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Tyler Rae is gaining a reputation as one of the most talented up and coming golf course renovation and restoration specialists in the business. He’s worked with noted designer Ron Prichard for most of the last decade and now has embarked on his own, with an impressive client list that includes clubs like Northmoor and Skokie Country Clubs in Chicago, Atlantic Golf Club on Long Island, and Wampanoag in Connecticut.

Tyler joins Derek to discuss getting to the point where the designs of Mike Strantz need to be restored, the camaraderie of early architects, the staggering number of Donald Ross courses, William Flynn’s crew at Shinnecock and deciding how loyal to a particular time period he should restore a historic club.

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Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast.

The post Episode 66: Tyler Rae appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Designer Scot Sherman began his career working for the Dye family before joining Bobby Weed as an associate. He’s now the lead designer for Love Golf Design, the firm of brothers Mark Love and Davis Love III. In addition to overseeing new projects for them, he’s currently helping prep the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island for the 2021 PGA Championship. Topics in this discussion include bizarre and frightening encounters on job sites, the influence of Pete and Alice Dye, how historic architects (Raynor, Ross) seep into his work, walking the fine line between preserving and eradicating historic Tillinghast architecture at Belmont in Richmond, and the intrigue of small courses.

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As superintendent of Sand Hills Golf Club for the last 13 years, Kyle Hegland has one of the most unique jobs in golf. The world-renowned course is located in one of the most extreme environments for golf — an arid climate ripped by savage winds and brutal winters. Yet Hegland’s expertise in creating and maintaining a fast, dry and consistent playing surface that ideally shows off Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw’s architecture, at least when the club is open for play between the months of May and September, has made him one of the most skilled and envied professionals in the turf and greenkeeping business.

Kyle joined Derek on a cold Nebraska morning to talk about adapting to life in the Sand Hills, his awe at building golf in such uncompromising conditions, the potential for new holes at Sand Hills, the necessary fear of watching grass go dormant and be on the verge of death, the difference between putting on subtle versus highly contoured greens, Sand Hills’ weakness and strengths, and finding a spiritual home in Australia’s Sand Belt.

Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play

Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly podcast at TalkinGolf.com

Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here.

Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com

Twitter: @feedtheball

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Brian Schneider joined Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design in 2002. For the last 17 years he’s played a vital role creating some of this generation’s greatest golf courses around the world: Ballyneal, Old Macdonald, Cape Kidnappers, Rock Creek Cattle Company and others. He was the lead design associate on Barnbougle Dunes, Dismal River Red, Grand Saint Emillionnais Golf Club in France and, recently, the Gunnamatta Course at The National in Australia. He’s also a highly respected consultant and restoration specialist for esteemed clubs like Hollywood (New Jersey) and Garden City (Long Island).

Brian joins Derek to discuss highlights from 2019, the intention behind a 6,000 yard/par 68 course at Sand Valley, what makes the courses of Walter Travis so strong, the unique allure of the French designs of Colt and Simpson, when it might be more appropriate to remodel an old course instead of restore it, when it stops making sense to try to make a design appear natural, the difference between grass growers and those that present playing surfaces, how each Renaissance Design member feeds off the skills of the others and what it takes to be on a Tom Doak shaping crew.

Check out photos of Llanerch (and other places) on Brian’s Instagram feed.

Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly podcast at TalkinGolf.com

Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here.

Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com

Twitter: @feedtheball

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Drew Rogers hung out his own design shingle in 2010 after working 18 years with the firm of (Arthur ) Hills & (Steve) Forrest. While working for Hills he gained extensive expertise building new golf courses, albeit it to the specifications of Hills and his clients. Today, Rogers’ own architectural point of view is evident at a slew of remodel projects around the country, including at courses originally built by his former employer including The Club at Mirasol, Miromar Lakes and Quail West, all in south Florida. He’s also become a prominent restorer of historic courses, and is currently revitalizing designs by Donald Ross, Willie Park, Jr., Tom Bendelow and Charles Alison. His work at Old Elm in Chicago, a one of a kind collaboration between Ross and Harry Colt, has been especially rewarding.

Drew joins Derek to talk about the need to adapt to a social media world, the potential pitfalls of working in the Macdonald-Raynor mold, imagining doing historical restoration work in the pre-information age, discovering little-known designers like Harry Smead, what it was like to work through the monster development boom of the 1990s, finding his voice managing projects for Art Hills and revisiting past work, how the drive for 7,000-yard courses killed character and variety, and the low actual cost of creating intriguing architecture.

Read Drew’s musings on the Good Doctor’s return to Augusta.

Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly podcast at TalkinGolf.com

Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here.

Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com

Twitter: @feedtheball

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Subscribe to Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play

The post Episode 62: Drew Rogers appeared first on Feed The Ball.

When the story is at last written about the current era of neoclassical architecture, Jim Urbina is certain to be featured as a star character. He represents a distinct branch of the Dye architectural tree having begun his career working on projects for Pete and Perry Dye. Later, Tom Doak hired Urbina at Renaissance Design, where he played a major role creating blockbusters like Pacific Dunes, Old Macdonald and Sebonack. And for the last decade Urbina has been one of the profession’s leading historical restoration specialists with ties to some of America’s greatest courses, and he may yet have a few more spectacular new courses up his sleeve.

Jim joined Derek from his home in Colorado to talk about the effect instant feedback can have on the creation of art, how a golf course achieves an essence of timelessness, the thought of someone other than Coore & Crenshaw getting the Sand Hills site, architectural design as a “brand,” the post-War shift toward streamlining and “framing,” how Dye “explained” how he wanted his greens shaped, the potential dangers of designing in the Instagram era, the desire of modern consumers to foresee their experiences and whether or not the vibrancy of Golden Age designs should be enhanced and made “better.”

