| Championship |
411 |
| Maroon |
386 |
| Teal |
376 |
| Orange |
376 |
| Green |
358 |
| Ocean |
358 |
| Khaki |
303 |
| D. Muirhead |
203 |
Par
(Mens/Ladies) |
4/4 |
Handicap
(Mens/Ladies) |
7/9
|
|
|
I decided to give this hole some strong visual qualities. Although it is a dry land hole, I'm modestly claiming that it could be read as a metaphor for the creation and the entire human condition in general. By the way, I believe it is also a pretty interesting golf hole.
Devices are incorporated to symbolize the formation of the earth, the emergence of mountains, the symbolic rule of four, and the significance of Mount Meru, the mythic mountain at the center of the ancient universe which supports the heavens. Even Gestalt psychology is brought in again. Obviously I had a very good time designing it!
The flat landing area is flanked by two 25-foot hills. The oval landing plateau is a hundred yards in length; in order to get a good view of the green for the second shot, it must be threaded by a tee shot, which is normally directly into the southwest prevailing wind. The adjacent mounds separate the second and sixth fairways and set up a compelling rhythm, culminating in another high hill, Mount Meru, which lies behind the green and acts as a beacon to the golfers who have placed their drives accurately.
There are four star-shaped traps at the Cardinal Points surrounding the green each subtending its own mound. These represent the four corners of the world, an idea which is central to Buddhist and numerous other religions. The green itself had diagonal rolls which relate to the traps. Incidentally, Kenny Edwards, the excellent operator who shaped many of the traps and greens, put in a fifth star near the green by mistake. I left it there. He asked me, "Why?" I told him I always felt that the world needed an extra corner, wherever there were people crazy enough to play golf.
Besides symbols, I have incorporated all the central ideas of Gestalt psychology in this hole, including the law of Pragnanz, which involves the wholeness of design and not what it might suggest to racy minds. This law is a statement of the tendency to make all sturctures perceived clear and simple to the viewer; the opposite of the "copy Scotland" school of architecture. Other gestalt principles, such as proximity, equality and continulty, are all harnessed on the design of this hole, and are used from now onwards throughout the course. "Closure" is provided effectively by Mount Meru, which brings in one of my other major disciplines, urban design, and the architecture of cities, both of which fields depend so much on closure and continuity. A well designed golf hole many of the aspects of a good pizza or city square.
Altogether I have tried to make this hole a presentation of the truths, obstacles and possible triumphs that man encounters on his way to enlightenment and the Islands of Paradise. As in so much of life, however, the wind is against you!
Desmond Muirhead |