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Q&A: Nick Price | Major champion, founder Nick Price Golf Course Design

The three-time major champion — including winning the British Open 30 years ago — discusses his playing and design career, which currently has him working on a 27th design project, Soleta Golf Club

Nick Price made his mark as one of the best players of his era, winning three majors, 18 times on the PGA Tour and earning two PGA Tour Player of the Year Awards. The World Golf Hall of Famer also spent 43 consecutive weeks as the world’s No. 1 player in the 1990s. Since establishing his own design company, Nick Price Golf Course Design, in 2001, the native Zimbabwean, 67, has put his name on 26 courses as a lead designer or architect. He’s now in the process of adding a 27th after Soleta Golf Club, located in Myakka City, Florida, asked him to design a championship course, set to open this fall.

The planned 7,400-yard, 18-hole design will be immersed within a new residential community, located roughly 40 minutes east of Sarasota and 75 minutes southeast of Tampa. Price spoke with The First Call contributor Ken Klavon about the project, his design philosophy and, of course, thoughts about winning the British Open 30 years ago. 

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Soleta Golf Club, Myakka City, Florida.

The First CallLet's start with Soleta Golf Club. How did you get involved in that project? 
Nick Price: We were approached by the Soleta guys a couple of years back about doing the project. There’s actually like four or five guys involved, but for the two main guys this was their first project. It was really nice to talk to them and explain what we felt was needed and what modern golf is all about. They pretty much took all of our advice, which was great.

Originally, the plan that they had had housing throughout the golf course, and we suggested to them that we move the housing up to the north end of the property and just have all golf. They agreed to do that, so you're only going to see houses on like two of the holes on the whole golf course. There’s always the opportunity to have a housing estate on a golf course, but if you can do core golf, it's really something special.

TFC: Your history as a designer lends itself to emphasizing the ground game and how to architect that in as you handcraft courses. Did that fall in line with your vision for Soleta and what you're trying to achieve?
NP: To me, golf is two games. It's a game in the air and a game on the ground. And for the longest time, the easiest part of the game is when it's in the air and there's no run on the ball. When you have wet or soft conditions, it's like throwing darts. It's very easy. So, bringing in the release of the golf ball is very important to me.

And I'm not talking about getting 60 yards of run with a driver. I'm talking about 30 or 25 yards, which then narrows the fairways down and helps the guys who can shape the ball a little better and be able to play the holes more effectively. Then it's also better for the handicap player because they love to see run on the ball.

My philosophy always is if you hit the ball straight, you can play a links course. There are very few forced carries. You do have cross bunkers and things like that, which we incorporate in some of our golf courses. I try and put the cross bunkers off to the side of the fairway and not in the middle of the fairway. So, if you hit the ball straight or you hit it solid, you should be rewarded either way. Even if you hit a low ball that runs like crazy along the ground, that's fine. If you hit the ball high in the air and you carry it a long way, that's fine. As long as it's straight.

TFC: How was the Soleta land to work with? With wetlands, grasslands and environmental factors, how much more challenging is it to craft something?
NP: Obviously there were restrictions, and you just work around those. Nobody ever wants to mess around with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) or the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) or any of that. We steer clear of any controversial construction methods and we're very, very eco-friendly.

One of the great things is we worked with the superintendent at the [Soleta] golf course, who has been there from day one, to make sure that it's also maintenance friendly. That’s why we sort of reduced the watering footprint or the irrigation footprint on this golf course.

We've got a lot of native areas and some of the landscaping will be irrigated; we'll have drip irrigation. Just generally speaking, we're very cognizant of the environment. And, of course, the bigger your footprint for irrigation, that creates the potential for more nitrogen and more fertilizers being used. It’s an important issue for everyone.

TFC: In prior interviews, you stressed the importance of having clear dialogue with the client. It could be the difference between designing something they may not want, correct?
NP: It’s really important to build a golf course for the clientele that you are appealing to. Communication is key. I also look at some of the golf courses that are being built today, that for the average member it just beats them up. They’ll always say, ‘Oh, well, we've got the hardest golf course, you know.’ But there's no fun in playing the hardest golf course around. All they end up doing is losing a lot of golf balls and it's frustrating. In the end, it’s about creating something that every player can enjoy.

TFC: How do you reach that happy medium?
NP: There are ways that I feel that you can do that, with angles, by obviously adding a bit of length to the back tees and all that. What we've done on [Soleta] involves free-form tees, which is obviously something that has become a bit of a trend lately, but it's always been something that I wanted to do.

