DeWitt Weaver Golf Solutions LLC

Simpler Times (where we all want to be...)
Simpler Times is an original design solutions concept of DeWitt's. It encompasses a design philosophy that is based on allowing people to enjoy themselves on the golf course by creating good breaks. The "Simpler Times" philosophy was originally intended to be a part of a total golf development with the theme carried out on all architecture, village centers, markets, and even a chapel, but the golf course design strategy can be applied to any golf course. For more details about the Simpler Times concept, you can download our two-page information sheet here.

Alternative Design (20-100 acres)
Alternative Design incorporates a golf course design for the relatively new term, "Alternative Golf". The term has not been

around as long as the concept. Alternative golf facilities simply do not fit the accepted norm of a 6,800 yard, par 72 golf

course. The demands of today's golfer are to make the game more accessible by cutting down the 4 to 5 hour rounds and make golf more easily accessible by cutting down the 4 to 5 hour rounds and make golf more easily accessible for more urban locations. Examples of "Alternative Facilities" are:

Driving Ranges
Short Game Courses
Par 3 Courses
Executive Length Golf Courses
Putting Ranges
Chip & Putt Courses
Target Golf Ranges
Floating Ranges
Virtual Golf Simulation

An Alternative Facility does not require the acreage that the larger "typical" golf courses require. These types of facilities are excellent for introducing golf into areas that have the population to support such a facility but would not normally be suitable for a large golf course development.

Junior Design (3,000 to 4,500 yards - 75-150 acres)
Junior Design incorporates a golf course design layout specific to the beginning golfer or the junior golfer. "Junior" golf courses are a form of alternative facility that replicate the total golf experience on a smaller scale so younger and beginner

golfers can get the same experience of playing a round of golf without letting lack of distance or accuracy hinder their game.

In DeWitt's years as a Club Professional and as a Director of Golf, he took pride in putting on grand tournaments specifically

for junior golfers. He wanted them to be able to experience the look and feel of a large tournament with a detailed scoreboard, scorekeepers, and a course setup that enabled them to shoot scores more indicative of seasoned golfers. As the golfers aged and became more familiar with the game, they would simply play from a different set of tees a little further back from where they started out.

Junior facilities do not have to be for juniors only. The shorter layouts lend themselves very well to an excellent practice facility or a short game course.

Senior Design (4,500 to 5,500 yards - 100-175 acres)
Senior Design involves a golf course layout that enables older golfers to enjoy their favorite pastime without worrying about

the loss of distance that comes with age. A "senior course" could also be considered an alternative facility and is oftentimes associated with a minimum-age retirement community.

As our population continues to grow and the average life span continues to rise, there will be more and more senior golfers

wanting to enjoy a weekly, or even daily, round of golf. Shortening the courses will allow for greater enjoyment of the

game and will decrease the fatigue associated with a regular 18-hole outing.

There are several development companies that have been very successful in creating retirement communities centered around a golf course. In several cases, however, the golf courses are regulation championship-style courses that a great percentage of the residents will not enjoy playing. Senior designs have to be very straightforward and should have very few, if any, penal shots. The courses should be challenging through strategic and heroic design philosophies and should not force the players to play shots they would not normally play.

DeWitt envisons a senior golf course to be a place where generations can enjoy the game of golf together. By shortening

the golf course by only a small percentage the senior designs will eliminate the reverse effect of the loss of distance due to

age.

Again, golf is a game that should be enjoyed by everyone regardless of age.

Stand-Alone Design (5,500 to 7,200 yards - 150-250 acres)
Stand-Alone Design is something we are seeing less and less of in this day and age. Very few new golf courses are being built to "stand" on their own and generate enough income to maintain the course and its players all by itself. Several years ago, when golf was not readily available in most markets, it was not uncommon for a golf course to be built whose sole purpose was to server the demand of golfers in the local market.

Along came the "swim & tennis" communities of today. Golf courses and similar amenities started to become great selling

points for neighborhoods and developments and almost became a necessity for increasing the value of residential lot sales in

some areas. Granted, there are still areas that could very easily support a stand-alone golf course. A very detailed

feasibility study should be conducted and the population of golfers as compared to the availability of holes in the

surrounding area will dictate whether or not a stand-alone facility will work.

