A bright side to this story
Last week I went to watch at bit of the British Amateur at Muirfield. The course looked great but was “playing nice” it had its gentle face on, hardly any wind and sunshine. I spoke to a few of the players who found the course tricky but not as difficult as expected – no wonder.
In these parts of the world it is not just the course itself you have to battle - most days you find yourself struggling with the wind and very likely the rain too. I would therefore always be careful evaluating the difficulty of a course based on only one round of golf, although you might be “lucky” and get all 4 seasons in one day.
Jin Jeong South Korea won on Saturday – great play, so much in control, so professional and such fantastic great putting.
To those who say golf is not a sport, take a look at just how athletic the upcoming golfers are. I am not convinced some of them are not getting too bulky for the job but one thing is sure – there aren’t many flabby lads left in top golf, professionals or amateurs.
This week I visited one of my “old” projects. A meeting had been cancelled and I suddenly had the time to go back for a visit, something I rarely find time to do but wish I could do more.
It was with mixed feelings I revisited. Like so many other private projects the development went belly-up last year when the recession hit the hardest - the houses didn’t sell!
I was therefore anxious to see the state of the course which until a buyer can be found is run by the 400+ club members and a staff of only 4 green keepers (18 holes plus pitch & putt practice facilities and range). To date, this project represents some of my best work – it is not “the best new course of the decade” but it is a class example of a "value for money” golf course with identity, of which I am still very proud.
The course looked better that expected but then again I had had some rather scary visions before arriving. The 4 green keepers were clearly doing their best and working hard to keep the course in as good a condition as possible.
Although I was pleasantly surprised it was still clear for me to see that the course was already suffering. All the “small” jobs that follow the construction of a new course were not attended to and the rough areas were clearly running out of control. I also saw a few things that I thought needed tweaking now that the course is in play but with the original client out of the picture there is nowhere for me to direct my suggestions and concerns.
The truth is that I am truly sad about what has happened to this project. I am absolutely gutted for the client and try not to think too much about just how he must feel about all this (without much success). On a more selfish note I am desperate that a project I cherish so much is slipping away form me. Self-pity – absolutely, but it really does hurt and more than that if nothing is done soon I will find it difficult to use this project as a future reference which on a professional level is a problem.
At this stage though I guess I should be pleased that the course is still there, other courses in this situation have been returned to farmland an absolutely frightening thought.
Luckily there is a bright side to this story – the club is thriving. 50 of the 400 something members are actively doing their bit to run the place; they take care of the club, the beverages and help out on the course too - all on a voluntary basis. It is hard work undoubtedly but I see their passion and how they are pulling together to make things work, and so far it is working.
No matter the difficulties this club faces or what the future might bring it is wonderful to watch the kind of spirit that is emerging here. For everybody’s sake I do hope there will be a happy ending for both the club and the course.
Jin Jeong - winner at Muirfield
