When speaking at the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Conference and Show, Michael Hurdzan, Ph.D., made an admission that must be a difficult reality for a golf course architect."Maintenance is more important than design," said Hurdzan.
That's a philosophy he must keep in the forefront when he is hired to restore a classic-era golf course, such as Scioto Country Club, a 1916 Donald Ross design that like Hurdzan Golf also in Columbus.
Never was it made more clear to him how important common sense is in a restoration than when Jack Nicklaus, who was collaborating on the project, stepped into a bunker and asked Hurdzan whether he could play a shot from the hazard.
When Hurdzan replied "no" Nicklaus said "neither could I."
Not that Hurdzan needed a reminder from Nicklaus five years ago, but he did tell a crowded room at OTF that a restoration of a classic-era layout should preserve the original architect's intent while improving playability, not the golf course in its original state.
"Maintenance is more important than design..." - Michael Hurdzan, PhD
"The game changes, and courses are changing as well," he said.
"Golf changes at human speed, golf courses change at Mother Nature's speed, and that is a slower pace and at some point those things get out of sync, and we need to bring them back into sync, otherwise, golf is not as pleasurable as it should be and maintenance is not as good as it could be until there comes a push for change. And when that happens, the questions we have to ask are what are the impacts and how will it change the golf course."
Hurdzan pointed to the original layout at Scioto as an example. There were few trees and even less bunkers when Ross built the place during World War I because players then used hickory-shaft clubs and gutta percha. By the mid-1920s, bunkers and trees began to show up to counteract the effect of improved equipment. Bunkers were strategically placed about 240 yards from the tees, which was fine for major championships such as the 1926 U.S. Open, 1931 Ryder Cup Matches and the 1950 PGA Championship, all of which were played at Scioto.
Further advancements in equipment have since forced further changes, including moving fairway bunkers out to about 300 yards.
"It's still an idea Ross had in mind, but it's been updated to fit the modern game," Hurdzan said.
Hurdzan reminded the crowd that even the Old Course at St. Andrews is being updated in advance of the 2015 Open Championship.
Restoration project might not mean just moving bunkers, it could mean removing some, or adding more.
"If you can accomplish the same thing with more smaller bunkers instead of one large one, then why wouldn't you do that?" Hurdzan said.
"No matter how old, or how classic you think a course is, it needs to change with the game.
"No matter how old, or how classic you think a course is, it needs to change with the game..."
"There is a saying that form follows function. Form is the result of a function it has to serve. You have to identify the forms that need to be changed."
Those forms include things like size and shape of a green, pitch or slope, aprons and bunkers. If those things are changed, they must support the architect's intent, but also improve playability and be cost-effective, especially after the architect is gone and the superintendent is left to maintain the course, Hurdzan said.
For that to occur, Hurdzan said, a written and detailed master plan that includes input from owner, manager, golf pro, superintendent and committee members.
A master plan not only identifies areas in need of improvement, but helps chart a course on how to get there.
Creating a master plan, Hurdzan said allows for the following: identifies areas of improvement and how to get there, shows how changes will impact the game and the golf course, addresses cost, develops a phase-in plan, and allows for input from all stakeholders.
But those changes also have to be made with maintenance in mind, he added.
Changes should be made that allow for 12 to 14 pinnable locations per green, improve drainage, increase traffic lanes on and off greens, include enough pitch to move surface water, yet can still hold a well-struck approach shot. The rules for designing greens, Hurdzan said, also include an 8-foot area around the hole with 2.5 percent slope or less and a minimum of 1.5 percent slope to move water.
"You have to be able to match speed and slope and do it in a way that allows you to maintain the course in a way that fits your budget," he said.
Ross knew those concepts in 1916 when he built Scioto, and it's why his courses, if restored and maintained properly,Hurdzan said, have stood the test of time.