The only course that will remain difficult under all conditions will be one that is designed and kept for golf of a stereotyped, monotonous character, and this makes a most uninteresting proposition. BOBBY JONES
Available via Amazon (US): Golf Architecture For Normal People
Barnes And Noble (online and in stores)
Bookshop.org option to support local independent bookstores.
Reviews:
"Golf Architecture for Normal People . . . should be required reading for those who are not ashamed to admit they know little about the subject, and for those who think they do . . . . Golf course architecture geeks have trouble slimming their thoughts down to bite-sized chunks, but Shackelford has achieved a remarkable success here." —Independent (Ireland)
"From the relative newcomer who’s slowly getting hooked to those that have played the game for most of their lives and think they know a thing or two, Golf Architecture for Normal People provides a solid and sober perspective that will help everyone recognize why some golf courses are worth playing more than once while a single trip around others is all you’re ever likely to want or need." —Links Magazine.
“It’s a wonderful book. An easy read that arrives just in time for your summer reading list. If you’ve never thought about how an appreciation for course design could heighten your enjoyment of the game, you must check this out.”—The Peterborough Examiner
"As in his prior publications, in his newest book Shackelford shows a deep appreciation for what can be done to create a golf course that appeals to the broadest possible golfing audience…Shackelford’s prose is succinct, often witty, and accessible."—Cape Gazette
"Author, blogger and golf architecture expert Geoff Shackelford, who helped Gil Hanse design Rustic Canyon and restore 2023 U.S. Open host Los Angeles Country Club, taps into his passion by creating a guide that helps every golfer understand the nuances of course design. Published by Tatra Press, the 164-page hardcover book is a must-read for every golfer to better understand the game they love." —Golf Pass
"Shackelford provides an informative picture [and]...sprinkles in history lessons about those who planted the game's architectural roots, defines common terms and helps you hone your eyes when it comes to identifying some of the tricks of the trade."—FORE Magazine
"This new book does a great job demystifying golf course design ideas for average players, but can also be a beneficial read fro PGA Professionals and other golf course employees to get a better understanding of their home courses." —PGA Magazine
After a short hiatus, Rod Morri, Mike Clayton and yours truly discussed a nice array of topics with the 2006 U.S. Open Champion.
The should be available wherever you get your podcasts, or you can listen below.
John Ashworth’s annual gathering of golf professionals playing retro equipment at Goat Hill to benefit junior golf ended in rather spectacular fashion: a Geoff Ogilvy hole-in-one in sudden death to win the persimmon wood exhibition match with partner Chris Riley over Xander Schauffele and Dean Wilson:
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Another view from Matt Ginella:
It wasn’t Jones at St. Andrews in ‘27, but still a fun scene:
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Good stuff here from Geoff Ogilvy on a recent fun trip to the linksland.
He thankfully praises the New Course at St. Andrews, Elie and lived to not hate the game after having to play the Castle Course.
There was also this on the supposed redundancy of links golf.
That actually got me thinking. When people talk about “links golf” they tend to suggest that every seaside course can be thrown into the same basket. Not so. We played six courses on this trip and they were all very different. Links golf is actually more varied than parkland golf. Because there are no rules. You can have 600-yard par-5s and 230-yard par-4s. You can have stone walls crossing holes. And you can have any number of blind shots. Almost anything is possible. And that is the fun of it.
In his AP notes column, Doug Ferguson talked to Geoff Ogilvy about moving his family to Melbourne. The 2006 U.S. Open champion is looking to retain his card and attempt a unique schedule from the hole he still owns on Royal Melbourne's 14th hole (West).
''It's a feeling more than anything,'' he said. ''Scottsdale is dreamy. We live a great existence. I know what I'm getting there. If we didn't move back, we'd be a six-and-six family. The kids get out of school, and they're bounced back and forth. It's not good for continuity.''
As for golf?
Ogilvy narrowly kept his full PGA Tour card last year and this season has been a struggle. He hasn't sorted out what kind of schedule he would keep, understanding it would involve long trips from Sydney to Dallas.
The immediate goal would be to play a heavy fall schedule and miss most of the West Coast swing to get acclimated to the move.
''And then we'll start working it out,'' he said.
Geoff Ogilvy talks to Rod Morri and Mike Clayton about Trinity Forest, host of this week's AT&T Byron Nelson Classic.
Great set of content videos here from the folks at Trinity Forest, host to this week's AT&T Byron Nelson Classic.
Ogilvy on the double green at the third and eleventh holes.
Uploaded by Communication Links on 2018-02-05.
Ogilvy on the short par-4 5th:
Uploaded by Communication Links on 2018-02-05.
On the short par-3 8th and it's green complex:
This video is about Trinity Forest #8
On the well-placed bunker at the 14th:
Uploaded by Communication Links on 2018-02-05.
And finally the zany 17th green:
Uploaded by Communication Links on 2018-02-05.
