Jonathan Gaunt Q&A Interview
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Read the exclusive interview below with international golf course architect Jonathan Gaunt.
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When did you first know you wanted to become a golf course architect?
I knew I wanted to be a golf course architect when I was about 14 years old.
I’ve played golf since the age of 7. At 17 years old, I was playing for the Yorkshire Schoolboys team, off 3 handicap. My father is also a good and keen golfer. He was a member of Crosland Heath GC, and won the Meltham Open in 1957. Then we moved to Leeds and he joined Rawdon Golf Club and then Woodhall Hills Golf Club, which is where I played most of my golf.
Both my father’s parents were also keen golfers, (they were members at Oakdale GC in Harrogate). My grandmother wanted me to be a pro-golfer. But I never felt I was good enough for that.
But I did know I wanted to design golf courses. It’s just something I’ve always felt I could do well. My earliest inklings of interest in it came from a schoolboy quest to find the best place to practice my swing. I remember dragging dad’s lawnmower to the local municipal park in Horsforth and cheekily mowing the greens on the pitch & putt course to a more acceptable golf-course-like length!!
So my parents encouraged me through my Landscape Architecture studies, (from 1982-87) a BA degree course at Leeds Polytechnic, (now Leeds Metropolitan University), followed by a 2 year Diploma.
I wrote to my heroes of golf course design, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and I wrote to senior members of the industry, Fred Hawtree and Howard Swan, for example. All were helpful and supportive except Fred Hawtree. He advised me that “if all students such as yourself were to become golf course architects, there would be no work left for us”!! It was very revealing of the industry I was heading into, but it just motivated me all the more to succeed.
What is your design philosophy?
I’m always wary of the idea of Design Philosophy, as it suggests a fixed idea, and I think you have to be more flexible than that. But if I have one, then my design philosophy is based on an implicit understanding of the land. It is never to impose an abstract design idea or formula to the land in question, and instead, always to work with the features that actually exist on site. Allowing the site features to dictate.
Rarely now, in Britain particularly, do golf course architects have ‘ideal’ sites on which to build new courses, as the earlier 20th century architects did. It would be one thing to imagine a perfect course and try to build it, no matter what site was offered. But there are major pitfalls in that approach, not least of which is usually budget. And in any case, this is to be blind to the unique possibilities of the actual site, which nearly always has something special to offer.
So, I make a highly detailed study of the existing site features and characteristics, and work through the master-planning of the course design using landscape architectural principles, carefully working the routing plan through the property whilst maintaining a respect for what already exists.
This appreciation of the so called “genius loci” is what helps the golf course to be integrated into the landscape much more sympathetically. All the while, I am of course also applying my 37 years of golfing experience to imagine the best playing experience for every level of golfer.
What is the best part of your job?
There are so many great things about it when your job is to do something that you love. One of the best is being able to explore different parts of the world and different cultures, while being paid to do it! Also, the idea that I’m creating something that will mature and improve as it ages, and still be there long after I’m gone, leaving my mark, is a great appeal of my job. I believe I’m creating beautiful spaces in the landscape, within which you can enjoy a great sport. The icing on the cake is when someone says something complimentary about one of my courses, unprompted.
… and the worst part?
The worst part is the politicking and the rivalries that occasionally rear their ugly head within the industry; also being stuck at airports waiting for planes that are never on time; and the frustration when a golf course owner decides to make retro-changes to a course design without consulting me.
How many employees to you have?
At Gaunt Golf Design there are three full time staff. Me as golf course architect and company director; Graham Parker my CAD manager and technician, who transfers my hand-drawn designs to digital format and merges the topographical survey information; and Jackie Morson, my PA and practice manager, who organises my diary, invoicing and keeps track of the finances. We work really well as a team, as I have worked with Graham for 8 years, and with Jackie for 6 years. As well as our fixed roles we are all prepared to be flexible and help each other out – I don’t mind making the tea, on occasions…
Who is your favourite golf course architect?