It can be a hard sell. I mean, to most developers, they’ll say, ‘No, we just want the normal formal tees, just do the squares and the rectangles and the round ones and whatever, but we don't want any free form.’ But the free form tees really give you the ability to change the playability of a hole and the angles on the golf course.

And then if you go to the right side, there's less of that. That's the whole sort of thing.

2013 The President's Cup :  Singles
06 OCT 13 International Captain Nick Price at the closing ceremony after Sunday's Singles Matches at The President's Cup at The Muirfield Village Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio. (photo: kenneth e.dennis / kendennisphoto.com)

TFC: Who are your design influences?
NP: Alister MacKenzie was my absolute favorite architect of all time. Harry Colt was another all-time favorite. Both created with angles; they made the whole degree of difficulty on a golf course about the angles. Of course, there’s Donald Ross, but there are so many of them that were really good. Colt had a phenomenal ability to create understated hazards, and many of them, on the golf course.

I'll expand on that. A lot of these golf courses have half-shot penalties if you're out of position and they increase the difficulty of your approach to the green. If you weren't in the correct portion of the fairway, you could still hit the ball on the green from the right-hand side of the fairway. But if you drove it down the left-hand side, you would have an optimum angle into the green where you could attack the pin for the day or whatever. It’s so much of a feel thing and it's hard to sort of write it down and say, ‘Well, this is what you do,’ but it is all about angles.

My case in point is the 12th hole at Augusta [National], which is just an 8-iron and a 9-iron, but the way that green angles away for a right-handed golfer, it's one of the toughest shots in golf, especially if there's a crosswind or the wind's swirling. Because a pull or a push is a hard pull, which goes long left. Or a weak push, which goes short right, [and] for a right-hander makes that hole exceptionally difficult, especially if you're trying to attack the pin. Whereas for a left-hander the bad shot is a long right or a push weak left. So that whole way it sits with the green angling from left to right, going away from the left, it makes it hard for a right-hander. But it's easier for a left-hander.

TFC: It’s fascinating to hear how you think about a shot or hole. Did your interest in course architecture come from your time as a player since you needed to be a tactician and strategist, or is it something that came later? 
NP [laughing]: I think everybody who's played the game would love to design a golf course. Honestly, I don't think there's one golfer who says I don't want to design a golf course. I think the greatest compliment anyone can ever pay me is when they play my golf courses, they go out there at 12 o'clock, they're finished by 4 o'clock and they say, ‘We still have two-and-a-half hours of daylight left. Let's go play another nine.’

There are so many golf courses that I see today where they look beautiful and they are stunning. Visually, they're masterpieces, but you try and get a high handicapper out there, and [it will take a long time].

TFC: This goes back to your design philosophy and why it’s important to establish a relationship with the client.
NP: Right. As for this [Soleta] project, there's only one other project that I've spent more time on than this one. And that was the McArthur [Golf Club] course that I built with Andy Banfield [Golf Design and Consulting] in 2001. I was probably there, 60 to 65 days on site during construction out of 180 days. I don't know how many days I've been over at [Soleta], but I've been over there consistently every 10 days to two weeks for two to three days at a time.

Just working with [associate] Dean Bedwell, we've had such a great time doing this. I think this golf course is going to be so much fun for everyone to play. When making this course, I've made pretty big greens and some of them have got what I would say moderate slopes. Generally speaking, there are also subtler slopes on the golf course on the greens.

TFC: OK, let’s shift gears. I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about the 30-year anniversary of winning the British Open. What are your memories of winning at Turnberry and how important was it to win it?
NP: Well, the simple fact that I'd come in second twice, both in 1982 and then again in ‘88, I had no idea if I was ever going to win that championship. Getting to Turnberry at the age of 37, I didn't know how many more opportunities I had. But I came into Turnberry riding the crest of a really nice wave and it turned out to be a dream week for me. Particularly the way I finished, because … I’ve never really been a charger. But I came from three shots behind and made up that deficit on Jesper Parnevik in the last six holes. I ended up winning by a shot because of his mistake on 18. So, it was even more gratifying the fact that I had won in a different way than I was accustomed to. That summer of ’94 for me, to go on and win the PGA [Championship], it was the apex of my career.

TFC: As disappointing as it was to finish second when you did, do you think that prepared you for the major victories?
NP: For sure. I think that steeled me up. I think the first one in ‘82 was something that had I won at 25, I don't think it would have steeled me up as much as when I won in ‘94 or ’92, when I won the first PGA.

