Double Trouble

It’s like déjà vu all over again. Golf holes and golf courses are repeating themselves—a cloning experiment, if you will—at sites scattered throughout the country. The results are called replica courses.

Replica golf courses, layouts that combine assorted copies of famous golf holes in a single setting, are becoming a popular marketing tool for golf course developers today. The attractiveness of playing great golf holes from courses such as Augusta National, Muirfield Village, and the TPC at Sawgrass, entices average golfers to experience replica courses. In the tradition of the National Golf Links in Southampton, New York, and Augusta National, courses like Golden Ocala in Ocala, Florida, the Legends at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Georgia, the Donald Ross Memorial Course at Boyne Highlands in Northern Michigan, and Tour 18 in Houston, Texas, are four modern replica courses created to be as influential and thought-provoking as their predecessors.

Replication in golf course architecture is the art of duplicating previously built golf holes, or certain elements of holes. The idea of simulating or duplicating famous golf holes is not a new concept at all. Architects have used this notion as a standard design tool ever since man began designing golf courses on purpose.

Ninety-one years ago, the British Golf Illustrated posed a “best-hole” discussion. The leading golfers of the day (many of whom were accomplished architects) were asked what they considered to be the most testing holes in the United Kingdom. Popular choices were the 11th at St. Andrews, nicknamed the Eden, a par three of 172 yards; and another par three called Redan, the 196-yard 15th hole at Scotland’s North Berwick. Other top holes mentioned included the Road Hole (the 17th) at St. Andrews, and the 17th at Scotland’s Prestwick, a 391-yard par four known as Alps.

The Golf Illustrated discussion elicited many thoughts of building duplicates of the winning holes in new locations. Turning this concept into reality on American soil was a fine amateur player and early architect who had studied in St. Andrews: Charles Blair MacDonald. The debate prompted him to build an American golf course modeling holes after the most famous holes in the British Isles. Every hole would be “representative and classic in itself,” he claimed.

MacDonald’s research resulted in the National Golf Links of America, on New York’s Long Island. No American course built prior to World War I had such a dramatic influence on architects and courses to come as the National. Included in the layout were near duplications of the third hole at Royal St. George’s, the Redan and Eden holes, and a version of the Road Hole, among others.

The National Golf Links was a huge success upon its unveiling. The layout induced an intensified study of architectural philosophies and spurred American interest in the game. By understanding what contributed to the creation of great golf holes and adapting this awareness to the existing terrain, MacDonald created a veritable textbook of golf course design that others came to study and feed off for renewed inspiration.

Architect H.S. Colt, one of history’s most respected designers, cautioned would-be duplicators at the time of the National’s burst into prominence. Colt felt that the designer of a golf course had one clear duty: “To try to create fresh holes of interest and not reproduce with unsuitable materials holes similar to those already in existence. Variety is what makes golf so popular.”

Alister MacKenzie, who authored Cypress Point, Augusta National, and Royal Melbourne, three of the world’s top courses, also was leery of copying holes. “Any attempt of this kind (exact duplication of hole) could result in failure,” said MacKenzie. “It may be possible to reproduce a famous golf picture, but the charm of a golf hole may be dependent upon a background.”

Still, Mackenzie tried. A camouflage expert, MacKenzie well understood the advantages of using mental images of the world’s outstanding holes to replicate their finest features. He also knew how to improve on them as well. Together with the Grand-Slam-holder Bobby Jones, and armed with their shared reverence for the charms of the Old Course at St. Andrews, MacKenzie blessed Augusta National with some adaptations of his own, including his version of the Eden at the fourth hole and of Redan at the original 16th.

Eden and Redan continue to be two of the most replicated holes today. MacKenzie so admired Eden that in 1920 he pronounced it as the only ideal hole in existence. He noted that under certain conditions it was extremely difficult for even the best player to score a two; yet, at the same time, the inferior player, playing reasonably well, should do no worse than four strokes.

At the Eden, two bunkers hug the putting surface, which slopes severely from back to front. A 20-yard gap bridges the bunkers, so that the run-up shot is always an option. In competition, however, the pin is usually set up right behind the deep, right-hand bunker, known as Strath. If a player hits at the flag and falls short, he will face a terribly difficult bunker shot. If he takes the safe route, between the traps, he may find the green, but looming is the specter of a three-putt. At all times, he must contend with the wind. And yet, the hole is but 172 yards long. Due to the multitude of options and challenges Eden provides, its qualities are timeless.