It’s hard to choose one. My favourite golf course architect is probably Alister MacKenzie. However I have previously answered this question by saying that Philip MacKenzie Ross, about whom I once wrote an article, is my favourite. I also have a great deal of respect for Harry Colt, Willie Park Jnr and Tom Simpson. These are all architects of the “Golden Age of Golf Course Architecture” – between 1900 and 1930, or so. All had an enormous impact upon golf course design worldwide. The most striking aspect of their work was their greens shaping and bunkering style, often quite bold, but crucially, in harmony with the land. Of course the quality of the land they were given to design golf courses on, and these were often very dramatic sites, immediately sets their golf courses on another level.
On a more contemporary note, I like the work of Tom Fazio and Tom Doak, both American, and I think the British architect, Donald Steel, has done some great work, especially at Primland in Virginia, USA. I am very privileged to be working alongside him on a project today.
What are the worst features you see on modern golf courses?
The worst design features I see on golf courses are usually the bunkers and greens surrounds.
I have visited hundreds of golf courses throughout the world and everywhere I go, instead of bunkers, I see clumsy, unprepossessing scrapes filled with sand.
The bunkers on a golf course make it stand out from its competitors. If they are well-shaped, it doesn’t matter so much if the green putting surfaces are flat and featureless – smooth and free-flowing contours around bunkers and green surrounds usually look less artificial and are easier to play off and maintain. Obtrusive featuring or sharp-angled slopes rarely, if ever, look right on a golf course.
I also hate to see straight lines on a golf course – for instance, the insensitive mowing regimes you see on courses that have fairways mown like motorways across the contours of the site.
What are your favourite golf courses?
One of my favourite golf courses is Turnberry. I love its links setting, and it is a reconstruction by Philip MacKenzie Ross, who transformed it from a 2nd World War landing strip into the course it is today. I also like Morfontaine, a heathland course in France, just North of Paris, which I had the good luck to play in 1998. It is a classic Tom Simpson design. I think it has more recently been remodelled by Kyle Philips, but I have not had the chance to play it since then.
There are many others I enjoy playing too. One in particular, which is a bit of a hidden gem, is Belleisle in Ayr, which is a municipal course originally designed by James Braid. It’s a really enjoyable course to play, with a really nice design and well-shaped greens in an idyllic parkland setting.
What advice would you give to students wanting to become golf course architects?
As it has worked for me, I suppose I would advise them to try to do more or less as I did, which was to learn the job from the ground up, literally.
Once I’d done my landscape architecture training, which taught me a great deal about our relationship with the landscape, and importantly, how to properly draw good clear plans of my designs, I spent a number of years working for a golf course contractor, Brian Pierson, first as a labourer, then as a foreman and contracts manager. I was lucky enough to work on the Jubilee course at St Andrews, and on St George’s Hill, which were both Donald Steel redesigns.
Don’t imagine you can go straight in and work for an architect and start designing golf courses. You need to work for a contractor and be on site with the shapers and the architect, understanding the capabilities of the machines that build the courses, and the limitations and problems presented by the site, before you can know what makes a good design work on the ground.
Alongside this, I’d advise them to do the EIGCA training course, which takes several years, which is now well established. I and am now a mentor for students on this course.
Fundamentally, I’d say, visit lots and lots of golf courses – play and study them. This might seem obvious but, I could not do the job I do without a player’s understanding the game, and more to the point, without playing it to a good standard.
After three of four years of building golf courses and studying, you’ll be in a better position to apply to architects. You also need a certain amount of logic and an eye for figures to be able to calculate earth movement and draw up the bills of quantities.
As an established architect I can assure students that there is an lack of well-qualified new blood (with a wide variety of construction experience) in the industry, so getting this kind of really good foundation level experience should have the old-guard climbing over themselves to offer you some work.
How has modern technology influenced the design process?
Modern technology has of course had a huge impact on the design process in the past 20 years or so.
In the early 1990s, we’d just produce black and white design drawings on plastic film that would then be printed up and posted to the client.
