PlayablePathwaysTM: A School of Thought

During a recent interview with Ed Chapman of The Modern Club Management Podcast, I was asked about my design approach that I call PlayablePathwaysTM. While at this time it is simply my design approach, I hope that someday PlayablePathwaysTM will become a school of thought as others adopt the principles and techniques that I use. This school of thought would be built around the following set of defining principles:

1) Choice. Choice of tee and choice of golf hole centerline is a definitive principle of the PlayablePathwaysTM approach. When designing the golf strategy and features of the golf hole, multiple architecturally designed pathways are laid out for all the diverse calibers of golfers. The entire pathway, from the tee(s) to the green, is strategically planned to fit the diverse skill levels of all golfers.

2) Data-driven design. Design of the teeing complexes and landing area locations is based upon driving distance and swing speed rather than a proportional approach. Furthermore, the design parameters are based upon credibly sourced hitting data for all golfers. (Data based upon USGA and R&A Distance Insights project and an American study carried out by myself, Sports Query/Sue Shapcott, PhD, and Club Champion.)

3) Sustainable design. In the PlayablePathwaysTM approach, there is a progressive and urgent push to address climate change by designing and sourcing sustainable and innovative systems and products during the design, development, and management of golf courses. The Playable PathwaysTM model of sustainability considers cultural sustainability and social equality as an essential feature of the sustainability model.

4) Heightened attention to the ground game. PlayablePathwaysTM is an architectural approach that is more akin to links golf design rather than design of a course that relies more heavily on the aerial game. While the aerial game is always an option, using landform and contouring to provide new and exciting ground routes from tee to green opens up a whole different playbook with more choices and options for playing the golf hole. Landform features employed include: The launch pad, speed chute, sling shot, punchbowl or catchers mitt, funnels, bumpers, and the traditional back-stop.

5) Equality and Inclusion. Rather than simply talking about concepts of equality and inclusion, there are genuine actions and monetary investments in design of the golf course (from physical features to the experiential perspective) to improve equality and inclusion of all golfers.

6) Connected and multifunctional. Golf facilities in the PlayablePathwaysTM design approach are not stand-alone entities, but rather are connected to the social fabric of the communities where they exist and the land is shared in a multiplicity of ways. The quality of the community ecology is just as important as the interconnectedness of the environmental ecology that is the foundation of the entire sustainability model!

I knew that I approached design of the golf course differently, but I didn't realize how different it really was until I was asked about my approach and I started putting pen to paper to explain it. Early in my career, I may have been tentative about deviating from the generally accepted way going about course design, in particular, the way I was taught to lay out the teeing complex. However, the longer I practice golf course architecture, the more I realize it is an art and no one way is the "right" way. As a matter of fact, maybe the "right" way hadn't been discovered or developed....until now. Maybe golf can get better. Maybe there is room for a new school of thought based upon real data. I certainly hope so.

At this time in my career, I actually hope that what I am presenting is disruptive, ground-breaking and trail-blazing. I want to challenge tradition and propose a new way forward that hopefully will open doors to a brilliant future for the game I love. Most atypical about my approach is that the way I lay out the forward tees is not simply a set proportion of the length of the golf hole designed for men, and I don't maintain a single centerline for the golf hole. This opens so many doors, primarily around the concept of choice. I think the freedom of choice on a golf course that is inherently playable and inherently inclusive by design will make the game more fun and enjoyable.

So...what is PlayablePathwaysTM? The hallmark of the approach is choice. Choice of tee, choice of course length, and choice of the centerline of the golf hole.... the pathway of play. Most essential is to ensure that there is more than one pathway for play for the diverse calibers of players that will be playing the golf hole. The length of each path, the design of hazards to be negotiated, the receptiveness of landforms to incoming shots, and maintainability of it all is data-driven. Data related to water conservation and the capacity of the environment to support the game will determine whether or not we can play golf in perpetuity, so we must be urgently responsive to the essential needs of ecosystems and the environment as related to design of the playing field.

Knowing the proper data-driven distances to design into the pathway is the second principle of the design approach. The various playable pathways are designed based upon credible research and data. Up until a year ago, I had difficulty finding hitting metrics data on average amateur women golfers that I could use to guide me architecturally in design of the golf hole for players with slower swing speeds. So I did my own study in collaboration with Sports Query, Sue Shapcott, PhD, and American club fitting company Club Champion. This study was carried out using Trackman data, probably the most reliable data that we have available to us in the present day. We used trained club fitters, a controlled facility, and collected demographic data on our participants. We had a random selection of participants, and it was nationwide with 37 states represented across the USA. Armed with this data and data sourced from the USGA and R&A, I feel confident that I am able to determine proper design parameters for golf features that fit the full range of golf abilities for amateur women golfers.

Hopefully the themes of inclusivity, interconnectedness, freedom and multiplicity are shining through the fabric threads of PlayablePathwaysTM. I am looking forward to seeing where the power of design takes the golf course architecture profession, the game of golf, and the entire golf industry in the next few years and in the decades to come. We have the tools to create and influence the future of the game, and to be part of the climate solution. I intend to use my toolbox to the best of my ability. - Kari Haug, Golf Course Architect, EIGCA