The Loop at Chaska - Chaska, MN (Redesign by Benjamin Warren, 2021)
Even though I was only there for a month, this was one of the most fulfilling projects I have ever been involved with. This was for two reasons. The first is that it involved greens shaping, my favorite element of golf design. Furthermore, these greens were to be all about contour and short grass—no bunkers involved whatsoever—which made the challenge of creation even more fun as we could come up with all sorts of adventurous ground shots, both from on the tee and up at the green.
The project was also fulfilling for another bigger and more important reason—the course was to be the first designed entirely with adaptive golfers in mind. Adaptive golfers are those with varying disabilities, including players who need specialized single rider carts to move about the golf course. This makes regular golf features such as bunkers or steep banks particularly problematic with access and is what drove architect Ben Warren and non-profit developer Barrier Free golf to develop the no-bunker, all short grass concept. Surveys among these types of players indicated they still wanted to be challenged though. How do you do that then? Contours! I love golf on the ground more than any other form of the game, and Ben, who hails from North Berwick and its famous West Links, has it ingrained in his blood. With that, we had a lot of fun coming up with some greens that will be fun and continue to be fun the more you play them. Between that and helping be a part of creating a place for a vastly underserved part of our game to play, this project was a most wonderful experience.
Hole 1 at The Loop, shaped mostly by the ultra talented architect Jim Craig, gives a good idea of the adventures ahead.
The second green, dubbed “Skatepark” by architect Ben Warren, as seen from the left. The bank all along the left side (lower left in this image) and back can be used to steer a ball around the front right plateau and get to the far rear hole location. (Photo provided by Andy Johnson)
The 2nd green as seen from the front after shaping. Attacking the flag with an aerial approach risks an odd kick to the right, left, or shooting through the back, which would leave a tricky approach over a little ridge.
The second green as viewed from the right side
A view of the 2nd with grass, taken from the forward tees, where the angle to steer it off the left ridge to the hidden back bowl is most friendly. On this day, the hole is on the tricky short right plateau.
Closer view of the 2nd green,
The wide, shallow, and constantly tumbling 7th green during shaping. The pink flags show the far par of the green on the right, and the picture frame isn’t wide enough to capture the far left edge.
A view from the right side of this wide and shallow complex
A look from behind the 9th green during shaping. The tees are just to the left edge of the photo.
The 9th from the tee, with the hole perfectly tucked back right and low as initially imagined. The big ridge left helps you steer the ball back to the putting surface, but pull it too far left and you’ll be left with a tricky up-and-over shot with the green mostly running away from you.