Watch Jim and Connor Lewis discuss the lost Lido Course on Long Island in this Golf Channel feature. They also discuss it in greater detail on the Talkingolf History podcast.

Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly new podcast at TalkinGolf.com

Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here.

Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com

Twitter: @feedtheball

Instagram: @feedtheball

Subscribe to Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play

The post Episode 61: Jim Urbina appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Over the last 15 years, Andy Staples has created his own space in the field of golf design by pioneering sustainability and efficiency in course construction and operation. He’s also helped create and popularize the concept of “Community Links,” a way to better integrate public golf into the lifestyle of the surrounding communities. His practice is hitting a perfect groove between working with municipalities to revive public golf in creative, inclusionary ways and orchestrating impressive remodeling and restoration programs at historic clubs like Meadowbrook Country Club in Michigan and Olympia Fields near Chicago.

Andy and Derek get together to talk about having a “voice” in architecture and the copycat nature of the business, the benefit and detriment of having a design “brand,” carving out a niche by emphasizing the sustainability aspects of golf design, the popular romanticism of the “design/build” method of construction, finding ways to bring Willie Park Jr. back to Olympia Fields, whether or not the idea of a renaissance of community golf is gaining traction, creating a national legacy fund to support municipal golf and what single thought he would beam into the brains of every American is he had the power.

Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly new podcast at TalkinGolf.com

Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here.

Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com

Twitter: @feedtheball

Instagram: @feedtheball

Subscribe to Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play

The post Episode 60: Andy Staples appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Jeff Brauer began his career in 1977 working for Dick Nugent and Ken Killian in Chicago and represents a vital link to a previous generation of architecture. Since opening his own design firm in Dallas in 1984, he’s specialized in building public and resort courses in all parts of the country. In the last 20 years Brauer has found particular success in the central states, from Texas to the upper midwest, including Giants Ridge and Superior National in Minnesota, Colbert Hills and Sand Creek Station in Kansas, Cowboys Golf Club between Dallas and Fort Worth, and the new Tempest Golf Club about two hours east of Dallas.

Jeff joins the podcast to discuss the merits of the “old” way of building courses — the design/contractor bid method — versus design/build, the usefulness of engineering formulas, how ultra-wide fairways place too much emphasis on the driver, giving the green light to bulldoze your own work, the influence of mid-century land planners and landscape architects on golf design, the technical proficiency of “Dark Ages” designers, how architecture can unwittingly change or evolve to fit advances in technology and the necessity of architects to strike out and do something different than the status quo.

Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly new podcast at TalkinGolf.com

Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here.

Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com

Twitter: @feedtheball

Instagram: @feedtheball

Subscribe to Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play

The post Episode 59: Jeff Brauer appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Dave Wilber, aka the Turfgrass Zealot, is one of the world’s foremost authorities on golf grasses and soils. Agronomist to the stars, Wilber has consulted with and been instrumental in developing grassing plans for some of the world’s greatest courses, including places like Kingsbarns in Scotland and Friars Head. He’s also been a pioneer in the development and usage of modern fescue-based surfaces at Pacific Dunes, Ballyneal, Barnbougle Dunes and elsewhere. Recently he was profiled in a Golf Digest feature story detailing the anxiety, depression and mental health issues that afflict many people, including him, inside the golf agronomic business.

Dave talks to the podcast about how greenkeepers either have “it” — a green thumb — or not, what was going through his mind as he sat with Ron Whitten to discuss his struggle with depression for the Golf Digest story, the stress and anxiety inherent in the superintendent position, how Sand Hills ignited a new phase of fescue turf discovery and experimentation, wannabe architecture wizards, being a golf archeologist on older courses, how turfs and grasses evolve over time, how “heirloom” grasses saved his ass at Cal Club and how spiritual connection can override pure architectural analysis.

Listen to Dave on his own Turfgrass Zealot podcast.

Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly new podcast at TalkinGolf.com

Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here.

Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com

Twitter: @feedtheball

Instagram: @feedtheball

Subscribe to Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play

The post Episode 58: Dave Wilber appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Tripp Davis is arguably the most skilled amateur player among active architects. He helped the University of Oklahoma win a National Championship in the 1980s and has been a ranked amateur for most of his adult life, even reaching the quarter finals of the 2009 U.S Mid-Amateur. Fluent in both original design, remodels and historic restoration, Davis has created notable new courses (Grand Elk Ranch and Club, Colorado; Old American, Texas) and continues to revive important historic courses like Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club (Maxwell/MacKenzie), Spring Lake (Thomas/Tillinghast), Engineers (Herbert Strong) and Deepdale and Meadow Brook (Dick Wilson).

Tripp and Derek talk about how the “belief” mentality is vital for aspiring architects, the role of self-confidence in designing golf courses, whether having an innate artistic sense (the “eye”) is paramount, the inversion of the Dye-Fazio “difficulty” quotient, the way Dye and Coore use ground slopes differently, the difference between copying versus finding inspiration in others’ work, the relevance (or non-relevance) of strategic thinking to modern professionals, the possibility of the PGA TOUR losing its entertainment value and his thoughts on how the days of building new courses on new sites has essentially ended for most architects.

Listen to Derek, Rod Morri and Adrian Logue discuss all things golf on The Good-Good Golf Podcast, a weekly/bi-weekly new podcast at TalkinGolf.com

Derek joined Tom Dunne on the McKellar Podcast, to talk about his story in Volume 2 on Dave Axland–listen here and here.

Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com

Twitter: @feedtheball

Instagram: @feedtheball

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The post Episode 57: Tripp Davis appeared first on Feed The Ball.