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The artist that resides in the soul of an architect strives for variety, interest, challenge and beauty in the palette that makes up the course. They use routing, trees, shrubs, mounds, hollows, rocks and water features to augment the green shapes, fairways, tee boxes and bunkers that make up the core of a golf course landscape. Beauty is a major part of the experience, but make no mistake, this is the game of golf and the true course has another and equally important list of attributes to present. The game is about playability, strategy, fairness, shot values and golf psychology associated with risk / reward and a pleasant walk with nature. The player looks for a course that tempts, hazards that provoke thought and greens with sufficient contours that the approach must be well planned in advance of striking the ball. The tee boxes for the scratch golfer should bring the hazards and course management directly into play, yet for the high handicapper, those same hazards should not frustrate or unduly penalize a player trying to learn the game.
These principles are the essence of a golf course and are as fundamental to the architect as a proper grip is to the player. The team at Cal Olson Golf Architecture understands the game of golf and the world of golf course design, a partnership that any owners and developers would be wise to consider.
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