The exponential growth of golf courses from the late 1970s to early 2000s was the result of a growing economic impact that golf courses could have. In addition to providing a course for players to play, developers saw that the site could also be used for housing development and increasing property values. Thus, a boom in golf course development ensued. Studies suggest that upwards of 40% of courses built in the 1990s were tied to real estate development, a number up roughly 20% from the 1960s. The scale and budgets for courses were set at unprecedented levels compared to earlier golf courses. The designs of these courses heavily focused on the idea that difficult courses with narrow fairways and guarded greens could enhance a club’s reputation and lead to greater financial gain.
Most golf course architecture fans, like myself, would consider this a dark time for golf courses. A time period of narrow courses lined by homes, increasing use of water hazards, and an overall focus on tough golf was the hallmark of the day and even the decades before. In the midst of this growing ideology in golf course design came an aspiring architect named Pete Dye. Originally influenced by the designs of Robert Trent Jones Sr., Dye was accustomed to popular ideology of building difficult golf courses. However, when Pete qualified for the British Amateur in 1963 he began to see golf in a much different light and extended his trip to Scotland to play even more of the acclaimed courses. Intrigued by what he saw, Dye sought to incorporate similar features into his own courses such as small greens, short par 4s, pot bunkers, railroad ties, deceiving width, and intimidating undulations. Shortly after this experience he would go on to design courses such as Crooked Stick Golf Club (1964) and Harbour Town Golf links (1969). The growing demand for Pete Dye courses would eventually lead him to Texas in 1972 where he would begin to build one of the most important courses the state had ever seen and be a light in the time period dubbed as the dark age in golf course architecture.
On the banks of Lake Livingston, over an hour drive from Houston, laid a piece of property where Pete Dye, his brother Roy Dye, and their colleagues would construct one of the most thrilling courses in Texas. When it opened for play in 1974 the course quickly gained a reputation for being one of the finest test of one’s game. Measuring only 6,872 from the back tees, the par 71 course was a bit too tricked up when it first opened and needed to be tamed to truly become one of the state’s greats. Among those who helped with the construction of the course was Bill Coore who worked as a superintendent for the project and Rod Whitman, who would later help Dye design the new course for Austin Country Club in 1984. The work of these two men after the courses initial opening, as well as others on the crew, would shape the golf course into the form many remember it by and spur the careers of future architects. Soon after the course would go on to host the final stage of the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School in 1978, 1979, and 1981 yielding many notable names their tour cards such as Hal Sutton, Larry Mize, John Cook, Paul Azinger, and Scott Hoch. The course was such a test, that in 1979 not a single player was able to break par. In addition to hosting Q-School, the course would also host two NCAA Division II Championships and achieve its highest ranking of 15th in the state of Texas.
The course has since found troubled times as overall play has decreased and more courses, located closer to surrounding cities, have been built. The increased supply of golf courses created by the growing demand of ‘championship’ test spiraled and stretched the market for golf. Thus, Waterwood met the infamous boom of the 1990s and early 2000s golf courses head on. The course formally closed for play in 2009 even though the track was still ranked in the Top-100 by the Dallas Morning News at number 89. Following the closure, residents of the Waterwood community stepped up to keep the course alive for the sake of somewhere to play as well as property values. Members would pitch in money for minimal golf course operations and even volunteer their own labor such using personal mowers to cut the turf. Perhaps the most daunting task the course faced was the repair to the bulkheads on the famous 14th hole, called The Cliffs, which costed some $20,000. Rumors to save the course have come and gone over the years and as recent as 2013 word was spread that a restoration bid was in the works to restore the old Pete Dye gem. However, nothing final has come to the table and the course still waits for play on the shores of Lake Livingston as it looks across the water at the state’s top ranked course.
The Bigger Picture
In the bigger picture of golf, many courses are finding new ways to stay afloat and preserve the architectural intent of the course. Courses like Waterwood rely heavily on the local community to not only provide funds, but also volunteer their labor. Perhaps the best example of golf’s communal spirit is found at Canal Shores in Evanston, Illinois just north of Chicago. Like most courses, green fees themselves aren’t capable of covering all the costs needed to maintain the facility. To overcome this, Canal Shores has found other ways of funding such as fundraisers, parking fees, and various programs in addition to the labor put in by volunteers. The community based effort by both courses reveals the best aspects of golfers that one can only assume was ever present in the early days of golf. The pride of the community to have its course and doing their best to preserve it for play is what’s special about golf and is needed more and more as more courses seem to close.
Closures such as Waterwood’s also brings attention to projects such as Winter Park Golf Course in Winter Park, FL where a community’s pride in golf led it to a renovation of the course in 2014. The architects, Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns, produced a fun and affordable golf course for the community. It inspires many to get out and play a quick nine or even try the game for the first time. It allows any class of player to get out and play. Hopefully, courses like Waterwood will have the opportunity to take on a similar vision and once again reflect the pride and history the community has in its course and be able to be enjoyed by all.
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