnbougle Dunes, Australia, Hole 12

The fifteenth is the ultimate strategic hole, it is quite short, but challenging from all points of view. The hazards and the various options are clear and fair, it is not usual in Doak’s design, the large bunker in the middle of the fairway, placed 220 yards from the back tees separate different routes. The left side of the fairway is very wide and welcome the golfers that do not want to risk with the tee shot. The view to the green is however obstructed by a sand dune. The option of playing short of the bunker can be considered for short hitters, the view to the green is quite good, even if the approach is uphill. Playing on the right of the sandy hazard brings a lot of risks, but the reward is worth them: the angle of attach to the green is ideal, even if the work is not all done, because the green has bunkers on the right and a depression on the left. Long hitters can try to carry the bunker and the approach will be very short and without hazards to face with if the drive is accurate; from the landing area after the green many shot options can be considered like pitch and run, chipping or lob.

Barnbougle Dunes, Australia, Hole 15

The finishing hole is free of hazards on the tee shot, but the player should aim on the left side to the hole to have the best angle for the approach The ridge of the fairway is shaped so that it gives a risk and reward strategy for who aims in this direction. The front of the green is characterised by a depression that recalls the “Valley of Sin” of The Old Course in St. Andrews. The left and the back of the green is surrounded by dunes with bunkers carved inside them, this visually force the player to hit shorter, putting the depression in front of the green more in play.

Barbougle Dunes, Australia, Hole 18

CAPE KIDNAPPERS GOLF CLUB, NAPIER, NEW ZEALAND

The Cape Kidnappers Golf Club is one of Doak’s best courses; the property is a top towering cliffs above New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay, it is built on a 5000 acre sheep farm just outside of Napier on the eastern coast of the North Island.

The site is amazing, the views on the sea towards the cliffs make this piece of land perfect for golf, nevertheless the topography made the routing of the holes very challenging and it is shaped across five fingers of land which tilt dramatically towards the north, before plunging 400 feet off sheer cliffs to Hawkes Bay below. Sometimes the fingers were wide enough for holes to play out and back some other times one hole plays to the end of a ridge, and the next crosses diagonally over a valley to the ridge on the far side.
The architect brings players towards the sea and back inland many times during the round, changing angles of play, changing the influence of the wind hole after hole.
This is one of the best demonstrations of Doak talent and it completely reflects his minimalist philosophy, fairways are laid naturally on the land and utilize the most scenic and dramatic parts of the site, they are fully playable, and yet each nine returns to the club house. The course, due to some forced carries over row gullies can penalize poor players, but this is a price to pay in order to appreciate the natural beauty of the site.

Cape Kidnappers, New Zealand

BEST HOLES

Hole 5 (Split)
Bunkers in the middle of the fairway divide the two options to get to the green. Left of them is safer, but the slope of the fairway will bring the ball towards the edge or even in the rough, the approach from there is forced to carry two bunkers in front of the green. The best angle for the second shot is a consequence of a drive hit between the sandy hazard just mentioned and others on the right, the shot must be very accurate, but the rewards worth the risk taken.

Cape Kidnappers, New Zealand, Hole 5

Hole 12 (Infinity)

The par 4 of the 12th is one of the best examples of camouflage designed by Tom Doak, the fairway appear wide and free from hazards from the tee, but the depression 60 yards before the green on the left side suggest to aim on the right, the approach from here will be easier, keeping the left of the hole out of play.

Cape Kidnappers, New Zealand, Hole 12

STONE EAGLE GOLF CLUB, PALM DESERT CALIFORNIA

The Stone Eagle Golf Club is settled on a mountaintop overlooking Palm Desert and the vast Coachella Valley, situated in Eastern California. The elevations that characterize the site make the views from the high spots breathtaking due to the starling contrast among the dark green of the golf course, the dark brown of mountains’ background and the light beige of sand bunkers.

Deserts are not the places where golf intended to be played until few decades ago when it became very popular and governments started to write laws in order to reduce the use of water for irrigation.
Golf architects when they have to face with this kind of projects have a maximum acreage to use for grass in the design; they have to choose to have wider fairways with bug carries of waste areas or tight one.

Following his philosophy of strategic play Doak decided to design wide fairways, at Stone Eagle there are many forced carries of waste areas, not just from the tee, but also for the approach, this could make for high handicaps a round at Stone Eagle too much challenging.Another thing that one notices having a look to the plan of each hole is that few greens(4) are aligned from front left to back right, a further sign that Doak intended to design this course to challenge more the game of better players

Stone Eagle Golf Club





Hole 4

The 464 yard par 4 of the 4th is one of the most interesting holes of the course. It plays downhill and the hole turns slightly on the left. It is not possible from the tee to see the left edge of the fairway, due to the bank of the mountain, the golfer could be tempted to cut the dogleg, but a slightly misplaced shot will land in the canyon. The best place to hit the drive is the centre of the fairway and the ball will roll much further than the landing point. The green has an oval shape an there are not bunkers to protect it. Never play long; otherwise the ball will roll down the slope towards the waste area.

Conclusion

Tom Doak is without doubts one of the more talented golf architects of the modern era, he grew up with his dream of becoming the best in his profession and for many people in the business he reached his goal.
He was lucky to meet people that taught him the profession and to have at the age of 26 the opportunity to design something by himself on a beautiful piece of land in his birthplace, Michigan. He was not scared to take this responsibility and he created High Pointe. From that moment he was blessed to work with beautiful sites and he always took advantage from it, building golf courses that are recognised as piece of art.
Golf course such as Pacific Dunes. Cape Kidnapper, Barnbougle Dunes will bring his name towards the decades; his fame, now at the top, will never decrease, because he will always work with the best sites for golf in the world.












Bibliography

[1] Tom Doak, “The Anatomy of a Golf Course”, Buford Books
[2] http://www.doakgolf/essays.asp?e=mentors
[3] http://www.golfdigest.com/features/index.ssf?/features/gd200510myshot.html
[4] http://www.golfclubatlas.com/interviewtomdoak.html
[5] http://www.golfdigest.com/courses/index.ssf?/courses/courserankings.html
[6] http://www.asgca.org/
[7] Tom Doak “Why we are different”, www.doakgolf.com/essays
[8] Tom Doak, James S. Scott, Raymund Haddock, “The Life and Work of Alister MacKenzie”, Sleeping Bear Press
[9] http://www.doakgolf.com/courses.asp?c=charlotte