SITE APPRAISAL

A change for the better...

Evaluating what you already have is the only way to make an informed decision on what you can do to make an improvement. This becomes very important for planning golf developments as every site or course has some positive factors that give it value.

Simply discarding somewhere because it's too short or too hilly is an easy option and does not fully investigate the many complicated characteristics associated with the playgrounds of our cherished game.  

The strengths and the weaknesses...  

For existing layouts, the course appraisal consists of analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the layout with an aim of finding the true potential of the golf course. The aim of this is to provide a golf club with a range of options that will help them make structured improvements to the whole course or to specific elements such as playability, drainage, or agronomy, which can all be brought together to formulate 3, 5, or 10 year development strategies.

With regard to new developments, it is important to realise the potential of the development site as this can result in construction savings. The wishes of the developer(s) should be reflected in the choice of site with an architect's feasibility assessment being the first stage in site selection.
 

A business application...  

The benefits of a structured approach to change should be clear. Taking an existing golf course as an example, the worst case scenario would be a bunker filled in one season being reinstated the next. This shows a lack of planning and a waste of resources.

Evaluating strengths and weaknesses is commonly known in business as SWOT Analysis, and is implemented by many facets of industry, so why not to a golf course?