talking points The World According to Doak

In a recent interview with Golf magazine (posted at golf.com), Tom Doak addresses “minimalism,” awkward encounters with architects he’s criticized, his non-membership in the American Society of Golf Course Architects, course designers he can’t relate to, his forthcoming golf courses in China, and lots of other topics.

Here’s some of what he had to say.

On collaboration in golf design: One of the things I learned from Pete Dye is to take good ideas from anybody who suggests them. Don’t feel like you have to take the credit. All the guys who’ve worked with me have always worked that way. Maybe half of the coolest greens I’ve done, a guy on the bulldozer came up with the idea. I’m the one who said, “Put the green there, and maybe put a bunker here,” but they did a lot of the details, which I tweaked.


On the pain and pleasure of co-designing a course (Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, New York) with Jack Nicklaus: It was good but awkward. To his credit, he understood our client wasn’t paying for me to agree with Jack all the time. He wasn’t offended when I disagreed. We agreed that we both had to be happy with every hole. The downside of that, and it would be true of any architect I worked with, is that you finish the course and you’re not in love with it the way you’d be if you’d made all the decisions yourself. The course has been pretty well regarded, so I think it was successful. But I think Jack and I both feel like we’ve done courses on our own that we like better.

On the Tom Doak “style”: The one thing that Jack Nicklaus used to say when we did Sebonack that kind of offended me is that he was trying to learn this look of building courses that we were good at. I don’t think it’s a look at all. It’s a philosophy of how you want courses to play. They need to be wide enough for people to find their ball and keep going, otherwise it’s no fun. If you make it wide open, you have to make the challenges around the greens to keep good players interested. Why some people think that philosophy means shaggy-edged bunkers, I don’t know.

On the Chinese government’s recent crackdown on golf development: I can’t say that I understand China completely. I don’t think anybody from the West ever will. But they’re masters at making big rules and then making exceptions. Their government thinks golf sends the wrong message. Their president doesn't play, but a lot of state or regional party officials do play golf, and they sort of look the other way about golf projects because they like golf. Hainan Island is an exception. It’s the only place in China where the national government has said it’s okay to develop courses. Because it’s an island, it doesn’t make sense to develop it as an industrial place. There are 100 golf courses in planning in Hainan Island, which is crazy.

On the “most novel idea” that he’s come across: I’m not sure there are many novel ideas; to me, originality is a matter of one hole at a time. The best idea I’ve seen in setting up a course is not putting out tee markers and just letting everyone play from where they want. It gets the focus off your score and onto having fun.