Dear Mr. Architect:

Our house is located on the golf course of a Par-5 hole.  The women’s tee faces even with the house across the cart path, the men's tees are behind.  Is there any protection I can put on one side of the house that will not be too obvious to protect it from golf balls?  The house is already constructed, so it is too late to place it on another site.  Have you heard of a product called Opti-Net?  Thanks for any help you can give. 

Bernie Abbott
Crossville, TN

Dear Bernie:

Most times the golf course developer has taken some measures to protect homeowner’s safety as well as the property of adjacent homesteads along a golf course. But in this case, since the house is already where it is on the site, here are some ideas that might help:  

• Protect your windows.  A great big picture window with a killer view back up the fairway, may – just may – also be a golfer’s slice magnet.  Well-placed awnings or sunscreens both above, as well as beside, vulnerable windows may help to thwart wayward golf balls.  These can also become attractive trellis type structures for plantings and what not. 
• Check for durable materials used in the house.  High-end tile roofs may look great on the house, but after the tenth one comes skittering down from an incoming golf ball, you might be re-thinking things. 

• Check the surrounding vegetation.  Trees may offer some protection, but golf balls caroming off the trees into your yard from odd angles is always a possibility.  A dense hedge of tall conifers may be a better way to providing a good buffer.

• Check local ordinances. I’ve not heard of “opti-net”, but that doesn’t mean that it (or another other similar product) is not out there.   If you are going to do a fence, regardless of your intent or need, a local building official will still see it as a fence.

Check with local ordinances about heights, materials, and proximity to the property line or adjacent buildings.  Given your setting, in a golf community some regulatory relief may be possible, however you might also have to contend with the local association’s standards. 

Also, you will need to consider some structural issues if you need to make it very tall.  You can do it, but it will take some preparation and forethought

Back to Top

Dear Mr. Architect:

I am looking for golf-proof, glass windows. We live on the 11th Fairway of Pine Creek Golf Course in Colorado Springs and have taken many hits to the house, to include a broken window last week. My main concern is our 18-foot windows in the Great Room. It is only a matter of time before we loose one of these. After seeing the extent of "shrapnel" damage from the small window broken last week, it is obvious that if the 18-foot windows were broken in the same manner, it would be devastating not only to the interior of the home, but to anyone sitting in that room. Please advise- Thank you much!

Nicola J. Sapp
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Dear Nicola:

Weathershield offers an impact-resistant glazing product that they incorporate into their window products. You may have a different window manufacturer (Marvin, Peachtree, etc.), so you might want to contact them to see if they supply a similar product. Any window manufacturer that you use (though, you should try to match what is existing if you can) will be able to send out a field representative to help you with the order. Their web site: 
http://www.weathershield.com/ideahouse/feature/feature_permanentfeature.asp

Dependable Glass is more of a source manufacturer for the glazing product (no window frames or sashes), but they may be more appropriate for your large picture window applications. You will probably need to have a reputable contractor help you coordinate the correct sizes and connection details for the installation, because Dependable is based in Louisiana. Their web site:
http://www.depglass.com/products.html

Finally, you might want to try to get your insurance carrier into the picture. (Pardon the pun). After all, it's in their interest to assist you with the cost of upgrading to a glazing product that will resist future claims for broken picture windows. It's worth a try.

Back to Top

Dear Mr. Architect:

I'd like to know what materials are used when making a golf course, it is for my environmental biology class, I would also like to know what materials listed are harmful.

Janelle S.
University of Guam Student

Dear Janelle:

Grass is clearly one of the most important elements to a golf course and it provides the playing surface (in general) for tee box areas, fairways and greens.  On some courses, each part of the course (tee box, fairway, green) may have different species of grass, depending on a number of factors including use, location, climate and aesthetic.  There may be species of grass that are common or indigenous to your area and you might wish to contact a local golf course for local information.

Here in the United States, preferences for grass applications can (and do) change with respect to the region of the country.  What works in the Northeastern United States does not necessarily work for the Southwestern United States.  Listed below are two website links that may prove helpful to you. Good luck!

http://floridaturf.com/

http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/hort/sctop/golf.htm

Back to Top

Dear Mr. Architect: 

How much acreage is needed to build a professional, 18-hole golf course with all the bells and whistles? (ball park number)

Arjay Merritt
Pasadena, CA

Dear Arjay:

Of course it depends on a whole variety of factors, but a good "ball park" number to start with for a course with good terrain is between 150 and 200 acres. The lower range starts to pinch things, but the upper range (200 acres) gives you all you will need to work with in term of all the other supporting functions that add to the acreage requirement. 

Good terrain means just that, comfortable, rolling land that is not too stressed and not too severe. Wetlands, rocks (ledge), and abrupt topography can add to the acreage.

My company is active in the golf course development field, and we have recently undertaken a number of private and publish clubhouse design projects, as well as custom residential units and planned residential developments. We are also currently acting as co-developers during the preliminary planning phases for several golf course projects here in the Northeast U.S. 

