Golf is evolving. It always has been. But throughout this change the game has always relied on one constant: The fundamental human craving to be outdoors in a beautiful landscape. Add a club, a ball, some friends—that is the essence of the game. No more. No less.
This can be a difficult concept to grasp for some purists who will insist that golf is one thing—to be played on a certain type of course, under a specific set of rules and in the right attire. Golf purists confuse the essence of the game for the details. And they have done a lot of harm to the game over the years discouraging would-be golfers.
But no more. In 2021, golf and facilities that support the game are responding to a generational shift in our culture toward the free and easy and the flexible. Look at what’s being built across the country, and you will notice a diverse array of fun, exciting and sociable venues for enjoying the game: More Topgolf’s, but also intriguing 9-hole concepts by maverick designers, dynamic short courses (some lighted at night), putting courses with rough and sand (and beer), and simulator spaces that take on the atmosphere of the best sports bars.
The current popularity of these concepts indicates golfers today want more of a social experience, including food and drinks in an atmosphere of shared enjoyment. It also shows that people want options for how to spend their time. They want the flexibility of being able to choose which experiences— social or solitary, short or long, competitive or frivolous, day or night—suit their desired mood and time.
Golf is evolving, to be sure. As a designer and consultant at McMahon Group, private clubs are finally evolving with the game. Let’s take a look at some of the great examples across the club world of innovative, fun and social golf facilities that are answering to the times.
HE NINE-HOLE COURSE AT INNESS
Inness is a Hudson Valley resort in Accord, N.Y., that defies easy categorization. It straddles the line between private and public, offering dues-paying members access to its 225-acre campus of Scandinavian chic lodging, farm-to-table dining, tennis, golf and variety of outdoor activities.
But the golf course, designed by the team of mavericks at King-Collins of Chattanooga, Tenn., is really what sets Inness apart. An overnight sensation, King-Collins broke onto the course design scene with Sweetens Cove Golf Club in South Pittsburg, Tenn. Like that course, Inness’ design is meant to reflect the unpredictability of nature and embraces the philosophy of chaos, strategy and independence. The course features a pair of massive, acre-size double greens and its layout and hazard placement allows players to think their way around the course, perhaps choosing, for example, to play different holes from different tee boxes. The fairways are drought-resistance and give way to wild vegetation that meshes with the naturalistic environment of the rest of the grounds. There is no real rough to speak of.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Principal Designer Rob Collins said about the Inness course, “It’s a kick in the nuts one time around and a bowl of cherries the next time.”
It’s not hard to see in Inness a direct appeal to the millennial desire for authentic, down-to-earth fun—an appeal increasingly paying dividends for the team at King-Collins.
THE PLAYGROUNDS AT BLUEJACK NATIONAL
Designed by Tiger Woods’ TGR Designs, Bluejack National opened in 2016. The 10-hole par 3 course, in Montgomery, Texas, goes by the name “The Playgrounds,” but this course isn’t child’s play.
“The Playgrounds is not a gimmick,” says President/GM Brett Schoenfield. “There’s no clown’s mouth or windmill on the course. The topography, roll, terrain and conditioning are all on par with what you’d find on the larger course.”
The Playgrounds is a prime example of a growing trend among private clubs: The addition of a family-friendly, short course that balances fun and accessibility with a no-comprises approach to quality. On any given day you might find junior golfers honing their short games on the course; an unhurried family of varying skill-levels making their way to this hole or that; or perhaps a group fresh off the large course eager to settle a score. The course is also lighted until midnight, extending the energy and fun long into the night.
The watchword here is inclusive, and The Playgrounds’ broad appeal has helped grow the game among Bluejack’s membership while keeping members around the club longer.
THE CRAGS PUTTING COURSE
Everything old is new again. It’s taken 150 years, but putting courses are finally starting to catch on. The original, “The Himalayas” putting course at St. Andrews, an 18-hole par 36 layout of undulating knolls, ridges and valleys, debuted in 1867. In contrast to contemporary takes on the surprisingly retro concept, The Himalayas was intended for a niche demographic: women who otherwise were prohibited from playing the game at the Old Course.
Today, however, putting courses’ appeal is more universal. Young and old, families and singles, golfers and nongolfers alike—everyone can pick up a putter and knock around the ball around a few times in what is typically a sociable, pressure-free environment.
The putting course trend has gathered steam during the last decade but initially took hold at many of the iconic, bucket-list golf resorts in the U.S. Pinehurst added “Thistle Dhu” in 2012; Bandon Dunes Golf Resort the “Punchbowl” in 2014; and Pebble Beach and Destination Kohler (home to Whistling Straits) each opened theirs in 2021. An eccentric name for your putting course is not required, but is strongly encouraged.
The private club world is starting to follow suit. Examples abound but one course in particular stands out from the bunch: “The Crags” at The Country Club at Castle Pines, in Castle Rock, Colo.
Sean McCue, director of agronomy at Castle Pines, said the club had been exploring the concept since 2016 when several members, having played at the Punchbowl at Bandon Dunes, began asking why their club couldn’t have something similar. After a land swap in 2019 gave Castle Pines ownership of an outcrop of land adjacent to the clubhouse, McCue’s vision—a meld of the Punchbowl’s naturalistic expansiveness with the steep contours of Alister MacKensie’s 12th Green at Sitwell Park—became a reality.
Opening in October 2020, the completed course blends easily with its surroundings. Its dramatic sloping echoes the mountain terrain and the several smartly chosen, left-over trees and rock features lend a naturalistic feel to the green. An imbedded sound system, lighting on the trees for night play, and a nearby 15-foot-tall fire beacon add that much more drama.
Play on the course is fun and versatile. Depending on the configuration, which varies day-to-day, the course runs 9, 12 or 14 holes. But members can play it however they like.
“The structured portion of it’s fun,” McCue says. “But what’s really fun about it just improvising, playing a shot across the full length of the green, playing H-O-R-S-E or trying to come up with some crazy shots that break 20 or 30 feet up and down, left and right.”
SIMULATORS AT INTERLACHEN COUNTRY CLUB
Innovative golf facilities are also making their way inside. Nearly every Facilities Planning Committee that McMahon works with wants to breathe new life into social spaces around the club. And increasingly one of the best ways of achieving this is adding a simulator or two and locating them in space with a strong social vibe.
Due to COVID-19 social distancing, many clubs tested the introduction of simulator spaces into otherwise empty clubhouse spaces. But some forward-thinking clubs were already geared up and ready to go with more thought-out spaces.
Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn., completed their Golf Performance Center in 2019. The club installed two simulator bays in a room configured with a bar, lounge seating and several wall-mounted TVs. Another nice touch is the putting green at the center of the room, which offers patrons another activity to idly enjoy while waiting or watching. The room is spacious, but not too large, and fosters a shared environment of revelry by offering a variety of choices to members of where to sit and what to do.
Spaces like these exert a strong pull on the millennial generation, many of whom grew up going to friends’ houses to spend all night playing video games. For this set, the simulator experience in a social setting will no doubt recall great moments of their childhood. For older members, it will hold a novelty appeal while also allowing for a shared connection to a younger generation.
LOOKING AHEAD
The game of golf will always be downstream from the larger culture. Sometimes the private club industry is late to the party but, as the quality and thoughtfulness of the facilities highlighted above show, better late than never.