The American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) has launched a program to showcase creativity in golf course architecture among young people. “The Great Junior Golf Design Challenge of 2020,” encouraging children to design their own golf hole, was created as a way to give families an opportunity to involve children in the art of golf course design during the worldwide crisis of COVID-19.
The challenge – a fun activity rather than a contest – is simple. Young people ages 17 and younger may submit design ideas for golf holes of any par, style or strategy, and from whimsical to serious. Submissions may be created in any medium (pencil, markers, crayon or digital) as long as it fits within the provided border from ASGCA. Scans or photos of designs may be sent via email to juniordesign2020@asgca.org or uploaded via Twitter to @ASGCA to be shared on social media and ASGCA.org. Complete information may be found here.
“Families are struggling with having schools closed and the amount of ‘at-home time’ during this crisis,” said ASGCA President Jan Bel Jan. “A few of our members brainstormed the idea, which came to us from Jay Smith, an aspiring golf course architect based in McAlpin, Florida. We’re offering this positive diversion when so many are confined to their homes.”
The emphasis of the program is to get creativity flowing, and to celebrate the art of golf course architecture among young people. Nathan Crace, ASGCA, and Lester George, ASGCA, stepped in to work on the idea, which came to Smith with the help of his wife, Rebecca. “It started as a simple idea of getting kids involved in the shadows of an unprecedented pandemic,” says Smith. “We thought it would boost morale and could evoke art, engineering, and geometry — in a fun way. Our youngest son, Johnny, enjoys watching me sketch and draw, submits his own ideas for my review. From there it just snowballed. It would have been great if this existed when I was younger.”
Crace shared his experiences. “As a young boy, I spent hours drawing imaginary golf holes on plain paper and by age 10 I had built three holes on my parents’ land in Indiana. Hopefully, this challenge will give boys and girls that same spark to display their creativity for everyone to see!”
“It affords children the opportunity to express their creativity by imagining and graphically depicting their version of a fun and remarkable golf hole,” George added. “What better way to spend time during these days at home?”
ASGCA plans to share comments on the designs from ASGCA members and others who follow ASGCA on social media. “It’s important to point out that this is not a contest,” notes ASGCA Vice President Forrest Richardson. “The idea is to stimulate creativity and help take the edge off of the stress that comes with staying at home for a prolonged period and being uncertain of what comes next.”