The [British Open] in ’88 was when my game really started turning. Going head-to-head with Seve [Ballesteros] on that Monday — because we had a rainout on Sunday — neither of us backed down. I pushed him and he pushed me, and I think I pushed him to play one of the best rounds of his life. But he also pushed me to play one of the best rounds of my life at that stage. And I look back on that time and I often think that had I won that I think that my really strong period in golf would have lasted a little longer. I would have started my really good playing years three or four years earlier.

2017 President's Cup
Nick Price, left, with David Turner, Soleta Golf Club managing partner and developer.

TFC: You once were the world No. 1 golfer for 43 consecutive weeks. How hard is it to maintain that status, knowing everyone has a target on you?
NP [laughing]: Well, it's a byproduct of playing well. That's what it is. It's not something I think everyone can say, ‘I want to be No. 1 in the world.’ But if you don't take care of business, which is winning golf tournaments and making putts and driving the ball down the fairway, you're not going to get there.

To me, the most important thing always was to win. And I felt like if I could win consistently, then that would take care of me being No. 1.

Even in my early years as a pro, for the first eight years there was no world ranking. The world ranking only arrived in the mid-1980s, so it wasn't a really big deal until sort of like the ‘90s when they figured out the way you earned points and that sort of thing. And even then, it was hard for me to knock Greg Norman off the perch because the way it was, the points were staggered in those days. The less you played, the more valuable the points were and whatever. And that's still true today. But today I think the system's a lot better than it was when in the early ‘90s and mid-‘90s.

TFC: Looking back at your younger self as a golfer, what would you have told him with all that you have gone through as a player?
NP: Work harder on your short game. I think I was always a ball beater. I loved hitting balls like every golfer and I just didn't put enough time into my short game. And it was only, in fact, that ‘88 Open Championship at [Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club] with Seve, where I felt from tee to green I outplayed him. But around the greens, he just dusted me. That was where I made a vow to myself that I was going to build up my short game so that it wouldn't be an OK part of my game, you know? That's what I tried to do, and I did, and I succeeded. It took me some time, but I succeeded.

TFC: This might be a broad-based question, but looking back at your playing career, is there a memory or two that stand out most?
NP: Yes, I think my first professional win is so important in different stages, whether it's when I started on the South African tour, and then when I went to Europe — winning in Europe was really important — and then coming over here and winning here. Because for me, I always wanted to be an international golfer. I think Gary Player set a precedent for all of us from South Africa, being able to be a global competitor.

Of course, his name was known in every part … of the major golfing countries of the world. I wanted to be that. I wanted to be a globetrotter and go and play in Australia and Japan and all these places and win golf tournaments. But I wanted to succeed in America more than anything else because, to me, this was the tour that had the toughest competition, was played on the most beautiful golf courses that were well-conditioned, and also the facilities over here in the ‘70s and ‘80s just outshone all other practice facilities around the world. So you could really elevate your game here quickly.

TFC: No doubt technology and equipment have evolved since your playing days. How much better would you be with the latest equipment and technology?
NP: I like to think of it as this, because sometimes people or some of the press people would say, ‘Ah, you know, these players are a lot stronger; they're a lot fitter than you were and whatever.’ Well, I tend to disagree. We had a lot of great athletes who played in my time. Every generation with the equipment that they were given maximized the performance of that equipment. If you took Byron Nelson or took Bobby Jones or took Ben Hogan and you gave them today’s equipment, they would still be at the tops of their games. They would still be the most outstanding golfers. Same thing if you did with Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson and Gary Player and Arnold Palmer.

You give them this equipment that they have today, they'd still be the top. So, you can't say or generalize it by saying these guys are so much better than the previous generation. We all did the very best with the equipment that we were given. Driving a golf ball now is a lot easier than it was in our day. It really is. We had a driver that had a sweet spot that was the size of a pea. Now you've got a sweet spot the size of a peach.

TFC: OK, let’s bring this full circle and close out with design. With this second career, how would you define success and what keeps you motivated?
NP: Just to keep learning and to keep building golf courses that I believe people will enjoy playing. It’s one thing to build a golf course that is beautiful, and there are some phenomenal architects out there today. I won't name any of them, but there are some phenomenal architects that build beautiful, beautiful looking golf courses. But unfortunately, for the average guy, they are so difficult to play.

I think over the years, I've learned and improved and got a lot better at doing the framing of a golf hole, which is the aesthetic side. I think that's probably been the thing that I've learned the most about, because my golf courses generally have the same sort of design features where the angles get more acute for the better player and the angles are shallower for the higher handicaps and the ladies. I just have so much fun designing. It's probably one of the most fulfilling things that I've done. When you finish a golf course and it's all grassed in, you go up and play that first round and it’s a lot of fun. It really is very gratifying.


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