Esittelyssä kenttäarkkitehti Kari Haug

Golf Pirkkalan uuden yhdeksän reiän suunnittelusta vastaavat Tim Lobb ja Kari Haug, joiden yhteistyö yhdistää strategisen pelisuunnittelun, tarkkaan analytiikkaan perustuvan arkkitehtuurin sekä Pirkkalan luonnon erityispiirteet. Lobb tuo kokonaisuuteen pelistrategisen näkemyksen ja vahvan maastotyöskentelyn, kun taas Haug rakentaa suunnitelmat laajaan swing speed -dataan ja inklusiiviseen, Playable Pathways™ -filosofiaansa nojaten.

Pirkkalan maasto, kalliot, vaihtelevat korkeuserot sekä suomalainen sekametsä on inspiroinut arkkitehteja luomaan väyliä, jotka tarjoavat sekä pelattavuutta että strategista haastetta kaikentasoisille pelaajille. Suunnitteluprosessi on ollut tiivistä yhteistyötä projektitiimin kanssa ja arkkitehtien mukaan se on ollut poikkeuksellisen sujuvaa ja innostavaa.

Uuden 27-reikäisen kokonaisuuden tavoite on selkeä: luoda kenttä, jossa jokainen pelaaja löytää oman reittinsä, onnistuu taidoistaan ja lyöntipituuksistaan riippumatta ja kokee Pirkkalan luonnon parhaimmillaan.

​​​​​​​1. Briefly describe your overall design philosophy as a golf course architect?

The primary tenet of my design philosophy is sustainability. In my role as a golf course architect I see myself as a steward of the environment and a steward of the game of golf. I think we can produce sustainable golf courses and a sustainable game by reconnecting humans with our natural environment and with each other in a meaningful and respectful way. Golf courses that are ecologically connected and eco-sensitive, economically sustainable, and socially inclusive are more likely to support the biodiversity required to be sustainable and renewable over time. I also believe that in my role as a steward of the game, it is my responsibility to share knowledge, and that is why I write.

2. The term “Playable Pathways” is often associated with your work. What does it mean, and how does it influence the way you design golf holes?

Playable Pathways is my approach to golf course architecture that is guided by science and art. The approach is based upon an integration of research, innovative golf course architecture methodologies, environmental science, and various fields of psychology. While not yet fully established as a school of thought, it proposes principles that could effectively form the foundation for one.

Principles that form the foundation for Playable PathwaysTM are:

1 ) Design is data- and science-driven, swing speed is the key for tees.

2) Ensure ecological connectivity, eco-sensitivity, and healthy stewardship.

3) Design is memorable, experientially fulfilling, and dignified.

4) Design is thoughtfully inclusive and equity-based.

5) Include options, choices, and flexibility.

6) There is heightened attention to the ground-game.

7) Multiple tees set up courses as subsets of a primary course.

8) Draw on the science and art of architecture. (Technia-sciencia-architectura*.)

For more information on Playable PathwaysTM, please refer to the following:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/inclusive-golf-designing-swing-speed-new-approach-forward-kari-haug-psqfc

3. How do you ensure that golfers of all skill levels – and particularly women – can enjoy and be challenged by the course equally?

I don't approximate or guess when I am designing. I use real swing-speed data which correlates with hitting distances to make sure the golf course design and set-up fits everyone's hitting distances in an equitable way. After years of trying to find data, I finally set up a study of my own, working with Sue Shapcott, Phd., and American club-fitting company, Club Champion. I combined swing speed and distance findings from our study with the Distance Insights research from the USGA to develop charts that I now use when designing.

Off the tee, I ensure that landing areas are not only reachable, but I try to set the drive landing point ahead of that for the back tees. This makes the ensuing golf shot more equitable. In addition, when I design, I always include the centerlines for senior men and the average amateur women. These centerlines are almost never included in traditional golf course master plan drawings. So - in addition to driving distance, I make sure that these players have a playable route from tee to green, ensuring that hazards are surmountable, and the approaches to greens are accessible. This also helps me set up safe margins for forward tees.

As a former physical therapist, I understand the physical differences among people, possibly better than most architects. I understand mobility and endurance challenges for seniors, and inherent strength differences by gender. Long rough, for example, is a significant hazard for women who tend to have less upper body strength than men. Obviously, senior men have different physical abilities compared to young men, average amateur women have different abilities compared to senior women, etc. Although each individual is physically different, each individual can decide which tee to use based upon their own swing speed, but beyond the tee, it helps to understand the physical challenges.

4. What are your first impressions of the landscape and terrain in Pirkkala, and how have they inspired your design choices?

My first impression of the landscape and terrain in Pirkkala was in a foot of snow - so it reminded me very much of my home in Minnesota. Ensuing visits also conjured memories of my annual trips to northern Minnesota to play what we call "fall golf." This is golf played in October or November in a cold climate, followed by saunas, campfires, warming beverages, good food, and good friends. The sky in Finland looks similar, as do the trees, the water, the colors, and the smell in the air. So my first impression was that this course would be beautiful and that the golf course would have to be framed by the beauty of the trees, the sky, and the natural environment. The golf culture also left me with the impression of health and fitness - although I am not sure yet if that has inspired my design choices.

