but eventually you had to deal with the fence.” Even at Talking Stick though, the fear of OB is strong. “I’m not sure they still play it as OB,” says Coore. “I think it’s played as a lateral hazard and so a oneshot penalty. Golfers can retrieve their ball but they have to drop.” Which brings us to a current project where strategic OB is very much the order of the day. At the famed Medinah club in Chicago, the championship Course No. 3, which has hosted three US Opens, two PGA Championships, and the 2012 Ryder Cup, Australian firm Ogilvy, Cocking and Mead is currently in the preparation stage for a major renovation, which will bring the boundary line very much into play on two holes. The fifth, sixth and ten holes of Course No. 3 currently sit on the property line, and given the amount of development in the area around the course, have become very loud and busy over the years, so will be moved further away. Because the course has plenty of land – and because it is a regular host of major events – the plan is to move the holes inward on the property, but to build a fence at their edge, and outside the fence to create a ‘ring road’ to move people and equipment around the course while keeping away from play. Which means there is an opportunity! Architect Mike Cocking explains: “In looking through a lot of the old aerials it seemed as though the boundary played a bigger role in the design of at least the sixth and tenth holes, but obviously with time and the encroachment of roads and houses the holes moved further away and the fenceline was vegetated to remove this design feature. Clearly we can’t once again expose the roads and houses but we liked the idea of using a fence line in this corner. It’s probably the plainest section of the course – fairly f lat and without the water or large oaks which define so much of the course – and a fence, if done well, could add a great deal of character and interest. “There is so much room to the right of each of these holes we have ended up suggesting they are moved inland slightly so that the true boundary is further away from play and allows more vegetation to properly screen the houses and roads, but then a new fence line is added against the edge of the fairway to create the strategic interest. This will be an attractive timber post and rail-style fence which will be in character with many other aspects of the redesign. I think it’s a clever way to bring a fence line into play without creating safety issues externally or opening up ugly views of the surrounding landscape.” GCA OCM’s redesign of Medinah No. 3 will see the fifth, sixth and tenth holes moved inward, but the out of bounds line will move in too, retaining its strategic impact Image: OCM 51
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