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 What would Charles Blair Macdonald do?
Stepping into the shoes of the "Father of American Golf Architecture" to create a stirring tribute to him and his greatest work was the task assigned to golf course architects Tom Doak, a minimalist who is in the midst of a meteoric rise to the zenith of the design world, and partner Jim Urbina.
Doak and Urbina were chosen by Mike Keiser, golf zealot and owner of Bandon Dunes Resort, to create the fourth championship course at the Oregon golf Mecca. This course, Old Macdonald, was to espouse the techniques used by Mr. Macdonald (1855 -1939) during his career as an architect. His signature design style, most notably present at Long Island's National Golf Links of America, was to emulate, but not replicate, classic holes from the seaside links of Scotland. The trick is to take a famous hole, such as the "Road Hole" at St. Andrews and create a similar design that fits the local setting.
In a recent interview with GolfClubAtlas.com, Urbina recalled his first visit to National Golf Links, and talked about its distinct characteristics, many of which are now present at Old Macdonald.
"I was so moved by the contours and boldness of the golf course," Urbina said. "I was forever transformed into the art of big features. Remember, I had no preconceived notions of how a golf course should look. My only experience with golf course design was based on the Dye theme and seeing something as grand as The National began to shape my foundation of golf course architecture. The width of the golf course and the different angles of attack really showed me that width was a key component in the design of a great course.
"I would have never dreamed that I would be given an opportunity 25 years later to create something in the spirit of Charles Blair Macdonald and The National."
Filling out the Foursome
Fitting in at Bandon Dunes, arguably the greatest American golf resort, even beating out the likes of Pebble Beach, Kiawah Island and Whistling Straits, is a considerable task. It's like being paired with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player; failing to measure up to your peers would be a failure of epic proportion.
Bandon hasn't made a name for itself by pampering guests with cucumber facials or in-room amenities fit for a King. People make the pilgrimage to the remote resort on the coast of southern Oregon to play golf until their hands bleed like Ben Hogan's used to during one of his legendary practice sessions on the range.
This first course, appropriately titled Bandon Dunes, was built by then unknown architect Scotsman David McLay Kidd and opened for play in 1999. Next up was Pacific Dunes, designed by Doak, in 2001. In 2005, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw created a third course at the resort, Bandon Trails.
Spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, a brown/green assortment of grasses that's straight out of St. Andrews, mandatory walking and a lack of homes and resort buildings make all three courses extreme outliers in today's world of contrived golf corridors.
"Like getting a chance to play baseball at Ebbets Field, Bandon Dunes Resort offers a glimpse into golf's history," wrote Kevin Merfeld of the Monterey County Herald. "The fairways even have a sepia tone to them, as if you were walking into a movie and joining Bobby Jones for a round."
Currently, all three courses at Bandon Dunes are ranked in Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses. In Golf Magazine's biennial list of the "Top 100 Courses You Can Play," Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes and Bandon Trails all rank within the top 15.
Old Macdonald, set to open June 1, 2010, will occupy a 400-acre patch of land north and east of the Pacific Dunes course.
A piece posted on CNNMoney.com in the fall of 2009 was lavish in its praise of the upcoming course calling it, "the world's most eagerly anticipated course at America's most acclaimed golf getaway."
Old Macdonald is expected to be much different than the other three designs. Old Macdonald will be a big golf course; wide and fun to play. The greens will be massive and lost balls should be few. Unlike the other layouts at Bandon, Old Macdonald will be positioned as friendly to beginners, women and juniors. An extra set of tees will allow the course to play from 4,440 to 7,200 yards.
Early reviews by architecture buffs and public golfers, who were able to sample the course during preview rounds last spring and summer, are excellent. Old Macdonald's haul in "Golf Course of the Year" awards is likely to resemble Slumdog Millionaire's Oscar dominance.
The Very Last Links Course
On this side of the Atlantic, plenty of courses claim to be links-style layouts or courses reminiscent of those found in Scotland or the British Isles. In reality, America boasts very few golf facilities that wouldn't cause Old Tom Morris to lose his lunch if he heard them being referred to as true "Links" courses.
Seaside scenes won't be nearly as prevalent at Old MacDonald as they are at Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes, but the newest 18-hole track at Bandon does peer into the ocean on two occasions. Otherwise, Old Mac is a traditional links course in the truest sense: the sandy windblown soil, unusual mounding and naturally severe fairway fluctuations, fast and firm landing areas, no trees, native seaside grasses and plenty of breeze buffeting you during your backswing.
Doak says foreign golfers have developed a stronger ability to play the ball as it lies on "imperfect courses" as opposed to Americans who've been coddled by nearly unblemished modern courses.
"In Scotland, the links have no trees to stop a wild shot from being swept away by the wind to perdition," he writes in his Minimalist Manifesto. "But there are also none to stymie a potential recovery."
When setting out to create such a modern masterpiece and tribute, it helps when you're given a terrific piece of property that doesn't require significant land manipulation and movement. However, knowing how to forge the land into a golf course that appears natural is more difficult than it looks.
"The whole point of golf architecture is to discover and then present to the player challenging shots inherent in the landscape," Doak wrote.
On June 1, 2010 golfers will finally be able to discover what he and Urbina have created at Bandon Dunes.
And now that this prime real estate on the Oregon Coast has been all but exhausted, America may never see a true links course built again.
For information on taking a golf vacation to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, visit www.bandondunesgolf.com.
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