Finding walkable routing for Black Forest was a challenge, because our topo map for the project started 1,000 yards from the clubhouse for the original 18 holes, and our client didn’t want to build a separate pro shop! After much deliberation, we decided to start the first tee 1/4 mile from the shop, and finish in the valley below, taking a long cart or shuttle ride back in, so that players could walk the course from 1-18 if they wanted.
At a time when most architects were building long waste bunkers in the style of Pete Dye, I decided to go retro, making a trip out to the west coast to study the bunkers of George Thomas and Alister MacKenzie so we could imitate them here and bring some brightness to the forested property. Now that everyone seems to be building similar bunkers, it may be time to change direction again!
