RICHARD A. BARIL

GolfInc Development of the Year 2012

This is my second year to judge GolfInc’s Development of the Year.  I like this award.  It recognizes the “team effort” and creativity of the project participants. 

It is not a "beauty contest" or an attempt to identify the “the best new course of the year” (sadly, this is the typical misconception).  The DOY award is intended to celebrate the creative collaboration, competence and unique problem solving flair, employed by the project development team.

Judging this “contest” is not simple.  The projects are incredibly diverse. For example;  on the “modest end” - a half million dollar 9 hole course in a developing country is compared with an “extravagant” project in China, which includes ten – 18 hole golf courses, with a million dollar-a-hole budget.  These projects must be compared side by side and a determination made about: 1) which team best addressed the project specific issues, 2) which team defined and achieved it's goals, 3) which project is the most significant accomplishment (considering the project specific elements; site, budget, restrictions, environmental concerns, etc)…

Since it is impossible to visit each project, the merit of each entrant is judged solely on the information provided by the project representatives (normally the architect).   This information (should) include; 1) project/golf course masterplan, 2) project description and 3) representative photos of the project/golf course.  The information is diverse; some entrants provide comprehensive details, while others are vague.

The judges are instructed to evaluate the entrants solely on the information provided by the entrant and included in the DOY package.   I can say the quality and comprehensiveness of the submittal information is crucial, since it is truly the basis on which all entrants are judged.

The judging process is “blind” – each judge independently assesses all the entrants and scores each entrant on a 1 to 10 scale according to the following criteria:

1. 50% - did the team accomplish the project’s “vision” statement
2. 25% - golf course routing
3. 25% - aesthetics

The judges also write a brief comment about each entrant, which is used in the DOY article, when the results are made public.

The judge’s scores are tallied by GolfInc.  We (the judges) learn the results (and who the other judges are) along with the rest of the world - when the results are published in the magazine. 

It is an interesting and worthy award.  It recognizes the efforts of the entire development team.  It strips away the marketing hype, ignores publicity and disregards the glitzy propaganda.  The DOY recognizes and celebrates excellence in our profession.  And, that’s a good thing!

Congratulations to everyone involved with the recognized projects!!