The domino effect: What to consider during renovation and remodeling

It was U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower who made “the domino effect” a part of popular language. In 1954 Eisenhower reasoned that allowing even one country to fall to communism would open the door to others. He likened the threat to dominoes falling — set one in motion and the others follow. Considering Eisenhower was an avid golfer, the metaphor of falling dominoes as it relates to golf improvement projects is well suited.

In golf renovation and remodeling, the “threat” of a domino effect obviously doesn’t rise to the level of world peace and stability. But if even a small part of your responsibility is to watch the dollars, it’s important to understand. We all want to get the most out of the investment being made to the course. The interrelationship between each part of a golf course, and how changes to one area nearly always cause an effect in another, should not be underestimated.

Golf courses are the sum of many parts. If you consider just the primary components — tees, fairways, bunkers and greens — and then add in the many other details and infrastructure, you’ll get a large number of components. Golf courses live both above and below ground. A golf course is part garden, part playing board. Each course is kept running through sophisticated systems. It’s not unlike the utility infrastructure we all take for granted in our neighborhoods. What we can’t see from the surface is what makes golf courses healthy. Irrigation, drainage and root zones are then joined by such aspects as safety (liability), pace of play and the overall intrinsic value the design has to offer. That’s just a partial list. The numerous parts of a golf course create an exponential list to consider — many dominoes.

As just one example, when we go to add a forward tee, as simple as that may seem, we should not move forward without paying attention to the irrigation system and drainage. Where will the soil come from to shape that new tee? Will the soil and location suffice to grow quality turf? Will trees need to be removed or added? Will that bunker on the left be appropriate from the new tee? Indeed, it’s an exponential list.

The many decisions that must be made during a golf course renovation or remodeling project take foresight and planning. We all want to get the most bang for the buck. But, far too often, we set in motion the spending of money without considering the big picture. That’s what often leads to dominoes falling.

This is why the…