Credit must be given where credit is due.
I was asking Davis Love III a question about golf course architecture as we cruised around the Sea Island Resort Plantation Course that he had just renovated and Love gave my question the Heisman stiff-arm. He had a better question in mind.
“What you should really be asking guys is if you were going to build a golf course and start a club, who would you hire? Who would you pay to do the design work? I’d hire Ben Crenshaw,” he said. “I don’t mean that to offend my other friends in the industry, but I love his work. I’d want Ben Crenshaw with a little bit flatter greens.”
I hated to admit it but it didn’t take me long to realize that Love’s question was actually better than the one I proposed and had the potential for some very revealing answers. So, I took Love’s advice and the following answers reveal that PGA Tour pros have more of a reverence for the Golden Age designers than they are given credit for and that minimalist design and the latest trend of wide fairways, expanded greens and tree removal to create more strategic angles and options is in vogue among the play-for-pay ranks too.
Harris English was the first person to ask, “Can I pick a dead guy?” Why not? As a result, there are just as many Alister Mackenzie, Donald Ross and Seth Raynor selections as Coore-Crenshaw, Gil Hanse and Tom Doak.
Hey, Davis, this one’s for you.
Paul Azinger
“I would hire Gil Hanse. He has an incredible feel and sense of what is technically sound and visually pleasing. I love his personality and I think he’d be easy to work with.”
Aaron Baddeley
“I like Coore-Crenshaw. They don’t move too much dirt. They let the ground dictate the design.”
Zac Blair
“King-Collins, who did Sweetens Cove, because they are the best. We’re going to do The Buck Club (in Utah). Can’t wait.”
Scott Brown
“It depends on the land. If it’s an unbelievable canvas, I’d choose Coore-Crenshaw.”
Patrick Cantlay
“Alister Mackenzie would be my dead guy. Coore-Crenshaw among the living.”
Brandel Chamblee
“Gil Hanse because his golf courses strike every note. He doesn’t make them too hard or too easy, he just makes them interesting and beautiful. At least in my view, he captures the essence of what architecture is meant to be. Who is going to take a piece of property and give you an incredible array of holes with great elements of strategy and everything you’d ever want in a golf course, getting the most out of a piece of land in the most affable way? I’d probably go with Gil Hanse.”
Harris English
“Seth Raynor. He built fun courses that have stood the test of time.”
Tony Finau
“Alister MacKenzie. All his courses are the real deal.”
Rickie Fowler
“I’d want to be involved in the design because I enjoy golf course architecture. My favorite style is links golf. I love what Coore-Crenshaw are doing and having a duo where one of them has been a player makes for a great combo.”
Jim Furyk
“Coore-Crenshaw. All of their courses are fun to play.”
Chesson Hadley
“Pete Dye. I’ve always played well on his courses.”
Morgan Hoffmann
“Pete Dye among the living and Donald Ross among the deceased. I grew up on a Ross course and I love them.”
Russell Knox
“Coore and Crenshaw have done a great job. It must be very difficult because there are very few courses that are spot on. All of us pros think we know more than we do, but every course there’s somewhere where I think, ‘What the hell were they thinking?’ I’d love to get into that world as the years go on. I like the new-school of make it wider and angles but at the same time there needs to be narrow holes too. There needs to be variety. That’s what makes Seminole (Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida) great.”
Matt Kuchar
“Alister MacKenzie. I don’t think I’ve ever played one of his courses that I didn’t like.”
Peter Malnati
“Tom Doak. He’s a minimalist.”
Maverick McNealy
“Gil Hanse. I see his courses really well.”
Francesco Molinari
“Coore-Crenshaw. Their work at Pinehurst No. 2 was really good.”
Patrick Rodgers
“Gil Hanse. I feel like his philosophy is most in alignment with the origins of the game and making it fun.”
Adam Scott
“Coore-Crenshaw because I’ve never played a course they’ve designed that I didn’t like.”
Steve Stricker
“Alister MacKenzie. Pasatiempo was my favorite course I played in college, and I’ve been a MacKenzie fan ever since.”
Chris Stroud
“Seth Raynor. I love his unique design style.”
Bo Van Pelt
“Gil Hanse. He restored Southern Hills, where I play frequently, and did a great job.”