53 Sandy lie? Trained by Coore & Crenshaw, Doak and Hanse, Kyle Franz came to attention for his restorations at Mid Pines and Pine Needles in North Carolina, and has since gone on to win newbuild projects at Cabot Citrus Farms in Florida, Broomsedge in South Carolina and Luling Sport in Texas. But Franz has taken some heat for his bunkering, most notably on the Karoo course (pictured) at Cabot Citrus Farms. He admits the course has a lot of sand, but says it is a response to the site, and to the design styles of some of his Golden Age idols. “There is a huge difference between the styles of CB Macdonald and Alister MacKenzie, to name but two, or between Ross’s style on his northern or southern projects,” he says. “Similarly, there is a big dichotomy between the two courses at Citrus Farms. On the Roost course, there are a lot of holes with either only one bunker or none. Those holes are the ones on heavier soil – just as MacKenzie built very few bunkers on heavy soil at Augusta. Karoo does have a lot of sand. But then, the site is all sandy, and I wanted to do a lot of multiple fairways – I think the course might set a world record for the number of split fairway holes. On heavy soils, with created features, it would be outrageous! Our arborist told us that a lot of the trees that were part of the original course were going to die quite soon – they were planted in rows to be harvested later, and did not have much life expectancy. So, we had to find another landscape solution.” Franz says that Karoo is inspired in large measure by the original look of Pine Valley, with sweeping views across a sandy landscape. Over time, Pine Valley has become heavily treed. “A lot of the photos of the Karoo course that have circulated were taken during grow-in, so there was more exposed sand than there is now it is properly grown-in. I know that some people have not liked it, because they think it is too bold. But there are others who think it is cool, different and innovative.” Kyle Franz has built an enviable track record in recent years, and taken some heat along the way. Photo: Carolina Pines Golf as flashy as some other new courses because it’s meant to be authentically heathland. I think social media will prefer the other course there because of the flashiness of its Sandbelt-inspired bunkering and all the exposed sand.” “I think it depends what your own motivation is,” continues Cocking. “We like classical architecture so are very conscious of not building things that might look busy, and that have a very authentic sense of place.” Ron Forse echoes the theme of referring back to classic models. “Like green speeds, people are doing things because they can,” he says. “Everyone’s trying to outdo each other. And some of the elegant simplicity of architects like Colt and Flynn is getting lost in all the cacophony. How much of this stuff is really going to be around in 10 years? I think there’s a lot of pressure to keep up with the Joneses in this business. The result is a lot of trendiness. Classic architects were happy getting the best from the land and giving golfers a pleasant experience.” Photo: Jay Blasi
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