Golfdom, January 2013

Common ground Even though all three of them started in the grass growing sector of golf each had an affinity for design and Classic Era architecture Coore and Crenshaw through their own designs are significant in architectures retro movement which saw the re implementation of strategy Silva embraced the same ideals and established a name for himself with his own heralded work He renovated and restored to much acclaim a number of marquee layouts designed by Seth Raynor and Ross Spence who has made a career of returning Classic Era layouts back to their original form thrust himself into the architecture discussion with his restoration of Greensboro Country Clubs Donald Ross 18 Valuable experience Coores experience working as a superintendent helped him grasp the dynamics of course maintenance Spence for his part strives to create a situation where three distinct groups have equal input on design decisions Ive always felt the golf course architect the golf course superintendent and the members need to have a good balance he said He cites as an example one layout he renovated in which the green surfaces had shrunk significantly Old aerial photographs showed that in the early days the green top was spilling over the side of the fill pad Members wanted the green to be as it once was but the superintendent desired a ring of rough then collar around green Spence had to find a compromise He explained to the membership that because of modern equipment and mowing heights the putting surface would need a collar around it Then he showed the superintendent how his course restoration approach would actually eliminate the intent of the original architect Ultimately Spence convinced them all that an 18 inch collar was the solution Because I was a superintendent they will accept my reasoning he said Coores road to course design Coores circuitous route to architecture began in a way in ancient Greece In 1968 he graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in Classical Greek His goal was to obtain a masters degree and become a professor At the time his only connection to golf was that of an avid player But all that changed when Coore saw Pete Dyes Oak Hollow Golf Course while it was under construction Coore badgered Dye for a job until he was hired as a laborer on the construction team Afterward Coore continued working for Pete Dye and his brother Roy It was on Roys layout Waterwood National in Texas that Coore learned the business of turf maintenance They needed a superintendent and quite frankly I think they couldnt find anyone else to take the job he laughed Coore was encouraged to take the job by people who worked for the Dye company So he took it And he learned the trade in they needed a superintendent and quite frankly i think they couldnt find anyone else to take the job bill Coore two week increments from a soil consultant I went to the school of Dick Psolla Coore recounted Psolla has been a consultant for Brookside Laboratories since 1960 I had a work ethic but no technical knowledge Coore said But after six years at Waterwood he was given the chance to design his first course Rockport Country Club During the two years of construction he remained as Waterwood superintendent then went out on his own for a few years before teaming with Crenshaw Their first two courses Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Texas and Kapalua Resort in Hawaii opened in 1991 Continued on page 46 January 2013 Golfdom 45 Golfdom com photo courtesy scott sayers IstocKphoto