The Fall 2024 issue of By Design magazine from the American Society of Golf Course Architects is now available in digital format.
The cover story of the latest issue explores how today’s architects have been inspired by links golf. Architects Raymond Hearn, Bill Bergin and Tim Liddy provide insight into their experiences of the British and Irish links courses and how those visits have shaped their careers as designers.
“At its best, links golf is a chess game with different pieces and a different board every day,” says Liddy, who worked and lived in St Andrews when remodelling the Dukes course, which overlooks the town, in 2006.
By Design also includes an interview with the new ASGCA executive director Hunki Yun about his career in golf and what he hopes to bring to the Society. Yun previously worked as a writer and editor for publications such as Golf Digest and LINKS Magazine, followed by 13 years with the USGA, most recently as director for brand marketing. He has also spoken at events such as the Golf Innovation Symposium and the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show.
“I plan on spending the first couple of months leading up to our annual meeting in November on a ‘listening tour’, speaking to as many members as I can, so I can learn more about what they do, their views on the organization, where the industry is headed and the ASGCA’s potential role in the game,” says Yun. “This tour will help to determine how we can provide more value to members and the industry.”
There is also a case study piece by turfgrass marketing specialist Stacie Zinn Roberts, explaining why Tahoma 31 was the ideal choice for a new reversible nine-hole par-three course in Philadelphia. The Landing at Torresdale, designed by Steve Weisser of Rees Jones, Inc., opened in May 2024.
“Tahoma 31 was part of the design philosophy,” says Weisser. “You can imagine the amount of wear that tees of a par-three course get. To be able to play clockwise one week and counterclockwise the other week, you’re able to spread the wear out. And that was part of the reason we were using Tahoma 31 – for recovery.”
The Fall 2024 issue also includes news of the new Golden Sands Golf Resort in Vietnam, Quarry Oaks Golf Club in Nebraska, Trump International Golf Club Lido in Indonesia and Kasugai Country Club in Japan. And for this issue’s ‘Sketchbook’ article, Andy Staples talks through his design decisions for the redesign of the fourteenth hole at Mesa Country Club in Arizona.
By Design is free of charge. To subscribe, visit the By Design page of the ASGCA website, where you can also review the entire back catalogue.