Hi, all, I'm back again

[ADC]

Hi, all! I'm back, at least for a while. I have an idea, and I was hoping to get some input on it. It's kind of... architect project and research endeavor all rolled into one.

Has anyone ever attempted to do an "historical" course? Maybe a real course, such as Oakmont as it was when it first opened in 1904? Or Augusta in '27? See, I was thinking about doing this as a sort of...time travel experience with a fictional course so I can have some room for error. Form the idea for a country club or golf club or resort or whatever, and first build it as it was in a couple years after it opened. So, say the course opened in 1900 and it is now 1904. Then update it at some point as it might have been in '25, '50, '75, and wrap it up in 2000, as the club celebrates in's centennial.

What do you all think?

[Indy Anna Jones]

It would be interesting to see, say Augusta as it was played in 1932, when #16, for example, had a creek instead of a pond. But do keep in mind that most "real" courses play pretty easy for this game.

[ADC]

That was one of the reasons I was thinking of doing it as a fictional course. There's just not as much...pickyness about getting every little detail of the course right. And as I said, the whole thing is to see what the game was like back at that point. So, the title card of the course would say that part of the, for lack of a better word, experiment, is that you play the swing speed and clubs that provide relative distance to the time. You may also not use clubs that were not invented at that time. This should even things up considerably.

[Polslad]

I have often thought of recreating Prestwick, site of the very first Open Championship, as it was then with only 12 holes.
You are right though about the club selection, only use the equivilent of what would have been available then, distance wise.

[Indy Anna Jones]

A good question on your project is how do you propose limiting the yardage on clubs? When I used to play Friday night events on FGL (Fun Golf League) sometimes we'd be limited on the number of clubs we had available, but I don't know of any way to actually alter club performance. (Raising loft will decrease distance, but then that usually entails dealing with a hook or slice, and not everyone uses loft.)

[ADC]

I figured out a way to do that before I even knew about this site. I had tried this "era-golf" project back then, to keep my interest up after I'd "finished" a course. It might not appeal to everyone, but I like it, and think it works fine.

It's not "truly" practical to play this way "before" 1901, because that's when the first modern ball was developed. The best players could hit it about 200 yards. This is about a 4-wood on the basic playing ability for the game. I know basic is slow, but the game was different back then, and a good golf course is challenging no matter how you play it. I feel this best reflects the game back then. Also, the sand wedge and lob wedge are not allowed, as the SW won't be invented for another 30 some years, and the LW didn't come around till the early 90's. It's sort of...on your honor as to weather you follow my rules or not, but it's the rules I'm designing with in mind. Doesn't really matter, but it's part of the fun for me, to research and share some history. I know you could hit it 200 yards with a 3-iron on Advanced, but I like the look of the wood.

I have my course laid out, 18 holes out and back style, so one loop. Longest hole is a 510 yard par 5, fairly long for the day. Honestly, I feel it's one of my better routing jobs. So, we'll see how it ends up. Like, I said, it's 1901, and this is a fictional, parkland course based on...kinda of a conglomeration of those early country clubs that were out of town then and are now surrounded by suburbs. Haven't really thought of a name yet, but it's set near a large metropolis. Not certain which one. Could be a few.

BTW, anyone know who made the Gleneagles and Gleneaglesblends libraries? They are the perfect look for what I've seen if my eye. I like they fact that they are more of a red green than a yellow. Just what I've been looking for. Thanks.

[Indy Anna Jones]

Sounds interesting ADC. You know that if you make it, they will come, lol... a new course always gets a tryout and if it's good, more than a tryout.

[Stan Nehilla]

ADC,

Adam Brandt made those libraries for his Gleneagles course.
A very nice course to download and play.

[sandwedge]

Not sure about this idea - I like the concept but I do not think I would play 4 or 5 versions of the same course. I have a hard enough time getting a round in on one course these days In fact, this is the first chance I have had to post anything here in awhile - again I like the concept but I am not going to keep more than one version of a course on my hard drive so it probably would be wasted on me. That being said, I would like to see a vintage course from the days of Hogan or something. If it were one course instead of one course and its progressions, I think I would really enjoy it. I appreciate anyone who is willing to put their work out there - my designs are still a well kept secret Good discussion.

[Indy Anna Jones]

As far as "progressive" courses are concerned, I think the only thing that would interest me would be Augusta (The Masters) with the appropriate pin placements, like #16 down and left, 18 front left in that dip. Otherwise, most likely I'd also just keep the version I liked the best. But I do appreciate someone coming up with new ideas, and like I said before, do what you like because people will play it; rather they continue to play it depends (as always) on the quality of the course(s.)