37 consultant. He aims to change the way practice facilities are designed, turning the practice green into a training aid. “I was tired of travelling to all these high calibre golf clubs that the men and women play on tour and not being able to find certain shots on the practice green that I knew my players would face on the course,” says Raflewski. “It was frustrating! So, I went to Paul with an idea.” Paul Jansen is president of Himalayas Golf. “Gareth and I spoke about his thoughts at length, and I have to be honest, he had a pretty revolutionary idea,” he says. “Golf course architects are good at designing practice facilities that work from an engineering, maintenance and visual perspective, but we don’t know enough about practice to be able to tailor to that. We’re filling a hole in the industry with Gareth’s help.” Raflewski’s first assignment was the practice facility redesign at Cedar Brae Golf Club in Toronto, Canada, which opened to members in 2023. The green, up from 5,000 square feet to a huge 18,000, is the first of its kind in Canada. Not for its size, for its design. Raflewski designed 12 short-game practice modules – complete with a practice scorecard – so that golfers can track their development, practice with purpose and improve their games. He says: “These modules comprise the ‘training aids’ in the green, and simply by hitting shots to different areas from various spots, players are building their shotmaking ability. “The project at Cedar Brae was an easy idea for the members to buy into. It is known in the Greater Toronto Area for having a membership of skilled players. They care about their golf and take their performance seriously. For them, building a practice green that helped them was a no-brainer.” Tiered sections teach distance control, tabletop features force players to bump shots in low or come in high and soft, and berms and spines create multiple breaking putts on different slope percentages to teach green reading. Rob Gavarkovs, vice president of Himalayas Golf, says: “One of the big things about building a proper practice facility is to have someone involved that is embedded in that world and sees golf performed at the highest level, day in and day out. For us, Gareth is a genius in that regard. Leaning on the expertise of someone who is an expert at practice has been invaluable for Himalayas Golf as we design the next generation of practice facilities.” Cedar Brae’s scorecard, designed by Raflewski to “gamify” the practice facility, provides performance metrics and creates a weekly practice plan. The club plans to post members’ scores throughout the year, with cumulative short-game playoffs and prizes at the end of the season. With the advent of these performance modules, gleaned from experiences working with players on the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, and the integration of them into a design through Himalayas Golf (the firm is in discussions with several top clubs in North America on similar projects), Raflewski hopes to change the way clubs think about practice. “I want to design with performance in mind.” “ Simply by hitting shots to different areas from various spots, players are building their shotmaking ability” At Cedar Brae in Toronto, Raflewski designed 12 short-game modules so members could practice every type of shot they might need on the course Photo: Himalayas Golf
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