Most people have no idea how hard it is to actually build something on American soil. Whether you are a developer trying to put together all the pieces of a golf course/real estate community, or a state transportation department trying to build a new highway, the obstacles are many and complex. When it's complete, people wonder why it took so long, if they think about it at all. Those experienced in building and development rarely take the time to study how it’s done, because they’re so busy doing it. They should take the time to read Driving the Green. So should you.

John Strawn’s book is a case study in the design, development, and construction of Ironhorse, a golf course community in West Palm Beach, Florida. He befriended a motley assortment of participants in the enterprise, and was permitted to observe the lurching progress toward the completion of an Arthur Hills design. The property was not perfect for golf to begin with, and its neighbors (a solid waste authority site, a railroad, and a water catchment basin, among others) made its development more difficult than other sites. Naturally, this only makes the story that much more interesting.

Strawn sketches out the various issues facing the developers, including zoning, state and local environmental permitting, water access, annexations, rail crossings, and investment capital demands. Oh yes, there were problems with the design and construction of the golf course, too. With a steady, at times ironic tone, Strawn shows that just obtaining permission and capital to build a golf course can be far more difficult than routing the course. He takes great care to show the conflicting visions of the participants in the process, and how those differing views eventually led to a different result than any one of them would have imagined.

Driving the Green also includes nice summaries of the elements of golf architecture, the potential for artistry in a Caterpillar D-8, and the hierarchies involved in construction. Strawn does some nice character studies of many of the players. Considering the cooperation he needed for this story, there was a risk of soft pedaling his assessments of the people involved, but that doesn’t seem to have occurred.

For those experienced in development and construction, this book will show the parallels that arise no matter what is actually being built. For others, including most of the golfing community, Driving the Green gives a clear-eyed, valuable description of the many risks and rewards in designing and building a golf course. It’s not for the faint of heart, but for those not easily daunted, the risks are usually worth it.

Review Date May 17, 1998

Hole By Hole's
Recommendation For:

Driving the Green: the making of a golf course

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