Hobart and William Smith Colleges

12 March 2010 Studying Golf Course Architecture

Associate Dean of Hobart College Chip Capraro is sharing his passion for golf by teaching a Readers College, Golf Course Architecture: History and Theory, this semester. The course focuses on golf course history, architectural principles of design, and golf course architects themselves, utilizing a number of readings and two field trips. Capraro calls this method of study a triangulation pedagogy, in which his students read current thinking and analysis, original writings by classic designers, and gain hands-on, experiential learning on the golf course.

Learning through reading is valuable, because you can educate yourself on a number of topics, says Capraro. But it can also be isolating. Its much better to build a community around reading, to help those of us in the Readers College develop an interest, and foster a deeper appreciation, for golf and golf architecture.

Readings include Tom Doaks The Anatomy of a Golf Course: The Art of Golf Architecture, Alister Mackenzies The Spirit of St. Andrews, Golf has never Failed Me by Donald Ross, Pete Dyes Bury Me in a Pot Bunker, David Owens The Making of the Masters and Finger Lakes Golf Guide: History, Design, and Designers by Jarlath Hamrock.

There will be two field trips, one to Mark Twain golf course in Elmira, designed by Donald Ross and another to Green Lake State Park, a Robert Trent Jones course in the Upstate New York region. I chose these courses because they illustrate whats typical for each designer, explains Capraro. Theyre public, accessible, and reflect the designers original intentions.

Capraro is currently working on a book about the Finger Lakes and the history of golf in the region. A lifelong golfer, he continues to play locally and spends every Fathers Day on the golf course with his dad.