Blog

The question as to what makes the Old Course special and relevant to golf course design is one that crops up before every Open in St Andrews. All golf courses have been influenced by how the game developed at The Home of Golf, and the challenges and hazards faced on the Old Course this year were certainly the making and breaking of victory and defeat. But the course's exceptional strategic variety should not be the most high value take-aways for the golf development industry this year.

Following the turbulence and uncertainty of recent times and enforced changes to ways of working, the entire world has had to adapt, including the golf industry. At Faldo Design, the challenges everyone has faced through the pandemic have opened doors to more regular communication, as travel restrictions made both planning and attending site visits almost impossible.

Professional golf is largely defined by unpredictability. Anyone on Tour is capable of winning an event. No two venues are ever the same and, as we well know, no two shots or rounds are either. What does offer it structure are the Majors; their history, of course, but also their unique test and guaranteed drama.

The challenge of a Spring Augusta returns, taking the reins from its predecessor’s autumnal forgiveness and re-establishing a firm, fast golf course (weather dependent, of course). But one thing that will remain is the necessity of finding the right positions at Augusta. Gareth Williams takes a closer look into strategic positioning at Augusta and its steep impact on the outcome of the leaderboard at the end of the week.

Last year marked 15 years since we first started working in Cambodia and following the unveiling of Vattanac Golf Resort’s second course – the ‘West Course’ – Faldo Design can now celebrate three totally unique designs in the region, each championing the local culture with innovative, beautiful and memorable individuality. Read on to find out more...

The golfing world has certainly been no exception to 2020’s 12-month anomaly, having been shaken with its ups and downs, stops and starts, booms and busts, yet in many ways the year has seen the sport propelled forward. In this piece we wanted to look back on our 2020 experiences in the golf course architecture space and reflect on the year, to celebrate the good stuff and review what we learned from the challenges we faced.

With this season’s postponements and rescheduling on Tour, it has been interesting to see professional tournaments in new lights and, ultimately, entertaining new challenges for players. Which brings us into this week where an autumnal Augusta National brings us the first ever November Masters. What are we to expect? And how might strategies change because of the autumnal course playability?

For many years, sport has been enjoyed under lights as fans and players alike revel in the aesthetic of the stage that it creates and the atmosphere it fosters. Whether it’s a pitch, track, diamond or square, there is something about playing sport under the lights which creates exciting spectacle.

The idea for courses to create an actual, playable, 19th hole is rather unique. It has often been toyed with by golf course architects to provide added x-factor but some golfers have been quick to disregard them as a novelty. However, with creativity and commercial thinking, a 19th hole can be used as an abstract solution for architects looking to add flexibility into their designs.