What Can Brown Do for You?

You're going to hear the words brown and green a lot this year, as opinion-makers of every stripe debate golf's future -- particularly the design of next-generation golf courses and some issues central to golf development in the 21st century, namely the cost of maintaining overly long, overly lavish layouts that imperil an increasingly fragile environment.

Geoff Shackelford, a blogger and occasional golf designer, weighed in on this topic in the Winter 2010 issue of Links magazine. In a story called "A Simpler Game," he contends that "the course of the future resembles the classics of the past" -- a point of view that's been effectively popularized by Tom Doak and the rest of the crowd that hangs out at Golf Club Atlas.

In his article, Shackelford makes a case for shorter, Scottish-style courses that look "less green, less meticulous around the edges, and a lot less soft." Such courses are the only viable option in a recession, he says, because it costs too much to sustain "lush, pristinely manicured 7,500-yard layouts."

Take that, Tom Fazio.

And Shackelford isn't the only guy who believes that less can be more.

Jim Hyler, the president of the U.S. Golf Association, made the industry's case for going brown earlier this month.

"If we are not careful," Hyler said at the USGA's annual meeting, "high construction costs, soaring maintenance budgets, and declining membership rosters will threaten the survival of many courses and clubs. In my opinion, many of the standards by which we construct and maintain our courses have become, quite simply, unsustainable."

Take that, Jack Nicklaus.

Hyler also highlighted the key environmental problem that the industry must solve, especially in places like Spain, Cyprus, the Middle East, the southwestern United States, and Southern California.

"When it comes to the issue that is perhaps of greatest concern to golf’s future –- namely, water -- we must re-set the way that we look at golf courses," he said. "I believe that our definition of playability should include concepts of firm, fast, and, yes, even brown, and allow the running game to flourish."

And here's his kicker: "We need to understand how brown can become the new green."