Norman Already Plotting To Undo Dawson's Turnberry Design Work!

Seems the new owners of Turnberry may realize that their course needs fixing post-Peter Dawson's R&A branded redo in advance of the 2009 Open Championship.

John Huggan writes for Golfobserver.com:

Still, for Norman as for everyone else who has endured a sporting loss, life goes on. Only a couple of hours after completing his opening 75 at Troon, he was at Turnberry, scene of his first Open victory back in 1986. Accompanied by David Spencer, the chief executive of Leisurecorp, Norman toured the back-nine on the Ailsa course with a view to recommending changes that will be implemented immediately after the Open Championship returns to the famous links for a fourth time next year.

And...

While he was too diplomatic to say as much, one got the feeling that Norman was less than impressed with the work already done on the Ailsa’s closing three holes. Under the direction of the R&A’s chief executive, Peter Dawson, the 16th fairway has been moved 50 yards left of its previous location and new tees have been built at each of the last two holes. Brown had apparently wanted to leave the 17th alone and call it a par-4, but the man from St. Andrews would have none of it.

Then again, maybe Brown had a point. Although Dawson was understandably quick to hail the changes “a great success” in the immediate aftermath of the recent British Amateur Championship, it would perhaps have been more professional of the press pack in attendance to ask some of the players what they thought. Especially those unfortunate individuals who, unable to reach the fairway into an admittedly strong wind at the long 17th, took ten or more shots to eventually hole out.

Oops. So I'm not the only one thinking a few too many writers have R&A memberships in their eyes!

“The R&A have obviously recognized that some adjustments to the course are required if it is to stand up to the technology available to the players nowadays,” said Norman, ever the diplomat. “It’s interesting how, when you look at it from a player’s perspective, you see things differently than you might do on a plan. Some of what they have done I might have done a bit differently. But that is what my eye sees; I see it from a player’s perspective as well as an architect’s.”

Welcome to the backstabbing world of golf course architecture, Mr. Dawson.

Comments

[DavidC]

What was wrong with this course that first Dawson and now Norman will "fix"???

[Sheik Morris]

The 16th hole was brilliant. I don't understand why you would screw with that. They should turn Norman loose on the other course and leave the Ailsa alone.

[Raider Fan]

Why Norman? The guy is the most overrated golf architect, with his finest work being his home course (The Medalist) which he remodels every year. David Spencer must be a fan of Doonbeg? The world must be coming to an end, you have Fazio working at Pine Valley and Augusta, Norman at Turnberry, whats next Nicklaus at St Andrews?

[Old Tom]

While I'm not a huge fan of Norman as a golf course architect, you have a very limited understanding of his work Raider Fan. You seem to know about 2 jobs he's worked on, while his celebrity has actually allowed him to participate in many many jobs - probably stretching into the hundreds. The Medalist is very very far from his best work and while he may not be my architect of choice for renovating links courses he is actually a much more accomplished designer than you seem to think.

[thusgone]

as a non-expert on golf architecture, i have a questions about discussions of the relative merits of a given course. Aside from the Old Course and a few others, do course architecture mavens ever agree on anything? And when one such maven disagrees with another, is "you know nothing about golf course architecture/this architect's work" always the first sally in the discussion?

just askin'

[kuderer]

This course is a classic. To mess with it is like touching up the Mona Lisa to show teeth. The owner, and everybody else, should listen to George Brown. Experience is God-given, and should not be quickly dismissed!

[garlandb]

I searched through the entire history of Golf Digests top 100 courses in the US. Norman's name didn't appear once. However, Tom Watson, who only has a few designs appeared for practically all of them. Does that tell you something about the quality of Greg Norman designs?

[MRP]

What are Watson's top 100 courses? I can't think of any?