News and PR

Interview with Bobby Weed, Golf Course Architect

May 2007

1. Describe the character of the Linville Ridge golf course.
   Classic, mountain golf with some of the best maintained and consistent playing conditions in the region. Excellent facilities and amenities to cater to the member of tomorrow
2. What is the course's single most impressive feature?
   The long vistas overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains.
3. How would you characterize the course design prior to the changes you're making?
   George Cobb design on a very difficult site.
4. What is your approach to evaluating and designing changes to an existing course?
   To understand and identify what is broken and keep what works. What elements do you take into consideration? Budget, time, schedule, owner/ membership desires, etc. How as an architect I can improve upon what exists today
5. What changes are you making to the Linville Ridge golf course?
   Improve strategic value, playability, and altering style of bunkers, becoming more rugged and varied to blend with the mountain terrain.
6. Please describe what you have done/will be doing to various holes.
   Overall, improving variety of bunker shapes, style, depth, character and location
7. What impact will the changes have on golfers?
   Improved approaches allowing more run-up shots, 2) more visually and stimulating bunkers. What will golfers familiar with the course notice? Views in the foreground with bunkering make it just as nice to view the golf hole as the long vistas out over the golf course. Removing select trees to further enhance vistas
8. Linville Ridge is known for its playability. What impact will your changes have on the playability of the course?
   I do not agree that Linville Ridge is known for its playability. With the improvements, we feel such will be the case. Wider approaches, more strategic bunkering, wider fairways, more variety of tee areas, etc.
9. Will landing areas off the tee still be relatively generous?
   Generous to more generous
10. Will higher handicap players still have room for some missed shots?
    As much as the terrain will allow, more than in the past
11. Will long hitters off the tee have an advantage?
    No, new bunkers and landing areas will make longer hitters more judicious when using their length and be more challenging
12. How important will short game be?
    More interest, as we have introduced additional close cut approach and collar areas to stimulate more variety of club selection around the greens. Mentally more challenging
13. Will the course be fair but challenging?
    Golf was not meant to be fair!
14. Will good shots be rewarded, bad shots penalized?
    Yes
15. How would you describe your overall golf course design philosophy?
    To provide an equal balance of physical ability and mental agility
16. How would you compare Linville Ridge to other courses/other mountain courses you've worked on?
    Higher altitude provides some of the best views/ vistas of any mountain course and should be marketed as such.
17. Now that you've gotten to know the Linville course so well, what do you think of it?
    With some professional photography and creative marketing, the soon to be completed Linville Ridge should rival the best mountain golf east of the Rockies.

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