Glenmarnock overhead

Here's the overhead picture of Glenmarnock in it's current state (click the image for a larger view). I'm currently testing the basic playability of the course while making notes of things to change. Normally in this process I can put up a list of about an hundred things that need more care and refinement before going into the first steps of planting the course. Next up will be articles about some of the key holes of Glenmarnock, their inspiration, and some strategy analysis using some famous courses and holes already released for the game.

Introducing Glenmarnock golf links

Greenbook golf design is proud to present his first course project: Glenmarnock golf links!

I cannot remember the exact time but I believe it was during our work on W0odford Park. My good friend Jorgen Ekroth told me about a fictionnal course he was working on that got me pretty interested to say the least. He was in a bit of a design burnout with that project and I offered him to take a look just for the fun of it. He then sent me his architect file, the 2 librairies he created for the course and told me to go ahead freely with the course.

I barely touched the course for the first few years and really started seriously on this one a couple of months ago. Jorgen had at the time 9 holes layed out (generic tee, fairway and green shapes) on a very beautiful seaside piece of land. The land came to life thanks to the 2 wonderful libraries featuring a detailed texture set, a great pano and some very realistic objects.

Glenmarnock will be a fictionnal seaside links course set on Ireland's west coast. Inspirations for the course comes mostly from Royal County down and the Carne golf links. All precautions have been made to keep intact the spirit and personality that Jorgen gave to his early work on the course. The greensites already there have been mostly kept as is....as well as most of the original routing. I tried to be as minimalist as possible with terrain work and shape design to let things as natural as possible. No bulldozer have been used to build Glenmarnock; the layout flows with the land in the most realistic way possible.

Prepare yourself for 18 holes of pure, irish seaside golf among high sand dunes, ferocious winds and beautiful ocean views. The final layout is now completely finished as well as the major elevation work on the course. I'm currently finalizing shapes, bunkers and greensites design as well as the texture work. The first phase of testing should start in the upcoming days....

Golf course philosophy

Golf course design philosophy simply cannot be described easily with simple, basic terms.One may just look at the sheer amount of books on the subject to notice the depth and intricaties of this art and discipline. I don't want to go "in depth" about course design (at least not right away) as we'll have plenty of time for that in future articles. What I'll do right now is describe the global course design philosophy I'll try to apply in my future courses, which will help tremendously to create, mold and maintain a true identity to Greenbook golf Design.

Things I'll focus on:

- The course, at all costs, needs to feel natural and intimately connected to the land it's based on. The shape design, general strategy and overall flow of the course is dictated by the land in the most natural way possible. Nothing must feel exagerated, out of place or unnatural.

- I'll try to provide as much strategic choices as possible, without falling too much in the "risk/reward" zone. Every caliber of player must face an appropriate challenge for his or her skills. Players must see the course not as a boring point "A" to point "B" using shot type "C" affair, but rather an invitation to discovery, open thinking and creativity that leads to a rewarding and different experience every round.

- The approach to design will be as minimalist as possible. I want to keep the design "clean" and without unnecessary bells and wistles. The Tom Doak approach to design is the style I'll try to adopt in most situations, unless of course the design calls for a different approach.

- I'm not a fan of "signature holes"....courses that are recognized for a single, spectacular hole but not much else. A good course should contain 18 good golf holes, each unique with his own challenges....and each an integral part of the course. The whole course must be an experience to remember, and I'll try my best to achieve that.

I think that may cover the basics for now about Greenbook golf design philosophy. My next post will be about the projects currently in development, with tons of infos, notes and hopefully pictures :)