Although I still do all my own designs by hand, (because there isn’t a machine that can yet truly do that better than I can do them by hand), once they are digitised, and input into the computer, we produce all designs, 3D images and movies for all our projects, on the computer. We produce full-colour drawings and issue them digitally to the client direct, or upload them to an ftp site, where the client and contractor can download them at will.
Our fly-throughs are photo-realistic and are an amazing tool in convincing a committee to approve a design or redesign, as they can clearly visualise the finished result. A movie or photomontage can be understood immediately, whereas a 2D engineering drawing will make sense only to the initiated, who are in the minority.
In construction, the machinery hasn’t changed much, except that on the courses we are now building, large-scale resort and hotel-linked courses, we mostly use small versatile dozers driven by specialist shapers, rather than 360degree excavators (which we now tend to use only for really intricate bunker shaping).
But the final shaping and preparation of the surfaces for seeding or turfing is now more mechanised. Preparing greens for seeding with a mechanical bunker rake has transformed the quality of finish achievable. One interesting technological advance is the possibility of providing the dozer driver in his cab (Trimble equipment) with a CD rom with all digital design information taken directly from the architect’s drawings. This means that we don’t even need to print out drawings.
However this does not (thankfully) yet dispense with the need for the architect’s site inspection! I always reserve the right to make subtle changes on site to make the features work visually and in playing terms. And I mean subtle changes – not great sweeping transformations - as I have seen other architects do.
Your thoughts on technological advances in the sport...
This doesn’t necessarily add to a general enjoyment of the sport. Golf pro’s hitting drives in excess of 300 yards on average make a mockery of most golf courses. To counter this, new courses are being built in excess of 8000 yards in length, but only the minority of golfers could possibly enjoy playing courses of this length.
Personally, I feel that a course of 6500 to 7200 yards is perfectly acceptable, with numerous teeing positions on every hole, so that from the front markers, the course plays about 5300 -5500 yards.
Although a special awe is reserved for the long (and straight) drive, the game of golf is not only about length. In reality, there are too few golfers taking up the game, and too many giving it up because they find it too difficult. It is the golf pro’s who need to be challenged to play a more thoughtful game. Then further advances in club and ball design would also have to address concerns other than just distance.
I think it is because the game is so difficult and becoming more so that there is now a drop in uptake of new golfers in USA, in spite of the Tiger Woods influence.
I actually think that the development of short, junior or academy courses, with mounding shaped carefully to bounce the ball back onto the fairway and green would work really well. Especially if on every green the hole cups have a diameter of 200 or 250mm. This really would encourage new golfers to take up the game.
Where do you envisage new development hotspots?
These are likely to be in countries close by the already developed destinations, but which have not yet been able to get started due to planning restrictions, land acquisition problems, lack of funding or just having had no defined policy towards golf development.
So it is likely to be North Africa because of its proximity to Spain and Portugal, (though in Algeria, due to civil unrest, it is unlikely); Central and Eastern Europe, because of its accessibility, but has not yet fulfilled its potential; South and Central America, because this region has been overlooked due to having previously been considered fairly inaccessible, but it is growing in popularity due to its amazing site locations for resorts and high-end projects. The Middle Eastern countries such as Oman, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are always a possibility due to the unimaginable amount of investment being poured into this region; and China and Vietnam will begin to develop more quickly as political issues resolve themselves.
Interestingly enough, though, I am busier in the UK than I have been for ten years now, with 6 or 7 projects in various stages of development or planning. I still think there is a lot of work to do in Britain to bring our courses up to international standards.
How long did the Willow Valley project take to build and are you happy with it?
Willow Valley was one of the first projects I was appointed to, and it came about through an old friend of mine at Woodhall Hills who knew the owner.
It was great to return, through work, to the area where I grew up. I was born in Huddersfield and knew the area well, as my maternal grandparents lived in Lepton and other relatives lived in Dalton and Paddock. We used to drive past the Willow Valley site on the way to Huddersfield before the M606 opened, little knowing as a youngster that I’d be responsible for turning the dairy farm into a golf course.
