From the Past and into the Future

The Cottesloe Golf Club Golf Design – By Graham Marsh

The back nine at Cottesloe is now an excellent test of golf. It has a huge variety of directional change with the par threes, par fours and par fives. There is an interesting change of elevation on the three long par four holes and the drivable par four sixteenth is well positioned within the overall configuration.
The revitalized 19th hole will prove a valuable asset for the club moving forward. Maintenance is now afforded the opportunity to perform works on a particular hole in an efficient and timely manner. Rotating the 19th hole into the layout minimises golfer disruption and still provides an enjoyable playing experience for the members.
Given the limitations of gaining further overall length for the course, it was always the long-term intent to establish Cottesloe Golf Club, not as a championship course, but rather as a first-class Tier 1 golf club in Australia. The new 19th hole along with the upgraded short game facility is a very positive step in the right direction in establishing that goal.
To be fair to all concerned, since the first works commenced in 1998 it has been a somewhat long and tedious journey. Multiple club managers, committees, construction companies and golf superintendents have all contributed to where we have landed today.
Design, regardless of which industry it represents, is a process of evolution and Cottesloe Golf Club offers no better case study. What was to have taken 10 years, stretched to 26 years. To assist in putting this into perspective it is worth reflecting on the developments that have taken place within the very framework of the game during almost three decades.
In today’s world we are all driven by technological advancements. Our minds are constantly being alerted and bombarded with news of superior products and more efficient ways of achieving results. The golf industry like all others has not been immune. Golf manufactures have prayed upon our egos and showered us with a plethora of products which the majority of us have eagerly pounced upon in the dream and hope of greater distance, accuracy and of course, presumably lower scores.
The changes in equipment are only one of many other improvements and developments within the golf industry since 1998. Agronomists are continually developing grasses that are better capable of handling heat, high humidity, and disease. Others have been developed for better colour retention during cooler seasons along with some that now have a superior tolerance to shade. In the last decade new products have been introduced to help fight the dreaded Poa Annua, the nightmare of most golf superintendents.
All major golf courses continue to wrestle with rising costs whether it be golf course maintenance or within the clubhouse. These ongoing costs are critical and must be managed to ensure a vibrant membership base. History is already showing us that as labour costs continue to rise, quality staff are harder to hire and retain, which has led to automation across the entire spectrum of the industry. Automated electric mowers, both large and small, are already cutting grass on golf courses and drones are being used to assist with identifying areas of low traffic patterns that may not have to be irrigated.
Mobile devices such as phones, watches, range finders and GPS on motorised carts provide us with hole layouts, distance to fairway bunkers, front and back of green and even the exact yardage to the hole location. Green plans show slopes and gradients, if one is prepared to take the time to decipher them. Not even the highest paid caddies can provide this glut of information.
Fortuitously, the delays in the completion of the remodelling works have given Cottesloe Golf Club a tremendous opportunity to take full advantage of a number of these modern innovations.
The greens have all been converted to the superior bent grass variety, 777, under the guidance of renowned American agronomist Dr Richard Hurley, affectionately known as the Bent Grass Doctor.
The bunkering style has been revisited, substantially reducing the areas of sand to lower maintenance costs and be much more sustainable long term.
The relocation of all fairway bunkers has addressed the improvements in golf equipment and their new locations now challenge the better players and allows the average member to fully enjoy their golfing experience.
Dr Alister Mackenzie is my self-professed mentor. I have followed his works and writings from the time I became a junior golfer, and continually revisit with his profound golf philosophy.
The Doctor made many profound statements in his day, not all of which may be considered relevant in the modern era, however he remains a doyen of the industry and is followed and revered by many.
It became clear to me very early on in my career as a golf course architect that I had to have my own defined philosophy of what a golf course should be and I also needed a resolute sense of conviction and determination to be capable of engaging that with the landscape.
Golf architecture is no place for short term thinkers. Long term vision is paramount, as golf courses are designed and built to transcend time.
I confess I am on record in the club’s history book declaring that this was the best site in Western Australia, reduced to a certain level of mediocrity by the excess planting of trees. The site was a plethora of spectacular dunal shapes with golf holes emerging in every direction as far as the eyes could see.
As a links course aficionado, I felt it was sacrilege that a great links site be overgrown with trees not even native to the site.
Upon reflection and in deference to those bold individuals who courageously made the decision to relocate from the nine-hole Seaview Golf Club they had a grandeur vision but their hands were tied by limited funds, a depression, lack of construction machinery and probably only a limited knowledge of golf course architecture to take full advantage of the site.
Since my early years as a member, the balance of difficulty between nines has been ever present in my mind. This problem existed as a result of the many decisions made for better or worse many moons ago. Regrettably after exhaustive reviews this aspect of the layout is extremely difficult to be reversed unless holes are relocated outside of existing corridors. This entails major surgery to the existing landscape which is clearly not an option in the foreseeable future.
