23 equally as important and also need to be addressed in the initial stages. Hospitality, media facilities, parking, fan experience areas and spectator flow can all have a huge impact on course setup for tournament play. It all comes down to how well all these things can be combined, which starts with effective planning and input from all the stakeholders in the event. We also put a lot of emphasis on creating risk-reward options and a good balance of opportunities for both aggressive and more conservative players. If we can create a level field for all styles of play so that a particular one doesn’t dominate, then we’ve accomplished our goal. What design strategies do you focus on for these projects? Driveable par fours are fan favourites for tournament play and the seventeenth at TPC San Antonio is almost always a pivotal hole down the stretch at the Valero Texas Open. We are also making significant changes at Chapultepec for next year’s LIV Golf tournament where the eighteenth hole in the tournament rotation is a par three over water in a stadium setting. The golf hole and tournament setup is designed primarily with fan engagement in mind, so it will certainly be one of the most memorable of the competition. How challenging is it to create an architecturally interesting golf course given modern hitting distances and technology, and how has the firm’s approach evolved? It’s extremely challenging when you have a property with constraints, but if you focus on creating multiple angles of play with differing elements of defence, you can find a way to challenge the longer hitters without making it too tough for the rest of the field. The golf ball rollback will definitely affect where we are with tournament design today and I think most designers would agree that it can’t happen soon enough. We now have to factor in carry distances of well over 300 yards into the design of any tournament course and in some cases, we’ve had to significantly adjust our scope due to land and construction costs. The good news is that the rollback will have minimal effect on the average golfer, so we won’t have to change much from that perspective. The GCA website features more insight from Campbell on the Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta project. Photo: Mario Madau Greg Norman’s firm has consulted at various tournament venues, including Sandals Emerald Bay in The Bahamas and, top, El Camaleón Golf Course in Mexico Photo: Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Club TEE BOX
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