The upcoming U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, coincides with the Olmsted 200 campaign, a year-long celebration organized by the National Association for Olmsted Parks and 200th birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted, the founder of American landscape architecture. Olmsted was a Club member, and a special forum on his influence – “From Greensward to Putting Greens: Frederick Law Olmsted’s Influence on Golf Course Architecture” – will be held June 14 at The Country Club. Several ASGCA members will participate. The event is free; reservations may be made here.
ASGCA President Jason Straka, Past President Jan Bel Jan, and ASGCA members Richard Mandell and Brandon Johnson, will be joined on the panel by Olmsted historian and Friends of Fairsted board member, Alan Banks. The discussion will be led by ASGCA Associate John Strawn, reflecting on Olmsted’s influence on golf course design, the links between the Olmsted legacy of thoughtful design and golf architecture, and a look into how parks and golf courses contribute to sustainability.
Olmsted established the world’s first full-scale professional landscape design practice after moving to Brookline in 1883. Olmsted’s home, Fairsted, which doubled as his office, is a short walk from The Country Club, where Olmsted was a member before the club built its golf course. Franklin Park is the largest park in the Olmsted-designed Boston Park System. Fairsted is administered by the National Park Service as the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, stewarding the Olmsted legacy through public engagement, management of the historic design studio and cultural landscape, and preservation of and access to the Olmsted archives.
This event is supported by the United States Golf Association, the American Society of Golf Course Architects, Friends of Fairsted, Olmsted 200, Olmsted Now, and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. It is sponsored by Strawn & Sampson, publishers of commemorative golf club histories.