On ensuing visits, the salient element at Pirkkala that I was not prepared for was the steep terrain and boulders. My first impression when I saw all the boulders without snow was - "Wow! This is going to take some earthworks, and can it be done?" I thought that working with the terrain to create a playable, equitable, and walkable golf course would be challenging for sure - not easy like working on a loamy soil or sand-based site where landforms could be smoothly and easily shaped. I thought that reconciling the hilly terrain and boulders with the goals to improve walkability and playability for running ground shots would require some real skill - Markus assured us that contractor and his team would be up for the job.

5. How would you describe the collaboration process with your co-architect Tim Lobb and the Golf Pirkkala project team?

In one word - joyful. Markus Junni and the entire Pirkkala construction team and the leadership group have been so supportive, respectful, and willing to share their culture with Tim and me. I feel honored.... and I have to wonder if the inclusive culture of Finland has contributed to my feeling of well-being and the sense that we are all on the same team. I have always heard that Finland is the happiest country in the world and I am now a believer! Even when faced with Pirkkala project pauses and challenges, the team continued to cohesively push forward together and remained positive and united in the effort to allow this project to happen. Working with Markus and all of the team has been wonderful!

Working with Tim Lobb has been equally rewarding - he is one of the smartest, most energetic, and most positive people I have ever met. I think we both learned a lot from each other in our collaboration - not always agreeing, but always respecting each other's differences. I utilize my computer quite a bit and study contour maps, while Tim puts boots on the ground and works very much with paper and pen at the design table. "Boots on the ground" is no joke since our first site visit involved hiking through deep snow in the Finnish forest! I also learned that it is much easier and lighter to travel with paper and pen than lugging a computer on planes, trains, and transports!

Putting day-to-day working styles aside, Tim and I had to develop a collaborative design process with benchmarks for when I should intervene with Playable Pathways input. I had never collaborated with anyone on Playable Pathways and since some of the design philosophy and architectural approach is different than traditional architectural methods, we had to figure out a process for sharing design thoughts -- and we had to figure out when in the design process to intervene with Playable Pathways approaches. Establishing benchmarks was the essential key to making collaboration successful. Although there was a bit of trial and error, we now know where those marks should fall. We also had to work through minor differences in design philosophies which might be mitigated by developing Playable Pathways as a school of thought, shared in educational programs and by mentors.

Tim's ability to communicate is second to none. He is a master communicator, clearly distilling down problems, defining them, finding solutions, and then communicating options for the way forward. And his team is very responsive! It was fantastic to work with Lobb associates -- Alex Hay, ASGCA and Sergio Carballo, EIGCA -- two talented and capable young designers! I enjoyed sharing a different perspective on design as I shared a brief introduction to Playable Pathways and hopefully they will hear about the entire scope of the Playable Pathways approach someday. Ultimately, I think the work Tim and I have done for Pirkkala has been ground-breaking and will smooth the way for future Playable Pathways work, whether collaborative or adopted individually by architects around the world. I think we are on the edge of a paradigm shift and the Pirkkala project is leading the way. In addition to using swing speed and hitting distances to innovate the way forward tees are laid out, new technology has really put us in touch with each other across oceans and made our design work a true global effort at times -- with Sergio in the Canary Islands, Alex in Canada, me in the US, Tim in London, and Markus in Finland. Matching up time zones was sometimes a challenge and the collaborative advances we have seen in golf course architecture would have been impossible without the power of technology.

6. Are there any specific features or design elements on the new nine holes that you are particularly excited about?

I am excited to see if golfers will play the tees that are set out according to driving distances, and I am really looking forward to seeing how the par 3 golf holes develop. I think the fanned tee design will allow slower swing speed players to access the greens and putt for pars. Tim has designed some challenging greens and I am looking forward to seeing how they will play for the slower swing-speed players. We softened some approaches, taking out noses and adjusting green tiers to improve reception for running ground-game shots. I also am interested to see what type of local materials we can use to create a distinctive style for the bunkers - I think they can be quite dramatic yet playable. Fairway width was another adjustment that we made and I will be curious to see if we will be able to reconcile challenge with playability. I think the downhill par 4 - 10th hole on the 18-hole course green will be a nice hole with a dramatic view.

7. Finally, what kind of experience do you hope golfers will have when they play the completed 27-hole course at Golf Pirkkala?

Large boulder and rock features on many holes have the potential to strike a chord experientially. Both hole 7 on the 9-hole course, and hole 11 on the 18-hole course have large rock features that I think will provide a contrast to human scale in a way that makes us recognize and consider our humanness. Hole 7 will have the added bonus of water which will reflect the sky and trees, doubling the grandiose experience of nature. Some design work does not happen on paper, but rather on the ground, so I am interested to see if what is in my mind's eye actually plays out on the land. I am really looking forward to seeing how the holes in the northeast corner develop where there are some large rock outcroppings that I think will provide passageways for fairways, again taking golfers on an experiential journey through the space. I hope seniors will find the 9-hole course walkable and playable, and I hope fast swing speed and low handicap players find the 18-hole course strategically challenging. Most of all, I hope all golfers of all calibers will find the golf experience on all 27 golf holes fun and enjoyable!