Not so sour on Sweetgrass after all

I owe architect Paul Albanese an apology. When I started reading his philosophy behind his new Sweetgrass Golf Club in Michigan, I had genuine doubts as to whether I'd finish it.

Many of us in Britain are a little weary of liberal-speak these days. We've seen 'celebrating diversity' and 'embracing differences' become such entrenched, knee-jerk mantras that too many people in important positions appear to have taken their eye off the ball when it comes to running the country with any semblance of common sense.

So when Albanese starts banging on thus...

"Because this golf course and the neighboring Island Resort & Casino are both owned and operated by the Hannahville Indian Community - a band of the Potawatomi Nation - we've also incorporated aspects of their proud culture and tribal legends."

...I have to be honest, I felt my toes start to curl. Just as they would were I a member of the Potawatomi Nation and was told some guy called Tillinghast wanted to coach my lacrosse team.

Sticking with it, however, I realised that I was unfair to judge Paul on the basis of what happens this side of the Pond. So let's put PC to one side and just focus on the golf.

To get you up to speed, here's a good taster of the course, and don't let the tense trio at the start of the broadcast put you off: I'm pleased to confirm that the man called Tony manfully ignores what looks like every nerve-ending in his body screaming at him to run away...



Sweetgrass isn't the most inspiring piece of land but I like the fact that Albanese hasn't tried to over- compensate with gimmicks. Ironically, a man whom I originally feared might be trying too hard, has tried just hard enough and stayed true to land he was given, subtly steeling the gentle terrain with bunkers in the middle of the fairway and others that gently nibble at the short grass, tempting the bigger hitters to take them on (see holes 5, 10, 11 and 13). You'll find redan and Biarritz greens at the 4th and 12th respectively and the course guide in full is here (with a collection of pictures here).

For all this, I can easily forgive the designer his occasionally funky bunker shapes, which are meant as abstract representations of deer and rabbits found in Potawatomi legend and history. I also like the fact that another part of the tribe's culture to which the course pays tribute is its dislike of waste. Abandoned old bridges in the area have been pressed into use, along with rocks and timbers from an old fort. At the other end of the timeline, meanwhile, you have to love a course irrigation system that can be operated by the superintendent's cell phone...

Ultimately, I can pick Albanese up on just one point:

"We took an idea, and through the process of iteration, we developed shapes derived from these stories. Many of the bunker personalities (in essence, 'bunkeralities') and forms on the golf course have been created through this process."

'Bunkeralities'?!

No.

No, no, no, no, no...

Otherwise, great job.