Design Firm Issues Public Golf Proclamation


The golf course architecture firm of Robert Trent Jones II has released its Public Golf Proclamation of 10 tenets supporting accessible and affordable public golf.

The Public Golf Proclamation comes three years after the company's Green Proclamation, which affirmed RTJ II's commitment to designing golf courses in an environmentally responsible manner, and called on others in the business to dedicate themselves to the environmental tenets in that document.

The Public Golf Proclamation complements efforts by the American Society of Golf Course Architects, National Golf Course Owners Association, United States Golf Association, PGA of America, and other worldwide golf organizations and governing bodies to bring golf to more people in more places.

Chairman Robert Trent Jones, Jr., said, "We will continue to design the best possible courses, from private to resort to municipal layouts, for our many and varied clients. But we believe that golf should also be easily affordable and accessible to everyone who wishes to play it."

Jones wrote in a recent letter to the New York Times, "Golf architects are often called upon to design courses that support upscale real estate developments. But the game's roots reach down into the earth, not up into trophy homes. Golf was first developed 500 years ago as an accessible and affordable sport that brought people together outdoors, rather than separating them. Many great golf courses serve the public and the environment. The future of our sport lies in embracing the Scottish tradition in which all people are equal as they stand over a white ball."

The 10 goals of the Public Golf Proclamation are:

• Work with municipalities and other government entities to create great golf courses for their citizens through insightful, integrated master plans specific to each community.

• Assist communities in creating programs and initiatives that make great public courses accessible and affordable to everyone.

• Advocate for the creation of golf facilities on degraded sites to return unproductive land to productive and sustainable public uses.

• Always protect and enhance the environment for the good of all.

• Design courses that require less earth-moving, water, fertilizer and other resources in an effort to keep investment and operating costs and, therefore, green fees reasonable.

• Create wider strategic routings and sets of shorter "family tees" to encourage children to take up golf and have fun playing it.

• Advocate for innovative practice facilities where young people and newcomers can learn to love golf, and support programs and organizations that introduce new players to the sport.

• Design facilities that encourage speed of play, including inventive layouts such as "learning courses," par-3 routings, six-, nine-, and 12-hole loops, and others.

• Create public courses that are flexible, fun and challenging for golfers of a wide range of abilities.

• Encourage golf course owners to support local businesses and take an active role in their communities.

For more about the architectural firm, visit www.rtj2.com.