More preview info and pics
I was looking through Geoff Shackleford's book "Alister Mackenzie's Cypress Point Club" and the old black and white images of the course as it was constructed, took my breath away. Looking at the course now and comparing it to those early pics it seems many of the subtle ragged edged bunkers have been simplified and in doing so have lost a little of their charm.
One of the main threads that runs throughout the book is Mackenzie's flair for blending man made features with the existing natural environment. He was an expert in camouflage after all! The way CP threads it's way though the dunes without compromising them is awe inspiring. When using the APCD we don't start with a beautiful natural setting, the whole thing has to be created from scratch. Not only do we have to make the underlying terrain look natural but we then have to fit the course into it without screwing up what we just created! In doing more experimental work recently this has been my main goal. Taking inspiration for courses such as Cypress Point and Sand Hills I'm attempting to create a course that is both grand in scale but natural in look.
Heres an early pic of the par 3, 5th hole.