The project started in 1992 and continued through to 2002. When I started working on the design the 9-hole course had already been built by the owner and his course manager. I was given the task of creating a large-scale ‘championship’ course in the valley below Oakridge Farm. The farmland was predominantly dairy and sheep pasture with some arable crops.
The owner gave me a pretty open brief, but stipulated that we should aim for a course in excess of 7000 yards that could be suitable for a tournament event – either a high level amateur or regional professional event.
We started construction with just a track/loading-shovel – a bit like a dozer but less versatile - with some big tractors and trailers. The machine operator had built a golf course before but was not as experienced as I would have liked. I prepared all detailed designs without any topographical survey. I surveyed every green, tee and bunker site myself, and I undertook a site visit every week for a year or so and then reduced to once a fortnight once the shaping had been approved. The course manager was really committed and while I was not there he was able to keep construction moving at a reasonable pace.
Along with his team he oversaw the earthworks and topsoil spreading, he supervised the drainage and irrigation contractors, undertook the cultivation, finishing and seeding works. He then took responsibility for the maintenance and growing-in of the course. In fact, the owner took a particular interest in the maintenance and really enjoyed being the man responsible for mowing the fairways. It was a great team effort.
The finished result speaks for itself – it is maintained to a high standard and the majority of people who play the course really like it. There are a few who don’t like it, but they may well be influenced by losing their balls in the dozen or so lakes around the course.
There are aspects of the course I like less than others, however, I do enjoy playing it. There is challenge in it for every level of golfer. There are good contrasts between the blustery, exposed areas and the more sheltered areas that are peaceful and secluded.
I think I would change things if I was to be given the job to build it again. However, given the budget and the difficult site conditions I’m proud of the finished result as a relative newcomer to the industry at that time in my career.
I was called back by the owner to prepare a planning application for a new 18-holes extension in 2001/2. I designed a course that filled the gap between the 9-hole academy course and the ‘championship South’ course. We achieved planning consent for him, but sadly, we were not asked to be involved in the construction of the course – sadly, I cannot say I am happy with the end result for this course extension.
Which project are you most proud of?
Has to be Castleknock in Dublin, Ireland. This was the first large-scale championship standard course I had been given the opportunity to design. The client put forward a good budget of more than £3m and asked me to produce what I wanted, but for it to be a “fair and proper course” that would appeal to all golfers.
I had a smallish site of less than 50 hectares to work with, on a pretty flat plateau overlooking the River Liffey. It was part parkland (“demesne”) setting and around a 19th century country house and part arable farmland. We were able to do a reasonable amount of earthmoving to create some inter-fairway mounding, much of which was sown down with seed head fescue rough. The course opened for play in mid 2005, and has already been rated highly by the Peugeot Golf Guide. The greens are slick and undulating, the course is fun to play and is maintained to a really high standard by one of the best course superintendents in the British Isles.
We get some great comments about the course – they call it the “K-Club” of Northeast Dublin.
From the courses around Huddersfield are there any holes that you rate highly?
The par 4 6th and the par-3 11th at Huddersfield (Fixby) GC, the par-4 16th and par-3 17th at Meltham GC, the par-3 17th at Crosland Heath over the quarry, the par-3 8th at Outlane, the par-5 3rd and the par-3 6th at Willow Valley (South Course), the par-3 6th at Queensbury GC.
Is it right that golfers may look at the game in a different way if they were to understand more about golf course architecture?
In some respects, yes, but it is not necessary for them to go and read history books. I think it is more important for the golfers to have a basic understanding of the ideas of the architect of the course and an appreciation of his work. The best way to learn is to play the courses which are regarded by most as being of a very high level of design.
These courses are all accessible, some, admittedly are more difficult to play on than others, but most are available to the average golfer.
I personally feel that it is the responsibility of the golf course architect to allow an understanding of good design to become apparent to the golfer in the playing of the course. By this I meant that certain design features will automatically affect the way you approach the playing of a particular hole. By careful placement of hazards and features, it is possible to have a direct influence upon club selection, shot placement and possibly, more importantly, upon the golfers’ confidence and doubt.