Redan is another hole that has served as a template for architects throughout history. The strategy for the 196-yard hole is to hit one’s tee shot over hazards to a green set on a diagonal to the line of play. One side of the raised putting surface is heavily guarded, forcing the less daring to play away from the danger with a longer shot. The safe side is severely sloped away from the target, usually resulting in a conservative shot rolling off the green. Redan replicas are everywhere, including the seventh holes at a pair of American masterpieces, Shinnecock Hills and Chicago Golf Club.

Many adaptations of these famous holes have worked successfully. Recently, though, architects and developers have been putting together entire courses comprised of replications of famous holes, in some cases, right down to the last acorn of the oak tree behind the 18th green.

Architect Ron Garl, who created one such course, seems wary of such a venture. “No one can actually duplicate a famous hole because the magic must be in developing the same feeling or mystique,” says Garl. “What makes a hole great is not just the physical dirt and grass. Greatness lies in the ambiance of the hole itself.” Michael Gleason, and associated of architect Dan Maples, concurs. “What makes great golf holes goes beyond the actual hole,” says Gleason. “You really lose a lot when you know Hogan or Palmer didn’t walk down a particular replica’s fairway.” Yet Gleason defends such holes and courses in one respect. “Normal people don’t get to play these great holes (and courses). One can’t just go out and play Augusta or Shinnecock. Replica courses can give people a chance to see what it’s like to play these famous holes.”

Garl agrees with Gleason, which is why he created nine replica holes on the 18-hole Golden Ocala course. “At many of the great golf courses of the world, you can’t even get past the front gate, much less play them,” says Garl. “We thought it would be nice if a guy could have a unique golf experience and enjoy playing some of the most famous holes in the world.”

Besides Golden Ocala, another course that duplicates famous holes is the Legends Course at Georgia’s Chateau Elan, which features models of the favorite holes on Sam Snead, Kathy Whitworth, and Gene Sarazen. The developers don’t want their course branded as a “replica” course; architect Denis Griffiths would rather have golfers think, “I’ve seen this hole before—it seems very familiar to me—and I like it.”

A third recently built replica course is the Donald Ross Memorial Course at Boyne Highlands Resort in Michigan. Disturbed by the advent of many modern, severe golf courses and the lack of traditional Ross-like courses in the area, developers Everett Kircher and his son Stephen wanted to bring a course that highlighted Ross’ best concepts to his Boyne Resort. The final product features close but not exact duplications of 18 of Ross’ top holes, which fit together surprisingly well. “We’ve built a living museum,” says the elder Kircher.

The newest entry into the replica course hopper is also the most ambitious: Tour 18. This Houston, Texas, course makes no bones about the fact that its holes are not adaptations, but rather carbon-copy, exact duplicates. Included in the aggregate are replications of Harbour Town’s 18th, complete with lighthouse, and Augusta National’s entire Amen Corner, complete with dogwoods, azaleas, and carpeted bridges.

Tour 18 is the brainchild of three Houston businessmen, Barron Jacobson, Dennis Wilkerson, and Jim Williams, who, as luck would have it, were paired on a Las Vegas course one day with Bob Rauch, a civil engineer. Rauch’s Maryland-based company, Recreational Development Consultants, Ltd., conceived of a way to copy famous holes, via aerial land surveys and computers, which eliminated the need for original drawings or even for setting foot on the original holes. The principals plan on creating additional Tour 18 facilities throughout the country.

“Replication has never really been done to the extent we’re taking it,” says developer Jacobson. As to whether that fact is good for architecture and for golf, the jury is still out. Brochures for Tour 18 quote John Mahaffey as saying the layout is “simply incredible,” and Steve Elkington calling it “a golfer’s dream come true.” Tee times are booked solid.

Nevertheless, are replica courses merely a passing fad? “I see these replica course as just a flash in the pan, although I can see how one could make a dollar off the novelty,” says Rocky Roquemore, longtime design associate of Joe Lee. Others, such as Dan Maples, believe replica holes lack creativity and do an injustice to the sites they mimic. Robert Trent Jones, whose career has crossed those of Ross and MacKenzie, agrees. “I don’t believe in copying or mimicking the design of holes and courses.”

Like them or not, replica courses are with us. Based on Houston’s popularity, the Tour 18 developers are looking to expand quickly. Possible locations include Dallas, San Antonio, Miami, Scottsdale, and Orlando. Ultimately, however, it is public that will determine the fate of such courses. It’s a simple business matter of giving the customer what he wants. For now, it seems that what the customer wants is replica courses, and the thrill of the next best thing to being there.

Originally featured in the July 1993 issue of Golf Illustrated magazine.