The Ghost Name in Golf Course Architecture

About this episode

The episode features Joe Hancock discussing his influential yet understated role in modern golf course architecture.

Joe Hancock may be the most-mentioned, least-seen name in modern golf course architecture. In this episode of The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf, host Matt Considine and cohost Dr. Kevin Moore sit down with Joe (@joeytheknows on Twitter), golf course shaper, designer, superintendent, operator, and longtime DeVries Design collaborator. Joe has one of those golf lives that seem to run beneath the surface of the game and the grounds we play on. He grew up around golf in Michigan, worked as a superintendent, owned and operated a family golf course, helped build The Mines with Mike DeVries, and has since shaped and collaborated on projects with some of the most respected architects in the modern game. The conversation dives into: Joe’s friendship and working relationship with Mike DeVries, from childhood summers on Crystal Lake to shaping The Mines in Grand Rapids Why being a former superintendent and golf course operator changed the way Joe thinks about clients, budgets, maintenance, and the people who actually play the course The quiet art of shaping, including how a shaper learns when to execute, when to suggest, and when to let the land do most of the work Broomsedge, Candy…

People in this episode

Hosts: Matt Considine, Dr. Kevin Moore

Guest: Joe Hancock

Topics covered

• golf course architecture
• golf course design
• public golf accessibility
• golf maintenance
• shaping techniques

Keywords

• golf
• architecture
• course design
• superintendent
• public golf

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: DeVries Design

Books & works: The Mines

Places: Michigan, Grand Rapids

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