The call came out of the blue.
“Hello, I’m Margaret Cummins with John Wiley and Sons Publishers. We heard from one of our authors that you might be willing to write a book on golf course routing.” Dead silence. I took it for a prank call, or some sort of self-publishing book scheme. Turns out it was bona fide. Golf architect Bill Amick, a longtime friend and mentor of sorts, had recommended me for the assignment. The year was 2001.
The temptation was to hang up. At the time, my career was still in its early stages, following years of work alongside Jack Snyder. I really didn’t think it was real. But I went on to write Routing the Golf Course – The Art & Science That Forms the Golf Journey, a book now out of print, despite having one of the highest print runs of any golf architecture title.
As part of that project, I decided to dedicate an entire chapter to the routing of Cypress Point Club, a course I had never played, but had studied from a distance throughout the years. Knowing that the routing was special in many aspects, I began reading through books to rekindle my knowledge of Cypress. Then came another important telephone conversation.
Jim Langley, the head pro at Cypress since 1971, was gracious to accept my call and listen to the simple request I had in mind. The request was straightforward: permission to walk the course and ‘take it all in’ – with the intent of rendering a hand-drawn plan to accompany the chapter on Cypress. Langley was happy to oblige. The request was run up the flagpole at Cypress. Within a few months, I made the trek, spending two days walking, taking notes and marking up a dog-eared aerial photo I had procured through a California archive of agricultural aerials. Langley had probably heard every angle imaginable to gain access to play Cypress. But playing wasn’t at the forefront for me – I had a book to finish!
The outcome was a three-by-five foot, hand-inked plan of Cypress Point. Countless hours went into hand rendering the dunes and native areas, with every detail carefully inked. My painstaking stippling highlighted the contour indications of dunes and forested land that forms Cypress Point.
Finally, I completed a detailed map of the course that relies on an old-style touch. Later, watercolour strokes were added, resulting in a finished plan that was included in chapter 18, ‘Lessons Learned from Cypress Point’.
Truly, it was one of the most inspirational moments in my career. Spending time out there in the mist and fog, imagining what Alister MacKenzie, Robert Hunter and Marion Hollins had created. It was magic. So, a follow up call to Langley suggested that the original might be better suited to hang at the club than it would be anywhere else. We had it framed and shipped off. It had been a labour of love, now it could be enjoyed by the members and guests.
The plan’s first home was the guest locker room at the club. After a short time, a member enquired how he could get a copy for his den. That’s where Langley helped change the course of old golf course plans. Jim called me to ask if there was any way to get a reduced size print of the plan. Of course, we sent one off and then it sort of snowballed. Over the next few years, the club’s staff would oblige members and guests, having us make colour prints of all sizes. Finally, all agreed that there must be a better system. That’s when Golframes was born. I figured a few standard sizes, and having both framed and unframed prints, would be best. With the blessing of my business partner and wife, Valerie, Golframes was launched with a small website and a makeshift fulfilment operation.
Over the years more prints were added to the mix. Today, Golframes offers plan reproductions of eight famous courses – Oakmont, Augusta and the Old course at St Andrews among the most popular, besides Cypress. It’s still just a labour of love. Golframes is more of a ‘non-profit’ service than anything else. With some prints, a percentage gets donated to good causes, such as the ASGCA Foundation. The goal is to cover costs and – maybe – leave a little left over to enjoy an occasional dinner.
Richardson has now created plan reproductions of eight famous courses, including the Old course at St Andrews (Image: Golframes)
Valerie and I have talked of making Golframes our retirement solution. But as she says: “That’s not in the cards. It’s just fun to send out a few prints every week and to know they are landing in the hands of people who really love golf architecture. That makes it worth it.”
Jim Langley passed away in 2013. He was the club’s third professional and, besides President Eisenhower, was the only individual to ever receive an honorary membership to one of the world’s greatest golf clubs. There were a few opportunities to see him in the years after that first encounter. And eventually came the chance to play Cypress itself! It was equally rewarding to see my work hanging in the guest locker room. Today, the Cypress Point print has been moved to a more prominent area of the stately clubhouse where it is enjoyed as a part of the decor and history. Jim Langley touched a lot of hearts. But his part in helping us get Golframes moving along was probably never realised by him. Every time we ship out a print, we know it will make someone who loves the game smile. Jim would appreciate that.
Find out more, including full details of available prints, at www.golframes.com.