This makes it an intriguing challenge for the architect – to have a bit of fun and make the golf course that much more memorable for the golfer. A course that provides a mental challenge will always provide the golfer with vivid memories. The dull course that does not provoke thought is forgettable.
What standard of golfer are you? .... do you play much? .... and are you attached to a particular club?
I spend most of my life on golf courses or sites that are soon to be golf courses, so on a weekend, I look forward to getting away from this, and so I guess I am now a bit of a ‘fair-weather golfer’. I probably play golf about once a month on average, and mostly these games are invitations from clients or corporate days – which are great fun.
The last golf club membership I had was at Bakewell GC in the middle of the Peak District, where I live. Because I found I only played there twice a year, though, and felt I couldn’t really justify £150 per round, so I gave it up some time ago. To be honest, I never really enjoyed playing the weekly medal every Saturday morning, playing the same course over and over again. I now more usually play a different course every time I play. I played last week, but prior to that the last time I played was with my father at Headingly GC in Leeds – a lovely Alister MacKenzie original design. Needless to say, my father beat me 9 and 8 – and he’s 74 years old!
However, having said all that, and as I’ve mentioned, I really do think it is important to my work to be able to play the game to a pretty high level, so I have decided to work on my game a bit more. There’s a lovely course only 30 minutes from home in Buxton, called Cavendish, another Alister MacKenzie original design, which I really enjoy playing and I recently joined there, as I am quite keen to have a proper handicap again. It is only a short course, but it is quite tricky, on sloping moorland, and overlooking beautiful countryside. I’m more than delighted to be a member of an Alister MacKenzie course.
What type of golf course do you prefer to play yourself, e.g.: heathland, links etc?
The kind of course I enjoy playing are links, heathland, moorland and parkland – it doesn’t matter too much where they are, but if the design is clever I enjoy it all the more. I always enjoy playing courses I score well on! And probably the last time I played under my handicap was at Swinley Forest in Berkshire a few years ago. It is only a short course, but a Harry Colt classic and surrounded by heather and pine trees.
Equally I played well at Kingsbarns, a stunning new links course designed by Kyle Philips just a few miles down the coast from St Andrews. I really enjoyed playing there. I played Muirfield last summer and played awful, but still loved it. The history and location can’t help but have an influence on the way you feel about it.
What are your main hobbies away from golf?
When I am home on a weekend I always try to fit in a bike ride. Mountain biking is a bit of a passion and we have some great bridleways and trails on our doorstep in the Derbyshire Peak District National Park. I’m doing the coast to coast (C2C) cycle route with some golf chums in August with some business associates. I’d also be quite keen one day to try designing some mountain bike trails.
A couple of years ago, I also attempted to kayak the Caledonian Canal, which was great fun, but it was probably the toughest thing I’ve ever done. We didn’t quite make it to the end of Loch Ness from Fort William, due to really horrible weather, (in June!) which was very disappointing, but I do aim to return to complete it soon.
I also love walking in the Peak District and last summer we walked the first section of the Pennine way, as it begins not far from where we live, at Edale. We took two days, and got to Marsden Moor. Hopefully we will do a few more stages this summer too.
Name your ideal golfing 4-Ball, past or present.
My ideal golfing fourball would be: Gary Player, because when I was about 16 years old, living in Leeds, I met him and he took the trouble to talk to me. He is a very inspiring person, and he advised me to stay focused on becoming a golf course architect – which I did; Donald Steel, because I’ve known him for years, and at the moment I’m working with him, but I have never played golf with him. (We are remodelling the Carlson Farm Course at Greensboro GC in North Carolina, USA); and my Dad, because he is of course mainly responsible for my love of the game, and he is still a great competitor. I think we would have some very interesting discussions, together with some good golf. The venue I’d choose would probably be Turnberry, or possibly Crystal Downs in Michigan, USA.
Best regards
JONATHAN C GAUNT
Director
Gaunt Golf Design
You can find out information about the rest of his team and the services they offer for golf clubs and potential clients. There are also links to several other articles that Jonathan has written plus reviews and comments from delighted clients to established golfing magazines.
