A recent discussion on the Golf Club Atlas discussion board by Ran Morrisett featured changes at Olympia Fields North course that resulted in a more playable course featuring a set of tees just under 6,000 yards, bunker removal in front of greens, and less of a need for water. The purpose of the discussion was to highlight the common governance at private clubs in America, and how they are typically ruled by the better golfers. In many cases, better golfers aren’t necessarily students of golf architecture yet are still trusted to make course-changing decisions. The focus is on making courses more difficult rather than more strategic.
Olympia Fields is a prime example of a club with a thriving membership. OFCC has two great championship courses: The North Course that hosted the 2002 U.S Open and the South Course that hosted this past year’s U.S. Amateur. Recently, the board of governors decided to make strategic changes as part of a course renovation project. Notably changes that make their championship golf courses enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels, a move that more clubs should take note of.
Golf architects of the Golden Age, in this case Willie Park, Jr. at OFCC, designed their courses on principles that made the most use of the land and piqued the interested of all classes of golfers. Courses were designed to present a variety of options off of the tee, to have the ability to hit bump and run approaches, yet still demand a careful playing strategy. With the modern advancements of technology, the Tiger-proofing era brought changes to championship courses and new designs that focused more on difficulty than variety. Both have resulted in less interesting golf courses, and less enthusiastic golfers.
Modern golf architects such as Gil Hanse, Ron Forse and Tom Doak have done great things for the game both through their new designs and their redesigns at Golden Age courses. Their education on the principles and foundation of golf architecture along with their careful study of the great golf architects of the golden age, has created a resurgence in top-notch golf courses that align with those designed in the 20’s. The result is more interesting golf for players of all levels.
The changes at Olympia Fields has set it apart from other courses that have focused primarily on modern golf game and challenging only the best golfers. Our hope is that greens committees far and wide are paying attention to this positive trend.
George