Thesis: This research project is intended to delve into the specific design factors of a golf course, specif-ically the most nationally famous golf course, Augusta National. By abstracting information through mapping and gathering of data from numerous sources, I hope to expose course tendancies, and gain a better understand-ing of strategic placement of obstacles in this thoroughly manipulated landscape.

supporting points: - a golf course is literally a playground of variables-there are many ways to succesfully approach a pin on a given hole-there tends to be a theme or pattern with Augusta

METHODOLOGIES: The first thing that i did was analyze the most recent yearly averages from the course. Having very little knowledge about golf, this graphic erased my first preconceived notion that dis-tance to and from the pin played the biggest factor in difficulty of a hole. Unfortunately one of the factors that I couldn’t find for every hole was elevation change, which undoubtedly plays a key role on the course.

Hole Par Distance (yards 2012 average score 2012 Difficulty elevation change (yards) fairway angle (~) line weight1 4 445 4.39 1st 169 7.92 5 575 4.64 18th drop 30 142 0.43 4 350 3.9 14th 164 34 3 240 3.22 6th 180 6.25 4 455 4.21 7th 153 6.16 3 180 3.7 8th 180 117 4 450 4.17 9th 174 5.78 5 570 4.86 15th rise 20.3 175 3.69 4 460 4.25 4th 138 6.510 4 495 4.24 5th drop 38.6 155 6.411 4 505 4.32 2nd drop 20.6 164 7.212 3 155 3.06 13th drop 58.6 180 4.613 5 510 4.72 16th 120 1.214 4 440 4.09 12th 157 4.915 5 530 4.72 17th 229 1.216 3 170 3.11 11th 180 4.117 4 440 4.16 10th 177 5.618 4 465 4.31 3rd 152 7.1

METHODOLOGIES_MAPPING: The next phase of analysis came by researching to find the most consistant on-line images of each hole. Then, mapping the course boundaries, fairways, greens, trees, sand traps, water hazards, and finally the angle at which the course pivots. This is when i start to realize that perhaps the component that may be most responsible is the course angle.

course boundaries greens + course angles (front nine)

greens + course angles (all)

METHODOLOGIES_MAPPING: One thing that was of interest was relational angles after teeing-off, and how the boundaries effect this. One suprising detail I found was the that a majority of the holes have the tendancy of tappering off to the left. Another subject of interest was how this may change from the first half of a round to the second.

fairways + greensgreens + course angles + trees + sand traps (*front 9)

greens + fairways + hazards + sand traps + course angles

METHODOLOGIES_MAPPING: After getting a sense of basic approach and direction from the courses accu-mulatively, I wanted to see what was “getting in the way” and where. That’s when the notion of doing clustered overlays came about. What became noticable to me was that many of the greens are located in approximately the same location but the same can’t be said for the obstacle features.

odd hole number

even hole number

cumulative course curve

start

finish

Observing the pivots in each hole continually shows that there is a ceratain rhythem to the course, But also areas where angular difficulty climaxes.

start

finish

odd hole number

even hole number

hole difficulty

line weight = (avg. score on hole - par of hole)10 + 4

One of the more dramatic things that i came across was the variety in hole difficulty as it related to length and distance. From my research there was never a constant.

Conclusion: In all this project brought about some very interesting factors in determining how a golf course acts. Although it may not have been a breakthrough, I have an endless amount of variables and factors to look at when working on it in the future. The most promising of which is elevation and sectional changes, as well as moments of follie.