Q&A with Brett Mogg

It can’t hurt that the HSBC Champions tournament is played at Sheshan every year?

That’s right. The publicity generated by the tournament has been good for us, as has the course’s exclusivity and cachet in the China market. It also doesn’t hurt that the world’s greatest golfer plays there three years out of five!

What do you make of the number of largely American-based designers who have come over to Asia in recent times as a result of stagnation in their home markets?

There has been a noticeable influx of overseas architects due to the economic crisis and this is only likely to become more of a feature of the market, particularly in China. Where this influx results in an improvement in the clients’ understanding of the possibilities and varieties of golf course design, we support this competition. More talented designers working here is positive, both for us as architects and for the game in general.

For instance, designers like Tom Doak or Bill Coore push a minimalist, low-key approach to their designs, often with par of 70 or 71, and often with gnarly, rough-looking bunkers and lay-of-the-land greens. This type of approach is not very popular in Asia, where clients and golfers often prefer a more manicured parkland approach. Personally, I love these natural courses and would like to design more of them, so any increase in their popularity may open up opportunities for different approaches by us. These changes may well happen with time as golfers and owners become more educated and so I am looking forward to being around when more flexibility is encouraged.

Is Paspalum your grass of choice nowadays in tropical climates?

A few years ago I would have said yes, but nowadays I am not so sure. It has a number of truly great qualities – low light tolerance, poor water quality tolerance etc. However, the jury is out on whether it is really the grass of the future. It still has a lot of issues that are becoming apparent the more it is used. You know Bermuda 419 used to be the grass of choice in tropical and subtropical climes for most architects and it took 20 years of continual use for its shortcomings to be exposed.

Are shapers the unsung heroes of golf course design?

For sure, although many are pretty good at singing their own praises! Most golf course architects rely on the skills of these guys to translate their visions on paper into reality – and it's pretty amazing what these guys can do with their huge machines. There are a few designers who shape their own work, guys like Tom Doak and Bill Coore, but they tend not to do a lot of work in Asia mainly due to the more hands on and time consuming nature of their work.

At Nelson & Haworth we always try to credit the shapers for their work – on our website you will see the lead shapers for all our projects listed; we believe that credit where credit is due is good policy. We have a number of guys – and pretty much all shapers are male – who have worked with us a long time, which always helps with the translation of arm waves into reality.

To single out one shaper – I would like to credit Gary Read for the great work he did at Kau Sai Chau with Peter Wardell. We worked with Gary on a number of jobs in China and he was a real joy – humble, quiet and talented. Unfortunately, Gary recently died of a heart attack at the age of 44 in Hong Kong. He will be missed.

How do you celebrate the completion of a new design?

It’s a great idea to celebrate the completion of a new project. Unfortunately it is pretty rare for us to be able to do so. Our involvement often ends before opening and we are on our way to the next project, wherever that might be. Most jobs just seem to slowly die out for us before the grand opening so whenever we are able to attend one, we really appreciate it as it helps us draw a line under the project before moving on.With the East Course, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the opening ceremonies, although after two of the four guests’ opening drives ended up lost in the bushes I was looking for somewhere to hide. Thankfully a young girl [Tiffany Chan, Junior Close champion] saved me with an excellent drive. And we did have a few drinks to round out the day and the project!

For more information about Nelson & Haworth visit www.nelsonhaworth.com