Geoff Ogilvy covers most of the things you'd expect someone of his character and wisdom to not care for in the modern game. Still, he offers his usual honesty and strong takes that makes this piece for Golf Australia worth your time.
On slow play, he describes something I once again saw multiple times at last week's Genesis Open, including from one player when his group was a par-5 behind the next group.
Penalty strokes would, of course, fix this...
If you do all the little things between shots quickly, you can almost take as long as you want over a shot and not fall behind.
On Tour, the most frustrating aspect of slow play is being ready to hit, then looking over to see the guy with the honour just about to start his pre-shot routine. In other words, he has been doing something else entirely at a time when he should have been working out his yardage and figuring what club he needs to use. It is just so thoughtless and selfish. And it drives me nuts.
I get that some players can have trouble taking the club away from the ball – Kevin Na, Sergio Garcia and Ben Crane spring to mind. And I have sympathy with such a problem. But still. It is relatively easy to get to that point quickly – even if you then struggle to start the backswing.
Golfweek's Eamon Lynch talks to some interesting male golfers who are tuned into golf architecture and who generally have to tune out most courses week-to-week.
Besides great insights from Geoff Ogilvy and Zac Blair, I enjoyed this from Frank Nobilo on elite players, which is even more reason to step up the design nuance and risk-reward setup!
“He finds the weakness and exploits it. You take the liberties that your own game allows,” Nobilo said.
Nobilo notes that Johnson hit driver on eight of the last nine holes at the Plantation Course.
”At no stage is he considering what the designer had in mind, or for that matter who they are,” Nobilo said. “He only thinks what advantage he can gain.”
A man doesn’t need to waste time mulling risk when he can fly it all and reap the reward.
And this from Ogilvy on non-major tour courses he's play if architecture and brain engagement were the only pre-requisites for schedule-making.
I asked Ogilvy how many non-major events he’d compete in if he only played courses that engaged his brain. Kapalua. Riviera. Pebble Beach … Long pause.
“I’m starting to run out of courses,” he said. “Which is a shame. It’s a business and we have to go where the money goes. But strategically interesting architecture generally produces better tournaments and winners. Augusta National is so good at finding the guy who has got every part of his game – including his head – going that week. That principle remains everywhere. The more interesting questions a course asks, the more the cream rises to the top.”
Add Geoff Ogilvy (again) to the onslaught calling for professionals to be regulated.The timing now, however, adds to the sense the game's best thinkers have finally conceded something needs to change.
Martin Blake, reporting from the Australian Open, on Ogilvy's comments in response to recent remarks of the USGA Executive Director.
“Major league baseball in America they use wooden bats, and everywhere else in baseball they use aluminium bats,’’ he said. “And when the major leaguers use aluminium bats they don’t even have to touch it and it completely destroys their stadiums. It’s just comedy.
“That’s kind of what’s happened to us at least with the drivers of these big hitters. We’ve completely outgrown the stadiums. So do you rebuild every stadium in the world? That’s expensive. Or make the ball go shorter? It seems relatively simple from that perspective.’’
Evin Priest does a nice job for Golf Digest Australia (thanks reader AM) talking to Adam Scott, Jason Day, Rod Pampling (Rampling in the online version) and Geoff Ogilvy about the best way to get kids into the game.
It's Junior Golf Week on Morning Drive so there are bound to be good ideas galore, but the four Aussies all have some great ideas. We'll just bite our tongues when Jason Day says the game takes too long. (He wants loops of holes designed into routings to foster shorter round options.)
Adam Scott on par-3 courses:
“I think growing up on a par-3 course was really beneficial. When you’re 5 or 6 years old and the holes are 80 or 100 yards, you can actually play them. It’s very hard to get a young kid, even 10 or 11, to play a 420-yard par 4 – it just seems like an unattainable goal to get it into a tiny hole at the end of that.
Day:
“Golf’s biggest challenge in the modern day is it just takes too long; young families with little kids don’t want to spend four, five or six hours on the golf course. They’d rather play a few holes and an hour is all they can possibly give up. Maybe if there were three-hole and four-hole loops on courses where they can go out for an hour and come back, they’d get on board. That’s how you can get introduced and fall in love with the game. And those who like it will transition into the 18-hole side."
Loved this from Ogilvy:
“I was so addicted when I was a kid because I had access. And is there a better place to drop your kids off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon, considering the alternatives? Rather than the local shopping mall, terrorising the place. If they’re at the course, they’re hanging around generally respectable people learning how to behave around adults.”
We've put the band back together and talk to Geoff Ogilvy about this recent Presidents Cup gig as an assistant captain along with other issues in the game.
For those wanting to hear Geoff's appearance on Playing With Science alongside Neil degrasse Tyson, it will be here when it is pushed out to devices.
The MP3 version is here and of course the show is available on iTunes.
And here:
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
