By Ron Garl^*

Trends In Golf

By Ron Garl

TRENDS IN GOLF

The first 500 years of golf is behind us! Today golf course design is moving at a rapid pace in some unique directions. They include environmental designs that are site specific and indigenous to the micro zones they are naturally located in! A great example of this type of natural design with aesthetics from the 1920's & 1930's is The Indian River Club. The Indian River Club was only the third facility in the world to be granted the Audubon Signature Cooperative Sanctuary Status by the Audubon International. This award is granted to the golf course and the development, and they were awarded Signature Sanctuary Status on opening day.

At The Indian River Club, you will find many leading edge ideas. They include native materials for the cartpath. The Indian River Club uses shell in its cartpaths, which lets water filter back into the ground. The Indian River Club also uses the Ron Garl curve-a-linear tee placements, which not only makes the holes shorter as you move up to the next tee; it also moves tees to the side which eases the degree of difficulty to the landing area while at the same time getting you to focus on the landing area. (Focus and concentration are very important to the mental side of your game.)

Golf course design as a whole is returning to the time honored traditional designs, but there are many new and exciting ideas that can be incorporated such as the sports turf we used on Marriott’s Grande Vista on International Drive in Orlando, Florida. On the practice tees at Grande Vista we are growing real grass through artificial turf. Sand is placed in artificial turf and grass is planted in sand. The roots grow through the backing into native soil; the leafblades grow above artificial turf and are cut with a regular mower. You gotta see it to believe how good it looks.

As I have just returned from Scotland, it reminds me from a playing standpoint the high quality of maintenance we have come to demand along with the high tech equipment. (Titanium today/ceramics tomorrow). We will see modification to traditional design to protect par and the integrity of the golf course.

We will see smaller greens demanding more accuracy in our approach shots. We will see more undulation in the greens again requiring more accuracy versus length.

Royal Troon (which I have always enjoyed playing) whose club motto is “as much by skill as by strength" is as timely today as when Royal Troon was opened in 1877.

Due to the length of today’s great players, some architects believe crossing bunkers will be revised! Because of tremendous impact of the baby boomers on golf in the next decade, I don’t believe we will see the comeback of the crossing bunker. I believe we will see a new bunker; I have named it the "control bunker". It will not run all the way across the fairway as a crossing bunker, but will be placed such that the average player and senior will not reach it, but for the Tiger Woods of the world it will require accuracy and strategy for super long players (control bunkers will pinch down fairways, but still leave 60% for a reward of accuracy).

It is very important to remember that baby boomers will drive the game of golf for the next two decades. Baby boomers have the time and discretionary income to play golf. In the United States someone turns 50 every 7 seconds. Because of this, I, Ron Garl, went to Senior Golfer and convinced my good friend, Larry Dennis, to do a three part series on how far Senior Golfers hit each club. We also asked some interesting questions such as - how far are you comfortable hitting over water and what is your favorite club. If you’re thinking about building a new golf course this information is like finding gold!

Also, I would be glad to share with you our research with Golf Week on how far ladies hit their clubs.

Future courses will use more native vegetation through:

* using native materials as hazards.

* native landscape material in the landscape theme.

* careful selective clearing.

The leading edge of golf today can be found at mega teaching/learning complexes. We are building them with most new golf courses. If you want golfers to be loyal to you - help them with their game! Two great examples are the Marriott Grande Vista in Orlando, Florida and The Club at Eaglebrooke in Lakeland, Florida. These facilities which are part of a total golf complex are not called driving ranges because they are so much more than that. Sure, you can hit drivers from the practice tee, but there is so much more to the game of golf than gripping and ripping, and the same can be said for these new training centers. They provide a complete golf experience, for beginners and skilled players alike.

Universities have done studies that indicate that the game of golf is learned more quickly by starting at the end. The beginner’s very first lesson should be to learn to putt the ball into the hole consistently from three feet. Next, practice longer putts. Then chip shots, then pitch shots, then full wedges, short irons, middle irons and so forth. The driver should be the very last club a player learns to hit. The hottest player on the planet, Tiger Woods, learned to play the game in that order. He is the modern prototype.

These training centers provide that opportunity by offering more options than the standard driving range as well as a great place to have fun and improve your putting. Along with a large practice green, some have par 72 putting course with real grass and realistic hazards on the putting course. There are special places to practice chip shots, pitch shots and sand shots. You will see realistic, green-like targets at 10-yard intervals, so you can zero in on yardage and accuracy with your wedge game. This area, known as the "Scoring V", is a trademark of Ron Garl’s newest practice facility. Anything inside a full swing is difficult for any player to master: and muscle memory is the most important factor. Being able to visualize as you practice those shots aids in that process.

And consider this. Place one player on a range hitting shots into an open field, and another player on the practice tee at one of these learning centers hitting shots at targets that resemble real greens guarded by bunkers and ponds, which player do you think will take what they learn to the course quicker?

Along with the practice advantages comes the entertainment. The real-grass putting course is fun for the entire family, and is great for group outings. The Marriott facility has a nine-hole executive course that alternates between 3 and 4 pars, with special tees on all par 4s so they can also play as par 3s. Again, great for the whole family and every skill level.

And there is a par-3 course inside the driving range. You can actually clear the range of golf balls and play a par-3 tournament for kids, families, charity events or corporate outings. That’s double use of the same piece of land, and we believe this too is the cutting edge.

These new training and learning facilities have it all, from entertainment to sophisticated practice. These facilities are not only a profit center, they are important to home sales.

I believe the future of golf is in good stead as long as we remember to keep the game fun, exciting and challenging.

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Credits

Originally posted by RonGarl on 13 May 2010.
All contributors: MarleneStone, RonGarl,

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