Are Dr. Alister MacKenzie’s Principles of Golf Design Still Relevant 100 Years on? Golfers say Not!

 

Are Dr. Alister MacKenzie’s Principles of Golf Design Still Relevant 100 Years on?

Golfers say Not!

1.   Executive Summary

In his seminal treatise on golf -Golf Architecture- written in 1920, Dr Alister MacKenzie laid down his “13 General Principles of Architecture". In 2011 SPL ran a survey asking if these principles were still of value – the overwhelming response was yes. The purpose of this study was to see how relevant these principles are in a post Covid world and 100 years after their original publication. The participants were also asked to share their views on what a 14th principle might be for the 21st century.

Key results:

The table below shows the principles ranked by the percentage of respondents who perceived them as relevant to the 21st Century.

Principle

%

Still Highly Relevant

The course should be so arranged that all levels of play can enjoy the round

94.4

The course should be so interesting that even the scratch player is constantly stimulated to improve his game

85.9

Every hole should be different in character

83.1

There should be infinite variety in the strokes used to play the various holes (in other words, expect to use all clubs in the bag)

78.9

The greens and fairways should be sufficiently undulating

74.6

There should be little walking between the greens and tees.

70.4

May still have some Relevance

The course should have beautiful surroundings.

69

There should a minimum of blindness for the approach shots

62

There should be a large proportion of good two-shot holes and at least four one-shot holes

60.8

No longer Relevant to the 21st century

There should be a complete absence of the annoyance and irritation caused by the necessity of searching for lost balls (excessive rough)

54.9

The course, where possible, should be arranged in two loops of nine holes

53.5

There should be a sufficient number of heroic carries

49.3

The course should be equally good during winter and summer, the texture of the greens and fairways should be perfect and the approaches should have the same consistency as the greens.

43.7

 

Participants were also asked if they had any further principles to add for the 21st century which were sorted into themes. One stood out in stark contrast to the others due to the number of participants who identified this principle as key to golf in the 21st century. They stated that design must extend beyond the golf course itself and look at the whole “Experience”. This strongly suggests that that golf venues and course designers must start to utilise the many advances in neuroscience that have underpinned the design and delivery of the user experience in so many other sports and venues. Golf can be slow to change, it risks losing the recent advantages it has had over other, competing, leisure activities if it fails to advance the quality of its offering to post pandemic public that will demand and need a higher quality of psychological experience in their leisure pursuits.

2.  Discussion

The lead psychologist utilised standard analysis principles and the following cut offs were applied :

> 69.9%% - this principle is perceived as highly relevant to the 21st century

>54.9% and < 70% -these principles are still relevant but either need revisiting or need to be applied judiciously depending on the location

< 55% - These principles need to be reviewed entirely and may no longer be as relevant in the 21st century as they were  100 years ago when written.

Using these cut offs 6 principles remain highly relevant, 3 may need to be revisited but the big change compared to the 2011 study is that 4 principles dropped into a band that raises serious questions as to their relevance and applicability in the 21st Century.

2.1 Principles Identified as Still Relevant

·        The course should be so arranged that all levels of play can enjoy the round

·        The course should be so interesting that even the scratch player is constantly stimulated to improve his game

·        Every hole should be different in character

·        There should be infinite variety in the strokes used to play the various holes (in other words, expect to use all clubs in the bag)

·        The greens and fairways should be sufficiently undulating

·        There should be little walking between the greens and tees*

The fact that a great many of the participants identified that golf design needs to encompass the whole golf experience (see Principle 14) would suggest that the participants also recognise the importance of this concept on the course as well. The vast majority of these principles speak to the psychological experience of the golfer as they travel through the round.

*Safety came up as a key factor in this and the 2011 study. It was pointed out that there are now safety constraints in place for new golf design that require sufficient spacing in golf routing to protect players from errant shots.

2.2 Principles That May Still Have Relevance

·        The course should have beautiful surroundings.

·        There should a minimum of blindness for the approach shots

·        There should be a large proportion of good two-shot holes and at least four one-shot holes

That the beautiful surroundings question did not reach the cut off for still relevant was a surprise. Considering the emphasis on the importance of the experience it was anticipated that this might be highly valued. However it only just fell short and is within the error of measurement bands that suggest that, if the survey were to be run again, it could achieve this cut off.

The other two principles scored as “Nice to haves” but not a necessity. However, there was a difference between course designers and amateur/recreational players regarding blindness of shot. Designers thought this rule was relevant than the players suggesting that visual line of sight is much more important to the average golfer

2.3 Principles Identified as no Longer Relevant to the 21st Century

·        There should be a complete absence of the annoyance and irritation caused by the necessity of searching for lost balls (excessive rough)

·        The course, where possible, should be arranged in two loops of nine holes

·        There should be a sufficient number of heroic carries

·        The course should be equally good during winter and summer, the texture of the greens and fairways should be perfect and the approaches should have the same consistency as the greens

The psychologists were extremely surprised by this set of results. The 2011 Survey had shown that all the principles were still regarded as relevant yet 10 years on and the value to golfers of 4 of the 13 had dropped significantly.

The increased use of more than two loops of nine holes as well as the recognition that a single loop of 9 holes may well be more relevant to a time pressurised society could well explain why this principle is not as valued as it once was.

The psychology team at SPL could not see clear rationale for the lowering of the importance of the principles regarding rough and heroic carries- particularly if there was a clear alternate route laid out for a non heroic strategy for the hole.  It is suggested that these are investigated further as the decade progresses.

It was no surprise that the demand for perfect presentation all year round was the lowest ranked principle. In these days of high ecological awareness and reduced/challenged budgets most golfers understand that the ability to present an Augustaesque vision of golf is not a viable option for most venues.

2.4 Principle 14

As with the 2011 survey the 2021 participants were asked to define any further principles they felt were relevant to the 21st century. In 2011 two key themes emerged:

  • Safety 
  • Drainage

Neither of these themes was prominent in the 2021 iteration of the review which may mean that these elements are now a core component of any design. The key themes to emerge in 2021 were, in order of mentions:

  • User Experience
  • Length
  • Course design should encourage more walking/less cart use
  • Design should ensure higher handicappers/less able golfers get opportunities to score and enjoy the game
  • Facilities need to be of a high standard

The psychologists at SHL wholeheartedly agree with these arguments all of which could be placed under an overarching Principle 14 of ‘Psychological Emotional Experience’.

SPL will be utilising this research in the launch of its sports Neuroscience Division- Neuropsyenz

 

 

 

 

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