Courtesy: Ian Andrew Golf Design

"If you're building public golf, I think you have to build public golf that works".

So says Canadian course designer, Ian Andrew. And that's one of his more conservative points of view.

Yesterday, Ian talked about what he thinks modern course architects are doing wrong.

"My knock on modern golf is we have a tendency to TELL people what to do off the tee rather than allow them to investigate how to best go about beating the golf course", he declared.

And he used the example of the changes made to Augusta National aimed at making the course "tougher" for the pros.

In effect, Ian said, what's happened is that the pros play defensively down the stretch rather than gunning for birdies. "What made Augusta fun was sometimes the pros went low with their scoring".

That sparked some comment from one reader of eagleparbirdie.com.

Nolan Matthias wrote:

"I disagree with Ian's assessment. What the public wants to see is one or two players dominate a field. That doesn't necessarily mean shooting a 30, it means shooting any score that is lower than what would be expected. If that means shooting a 69 on a course that is typically only yielding 75's, then so be it. The crowd would likely be more impressed with that than somebody shooting a 62 on a course that everyone shoots under par on. I think the "defensive" golf that players are being forced to play is a more accurate test of a player's all around game, not just the shots they choose to play. And if you look at the stats, it is the best players in the world who excel on these tough courses, as they should."

Fair enough.

But the pros don't interest Ian. He told me he has no desire to design a course with a touring professional in mind.

"I was at a conference a while ago where somebody said if we just ignore the pros, golf architecture would be better off. He's right! Yet architects all seem to design around the games of the top pros."

What does Ian think, then, about touring pros who become course designers?

Well, look at the opening statement in today's post again and you'll have an idea.

"There are a couple of touring pros who know about design but I think they're few and far between", he said, "Most of them are more interested in extending their earning years."

And then he had this to say: "For everything that Nicklaus has ever done, how many courses does he have in the top 100? It's surprisingly light. Yet Bill Coore (who designs with Ben Crenshaw) has done 22 courses and 4 or 5 are in the top 100."

That might spark some reaction...

So how does Ian design a course for the amateur? He makes the fairways a little wider off the tee. "It provides options, even for good players".

He puts the challenge on the putting surface and around the greens. "That's where the original Augusta was a great model. People who were lucky enough to play down there (before the changes) found plenty of chipping areas around the greens. My mentality is to give amateurs room off the tee, don't make it overly long and get them to manage their games a little bit. Make the greens complicated but give them a bail-out area, too".

What about shorter hitters like juniors, seniors and ladies?

"You've got to provide everybody with a location to play from where they have the opportunity to hit some greens in regulation and make some pars because, after all, the majority of us play for fun".

Whether you agree or disagree with Ian Andrew, there is no question of his passion for his profession and for the game of golf.

Ian writes a daily blog on golf course design. You can find it here.