A majority of your stand-alone golf courses are public or municipal golf courses that can afford to charge a smaller green

fee due to the large amount of rounds achieved in a season. These courses have a smaller overhead, therefore a large portion of green and cart fees can be put back into the course without a negative impact on the golf course itself.

A good example of successful stand-alone golf courses exists in popular golf destinations. Areas such as Myrtle Beach, South

Carolina, Phoenix, Arizona, Destin, Florida, Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail are a few examples where golf courses can exist by themselves. It should be noted that in those same areas there are just as many golf courses that exist in larger real estate developments and residential neighborhoods as well.

Club Design (5,500 to 7,200 yards - 150-250+ acres)
Club Design is becoming commonplace in suburban areas that want to attract golfers who desire a private or semi-private

experience. Private golf clubs can either be stand-alone or more commonly, exist in a housing development. Like the swimming pools and tennis courts, golf courses are quickly becoming an amenity that homeowners desire for their place of residcence.

It is very important when deciding the type of club to put in an area. All things revolve around the simple laws of supply and

demand. Depending on the demand in an area, different types of golf clubs are being suilt to satisfy potential members. Some people want a totally private club with social amenities such as a swimming pool, grill, tennis courts, exercise facilities,

nature trails, dining area, large locker rooms, golf teaching and practice ffacility, playgrounds for the children, and even game fields. These clubs are more suited for the large neighborhoods with over several hundred home sites. Other areas only need a small clubhouse with grill facilities and a moderate practice facility; basically the essentials to support a private club without all the overhead of a huge social development.

Private and semi-private golf clubs can be very beneficial to

land owners and developers alike because they are providing an amenity to increase the value of a person's home and are

providing a desirable atmosphere "rith in someone's backyard".

Tournament Design (7,000+ yards - 250+ acres)
Tournament Design is designing a golf course with the intention of hosting a professional golf tournament. Some design

characteristics that separate a tournament design from other common designs are:

Extended length of golf course
Largely exaggerated penal, strategic, and heroic design philosophies
Undulating greens with several pin location options
Protected greens
Attention to appearance of all surrounding vegetation
Large Clubhouse w/ locker room facilities
Large Practice Facility
Banked corridors to promote large galleries
Easy transitions from green to tee.
Stadium situations that allow several vantage points to tournament play
Sepctator-friendly layout
Accessible from a relatively large metropolitan city and airport

It is important to remember when designing and building a tournament course that the greatest percentage of play will be

during non-tournament dates. If the golf course is designed specifically to host the tournament, the designer and developer

need to keep the mid- to high-handicap player in mind for play the other 50 or so weeks in the year.

Extreme Design (6,500 to 8,000 yards - 250+ acres)
Exrtreme Design is a fun golf course design category that DeWitt came up with in light of the x-generation and x-games influence on todays' society. The "thrill seekers" out there want to experience the toughest cahllenges they can face so why not give them exactly what they want on the golf course. We all know a certain group of players that love to play "from the tips", or with "one foot in the back cut". These players are the audience for the extreme design golf course.

An extreme design will not be largely penal by any means, it will just have the appeal of looking very intimidating and will lay

very difficult but not impossible. There won't be huge forced carries, unless you want one. There won't be true danger, unless you put youself in a situation that results in danger. An extreme course will be disigned and built to challenge and even dare the most competent of golfers to shoot or break par on any given day.

A DeWitt Weaver Signature Extreme Golf Course... "built extreme for the extreme."

Re-Design (existing golf course addition or re-route)
Re-Design of existing golf courses is becoming very common these days. With the building of an average of over 400 new golf courses a year, some of the older courses are finding it difficult to compete with their newer neighbors. The one thing

left to do is to give their course a "face-lift." Some golf courses simply need new greens and tees, but others have the

available land and budget to reroute certain holes, add bunkers and tees, and to practically change the look and feel of their

current courses.

A simple process of making "old" new again will enable course owners to offer a different and often times better playing

experience. Imagine the possibilities of new or expanded rounds that would result from a re-routed or re-designed golf course.

If maintenance on that particular bunker is breaking you every month, take it out! If your course is playing too easy and

hsort, add a tee or two! If your greens are putting like a pasture, dig them up and do them over. Sometimes you've got to

spend money to bring in the money.