In lieu of this unlikely occurrence I have addressed this imbalance by subtle changes to holes one through nine. In summary, most of these changes are in the green contours. The pin positions are much more defined and separated by ridge lines that elicit more thought and precision once one arrives at the green complex. These same ridge lines will reject shots away from designated pin positions if the approach shot is not executed with accuracy and distance control. This is a defensive mechanism to overcome the difference in length between the nines. It is also a design tool that has been used by numerous architects responsible for remodelling older established courses that have been undermined by the custodians of the game who have shown their lack of intestinal fortitude by not controlling the distance the golf ball travels.
I had other opportunities such as heavily bunkering both sides of the fairways and isolating the putting surfaces with a ring of deep bunkers. All brutally penal for the average player. Excavating oneself from fairway traps and being forced to carry shots over green side bunkers to firm greens is torturous and debilitating for the high handicapper but standard fare for more skilful players with a huge distance advantage. It has been my observation over the years the higher handicappers can quite often outperform the longer hitters once they meet on or around the putting green. Mackenzie said “The ideal hole is surely one that affords the greatest pleasure to the greatest number, gives the fullest advantage for accurate play, stimulates players to improve their game and never become monotonous.”
I couldn’t agree more, and it is for this reason that I made the decision to concentrate on making the greens more challenging and not give further advantage to the longer hitters.
It was a wise statement by the master that has stood the test of time.
Throughout the years working with the natural contours, have been predominantly in my mind even when holes have required considerable earthworks to stay within the overall brief. Now I believe we have a variety of golf holes that are defined by their own distinct character, strategic in design and visually attractive but above all imminently playable by the membership. Sixty years ago, the old course was a challenging walk and whilst a number of holes still get the blood pumping, the overall walking elevation change throughout the course has been reduced substantially.
As mentioned, I have lamented the indiscriminate planting of trees on this wonderful site but as time has moved on, I have become completely enamoured with the spectacular parkland environment in which the golf course resides.
Today it is an exhilarating walk in the park, peaceful with enough solitude to be in touch with nature yet open enough in places to meet friends and chat.
Cottesloe Golf Club is a club that represents all that is good in the game. Abundant history and a true representation of the game itself. Respect and gratitude for those who have gone before us is ever present amongst our older members. Willingly, they pass this knowledge along to the different generations to assist them in understanding the value of the time and energy those before have committed to the ethos, growth and development of the club.
We should all be forever grateful to those who have steered this ship throughout its illustrious one hundred and sixteen years. Certainly, turbulent times have tested many of the office bearers but their resilience has prevailed, affording us the opportunity to bathe in the founder’s vision.
Great golf clubs are much more than a great golf course. A presence exists when you enter the gates of a great golf club. Hard to determine at first, but as a golfer you feel it in your veins. Long before you strike your first shot on the practice range or the first tee, every step you take and every image your eyes absorb begins to resonate that you are in a special place.
Your subconscious accumulates the special touches such as the landscaping, the discrete signage and the welcoming attitude of the staff. There is a complete feeling of total organisation, understanding and you can sometimes be overwhelmed. As your journey continues you realise the importance of the details and just how significant they are to the entire golf experience.
At any great golf club, above all you feel the traditions of the game at every turn. No commercialism just a warm feeling upon entering the clubhouse with facilities that exude warmth and at first glimpse a course superbly groomed from tee to green. You have arrived to play golf and you feel completely at home. Some even describe it as a home away from home.
Now that the golf course has received all but the final details of the remodelling work, the landscaping will determine the final presentation. The famous Doctor succinctly outlines the importance of landscaping.
“The chief object of every architecture greenskeeper worth his salt, is to imitate the beauties of nature so closely as to make it indistinguishable from nature itself.”
To some it might appear a lofty goal. It is not. A golf course is a living thing. Apart from a few of the majestic estates in Europe and the old county, there are few gardens that compare with the plot of land a golf course occupies. Nature will always regenerate and with masterful thought and care it will develop to a point of seamlessly integrating into the surrounds, blending with the golf holes, and making them indistinguishable from nature itself.
I am strongly of the opinion, once the landscaping master plan is finally decided and fully implemented it should be treated with the same deference to change as the design of the golf course.
Cottesloe Golf Club has survived the first one hundred and sixteen years with the traditions of the game as our beacon, I am confident that same beacon will guide us safely through the next one hundred and sixteen years.

It is now time to let the Cottesloe Lion roar.
Graham Marsh.
March 2024

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