Doing something truly new for the gca (golf course architect) expands his/her horizons and if never done, stifles their growth, and potential ability to provide good solutions in the future. Trying something truly new for an individual client can work out well for them, but its high risk for a high reward, that may not materialize. ASGCA Architect, http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,35946.msg730461.html#msg730461
Seemingly innocuous, the above quote is a nugget, revealing the serious challenges for investors.
First, all clients are individual. All place millions on the line with the desire or hope of getting something truly special. This is normal.
Second, the architect admits plans and the "Typical" working method are not enough to create something "truly new". This is a point I have been hammering hard and will continue to do. Investors new to golf need understand plans are insufficient. Technology is insufficient. Leaving builders to grapple with the plans for days, weeks, and months at a time is insufficient. Especially in developing golf nations.
It is always "high risk" to "try something truly new for an individual client" if the architect works in the "Typical" manner. In fact, it is high risk to pass out a "functioning design" and leave builders to work without the architect's leadership for days, weeks or months at a time. Just look at the mass of mediocre or worse projects that have been produced during the past 25-years, especially in emerging markets.
It's why courses rich in detail, on the cutting edge have had an architect leading construction. Excellence, cutting edge designs... risk taking requires leadership. This means long days spent on your project communicating the details and monitoring the work in progress.
Something "individual" always requires a special effort. There isn't a great course that has come about by luck.
To answer the architect's initial question, what's important is giving the investor the best you possibly can provide; something "individual".
Tony Ristola
agolfarchitect.com
agolfarchitect@yahoo.com
+49 (0)173 450 4552
+1(909) 581 0080
