Will advances in technology make virtual golf course design a reality?

When asked if technology plays a large part in golf course design, many people are surprised when I say: “Not really”. Perhaps I should add: “Not yet” …

I have long been an advocate of an architect spending time on site as I believe this is the way to get the best results for a client – I am in no doubt that the best courses of the modern era have been designed this way. However, with the advances in technology enabling more designers to draw directly into CAD, I have begun to consider if technology might soon be advanced enough for a future where drones, webcams & virtual reality software are employed to effectively see our vision being shaped live from the relative comfort of the office.

Designing straight into CAD saves a vast amount of time and resources which makes the design process very efficient. When coupled with further efficiencies from calculating and balancing cut & fill calculations, we can ensure everything is well balanced as we progress through the design.

Software such as Google Earth has become a great addition to our toolkit, from scoping a potential new site and existing courses, to reviewing historical aerial photography. The use of GPS & drones to survey terrain has dramatically improved the reliability, accuracy and efficiency of collecting survey information which speeds up the overall design process and helps reduce costs.

Some companies also use GPS-guided dozers & excavators as this allows the contractor the best opportunity to replicate the detailed drawing plans. However, this relies on the plans reflecting the architect’s vision exactly and creates the need for more and more detailed plans. This is where I feel danger lurks as this approach removes the flexibility for the artistry and the design ‘tweaks’ that allow the process to remain organic and evolutionary – a consistent element of virtually all of the best modern courses.

While the technology exists for us to design, model, build and even play a new course all from within the confines of an office thousands of miles away from the site, this currently requires the use of multiple platforms and software making the process cumbersome and time consuming. Golf course architecture is a small profession, so the market does not exist for software developers to make the necessary investment to create a single tool that would allow us to smoothly translate a design, through virtual shaping to reality on site.

A computer is still only a drafting tool which replaces paper & ink to create physical drawings. We are not yet in a place where the virtual world of technology replaces the need to physically be on site. Regardless of technological advances, an architect will always need to be physically on site to examine site conditions and derive inspiration from the natural character of the site. This is what drives the creative concept for a project and allows us to design features and details that contribute to the bespoke solutions that our clients want.

I am starting to think that with the creative application of several relatively new technologies we may be getting closer to finding a solution where we can make ‘virtual site visits’ creating the opportunity for architects to be more involved in the construction than ‘periodic’ site visits without having to live on site … but we are not there yet.

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