And, we also provide a broad range of architectural design, facility consulting, and strategic planning services to private, commercial, and institutional clients throughout U.S. I would be more than happy to speak with you directly about your needs.

Back to Top

Dear Mr. Architect:

We’ve just purchased our site and before we get to siting the house, we want to clear a little of the land.  Any suggestions on how to go about this?  Our sight is sloped slightly to the south and it is somewhat lightly wooded over the better part of two-thirds of the lot.

Fredricka B.
Lafayette, CA 

Dear Fredricka:

The first thing to remember is this; it takes a few minutes to cut a tree down that may have taken 100 years to grow.  Our advice is to go slow.  Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Get a site plan of your lot

2. If the trees are indicated on it all the better; if not spend a little time sketching in where the larger trees are (say anything over 12" in diameter at 2' above the ground).  

3. These larger trees are substantial and should be treated with respect. 

4. Try to sketch in the extent of the tree canopies above the ground (use a different colored pencil). Once you’ve done that, you may see that there are areas where trees are concentrated and areas where they are sparse.  This may lead you to begin to think about how your house might be placed on the site.

Circles in the above sketch represent tree canopies.

5. Another thing, first remove all trees with caliper diameters less than 4", say, or maybe 6".  This will serve to cut out the undergrowth and reveal more clearly the remaining trees.  You may also notice that groupings of trees can form their own outdoor “rooms” — all the more reason to proceed carefully.

 6. As you make final considerations about the fate of a particular tree make sure you determine the tree species (and from that determine how that might add or detract to your house placement and design).  Also, be sure to consider the age and the apparent health the tree.  Sadly, it may not be worth saving a magnificent oak tree adjacent to your front drive, if it’s trunk is decayed and its about to fall over.

 7. Finally, make sure you hire a professional to cut your trees down.  And by all means, make sure it’s on your property!

Back to Top

 Dear Mr. Architect

Our association has recently approved the use of “new” materials in our neighborhood’s house designs and details.  I didn’t think it was such a good idea, but everyone else seemed to go along with it.  Can you shed some light on this?

B. Davis
Pinehurst, NC

Dear Mr. Davis:

The advance in materials technologies in recent years has provided the homeowner (and the builder as well) with a plethora of alternative building products.  These can range from deck materials made of re-constituted plastic particles, clapboard and shingle siding made of cementitious fibers (i.e., vinyl siding), columns, design motifs and the light made of fiberglass composites, and roof shingles made of recycled tires.  

Examples of new materials used in sofits, siding and trim.

The best thing to do is research.  Very simply, some of these alternative materials may not be appropriate for the design or construction application that you might wish to use them for.  Another cause for concern is that some of the newer products do not exist in a mature market yet, i.e., there may not be any knowledgeable distributors, installers or builders who understand the product well enough to install and maintain it properly. 

And while all of these products have been thoroughly tested, local conditions and length of prolonged exposure to the elements may ultimately affect their performance or appearance. These new products are good for the design and building industry, but like all products in general, there is an appropriate time and an appropriate place to use them.

Back to Top

Dear Mr. Architect

We just settled on a lot in our subdivision.  We’ve walked through the builder’s model house, and looked at several of his plans.  We see some things in each plan that we like, but none add up to the perfect house.   When we talked about making some changes, the builder started telling us only about upgrades. What do we do?

A Nelson
Darien, CT 

Dear Mr. Nelson:

If you’re seeing good bits of the “prefect” house here and there on several plans, but not on the one you want, then you may have good reason to pause.  If the builder is truly interested in helping you to build your dream house (after all that should be what they’re in the business for), then he should be amenable to a measured and logical approach to creating the changes that you need.

You might want to ask him for the plans that you like best and tell him that you would like to have an architect or designer “synthesize” them.  He most likely will tell you that this will entail a different price structure. (Remember, their profit margins are tied to how efficiently, i.e. repetitive, they construct their houses; a brand new design will cause them to re-think their price structure).  If you’re okay with that, then push ahead.

First floor plan of the Hamptons design at Ford's Colony.

The good thing about having a designer or an architect involved is threefold: 

1) They may help you to put all of the good things that you like into one design and if they’re really good, they’ll give you some wonderful design surprises as well

The Hamptons design at Ford's Colony by Stephen Fuller.
Features 3,355 Total Square Feet, 4 Bedrooms, 3½ Baths

2) They can assist you with budgeting as the process moves forward so that when you get the plans back to the builder you haven’t inadvertently created the Taj Mahal (trivia: large monument in India; built for the king’s wife.  The second one (for the king) was to be situated facing it across the river.  It was never built.)

3) They can work with the builder to make sure that you get all the elements that you cherish in that perfect house — at a price that you can afford.

Back to Top

To send a question to Ask the Architect, click here!