Green Golf Construction
Some of us didn’t come of industry age during the new golf course hustle of the late 1990s and the early 2000s. We were doing other life stuff or too young to be working for a living.
Life juncture or age means this group missed reoccurring buzz generated by the biggest of all golf digs: the construction of a new golf course. For anybody who entered the industry after 2006, their golf construction knowledge stems from renovations, restorations, transformations, alterations and enhancements.
One hole here. Perhaps a multimillion-dollar renovation there.
Important stuff? Sure.
Filled with enormous fascination like the building of a new golf course? Not quite.
Golf Course Industry debuted the Tartan Talks podcast series on June 25, 2016, by unveiling a conversation with Andy Staples recorded in a curious location. We’ll save the behind-the-scenes stuff about the Tartan Talksseries once we land our seven-figure Spotify deal.
Conversations focus on architects’ careers, lives, philosophies and industry relationships. Instead of poetic discourse involving routings and strategy, we explore the practical side of golf course architecture such as infrastructure solutions and return on investments related to course improvements. The science and finances of golf course architecture affect the industry at-large more than the artistry of the profession, especially considering fewer than 100 new regulation golf courses have opened in the U.S. since Tartan Talks debuted.
The same half-dozen architects receive the great fortune of landing the most desirable new course assignments. These architects receive a disproportionate share of mainstream golf media coverage; we use the Tartan Talks platform to share the terrific stories of architects whose work improves facilities where Americans play the bulk of their golf. In short, numerous new projects executed since 2016 have little impact on our core audience of golf course superintendents and their supporters.
But …
A slight uptick in new course development in response to the golf surge and population migrations following the COVID-19 pandemic sparked an internal question: Would now be a good time to produce a Tartan Talks episode about the methodology and tactics behind a new golf course? Knowing many of our listeners weren’t involved with the golf explosion of the late 1990s and early 2000s, we thought an X’s and O’s podcast focused on new courses could help the industry.
This led to the next question: Which architect would be our Nick Saban? Whether somebody loves or loathes him, few people describe the intricacies of their profession better than the former Alabama, Miami Dolphins, LSU, Michigan State and Toledo football coach.
Jason Straka is more social than surly and didn’t bounce jobs like Saban in his middle-age years. Straka is a successful architect in his career prime. His formative industry years coincided with the boom era. He then endured the Great Recession by executing a myriad of diverse projects. Straka and his partner, Dana Fry, are now guiding new course efforts on three continents, including modern golf infrastructure marvel Miakka Golf Club in Myakka City, Florida.
“I have been in the business with Dana for a long time now — three decades,” Straka says. “I was part of the heyday of the 1990s and 2000s when a lot of new golf courses were built, and we have a lot of experience from that.”
Straka’s ability to make the technical relatable and genuine wit make him a great podcast guest. Despite regular travels to Florida, Ireland and Hong Kong to guide new projects, he accepted our offer to join the Tartan Talks podcast for the third time.
Anybody seeking to learn more about new golf course design and development will learn from Straka’s insights and experiences. His most recent Tartan Talks appearance enlightens non-architects who think designing a new golf course must be as glamourous as hosting a golf podcast. “Just because you can physically build something,” Straka says, “doesn’t mean legally you can build something.”
The episode can be found on the Superintendent Radio Network page of all popular podcast distribution platforms.
Guy Cipriano is Golf Course Industry’s publisher + editor-in-chief.