An Inside View of Consulting: Inside Kevin Norby’s restoration of A.W. Tillinghast’s Golden Valley
Nov 2023
TFC contributor Bradley S. Klein provides a unique perspective on the club’s two-year process to reclaim the Golden Era architect’s original intent
For the past two years, golf course architect Kevin Norby has been restoring Golden Valley Country Club, an A.W. Tillinghast gem from 1926 in the Twin Cities area.
With the work now done and the course healing up for reopening in 2024, I thought it appropriate to explain what an insider like myself saw and learned along the way about the process. My vantage point was as paid consultant to the designer — a secondary role to be sure, but one that gave me privileged access as well as occasional license to voice my concerns.
Read the entire article
Writing about Superintendents
July 2023
There is a great tradition of golf writing. Not enough of it, however, is about superintendents.
When I started the biweekly magazine Superintendent News in 1999 as an offshoot of Golfweek, one of the editors, new to the golf business, asked: What is there to write about the subject? My answer, which holds true today: There are 15,000 stories out there. We just have to go find them.
Read the entire article
Navigating the 15 Steps of Golf Course Renovation
March 4, 2022
As someone who has been watching and participating in course renovations for three decades now, I’ve seen lots of successful ones, a few that fell short and a couple that failed. These projects have run the gamut – from a club that spent 16 years implementing a $10,000 master plan to courses that have shut down for a year and spent upward of $15 million on a complete restoration. Some entail tweaks in place; others have seen half the course entirely rerouted.
Read the entire article.
Why golf’s toughest job is growing harder
August 18, 2021
A golf course superintendent’s job is never easy — and has been made even more difficult by the pandemic — but, as ‘The First Call’ columnist Bradley S. Klein writes, a better understanding of the role might temper what can sometimes be unrealistic expectations.
Read the entire article
Wendehack’s Winged Foot Clubhouse a Roaring 20s Masterpiece
September 13, 2020
It was designed to look as if it were rising out of the ground. The idea was to make Winged Foot’s clubhouse part of the essential backdrop to the greens closest to the famed building. Golfers approaching on the ninth and 18 holes of the West Course, as well as those hitting into the 10th and 18th greens on the East Course, get a view of the famed stone structure that makes it seem integral to the holes they are playing.
Read the entire article
Golf positions itself for modern makeover after coronavirus
April 29, 2020
Savvy course operators will embrace trends in how the game is being played and how their clubs cater to guests, creating opportunities for better golf experiences and sustainable businesses on the other side of the pandemic
Read the entire article
Lessons from a lifetime in municipal golf
April 1, 2020
Like a lot of folks in the golf industry, I grew up in municipal golf. This was New York City in the 1960s, back in the days when the conditions presented to everyday golfers were anything but pristine.
Read the entire article
Golf scrambles to adjust to a new world order
April 15, 2020
With more than half of the nation’s courses closed and job losses mounting, the industry fights for survival amid fragmented guidance during the coronavirus pandemic
Read the entire article
A heads-up approach to a hands-off golf game
March 18, 2020
Coronavirus fears don’t have to knock golfers off course, our correspondent attests, noting simple changes to the game plan
Read the entire article
Becoming fluent in golf talk
March 4, 2020