Course Brains™, a new book by golf course architect Forrest Richardson, allows golf course operators and club members to gauge their course's I.Q. through a series of 25 topics. The notion for Course Brains came to Richardson following several years of meeting with clubs about ways to stimulate revenue and get a handle on operating costs. "A common theme in operating a golf course today is balancing the asset with the need to reduce cost and increase revenue," notes Richardson. "My goal with the Course Brains program is to stimulate thinking that leads to positive change.Using 25 separate topics, Richardson reaches out to superintendents, professionals, club managers and members in a clever way. Topics range from managed turf area planning to the nuances of course policies. In each, a case is presented for why the area of concern is important. At the conclusion of each section the reader is asked to assign a grade — self assigned by the reader — that fits their idea of the course being evaluated. By assigning an A, B, C, D or F, the reader is formulating a final score — the Golf Course I.Q. for their particular course.

As part of a major addition for its new Camelback Ballroom, Starwood's flagship Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona has completed work on a major upgrade to its golf courses. The 27-hole luxury resort - with its Oasis, Desert and Canyon Nines - is now home to Arizona's only "Sand Island" green.Golf course architect Forrest Richardson oversaw development of the work in conjunction with Troon Golf, long-time operating manager of the resort's award winning golf facility.

Following a complete restoration of their historic golf course by golf architects Forrest Richardson and Mark Fine, Mira Vista Golf & Country Club has announced the addition of 54 new members since the grand re-opening this past November.The membership of the club undertook the bold initiative to restore the golf course to its original splendor while also working on a long term arbor plan to preserve the health of the great stands of trees that define the course's setting in the hills above Berkeley, California.

Golf architect Forrest Richardson has been selected to reconfigure and provide a new routing for the Palo Alto Golf Course, a Bay Area course established in 1956. Palo Alto Golf Course was established in 1956 and designed by the father and son team of William P. and William F. Bell. The senior Bell, known as "Billy Bell Sr.", passed away before the course was opened in 1956. The younger Bell went on to design scores of courses throughout the west. Palo Alto remains one of the last courses designed by William P. Bell. Now, nearly six decades later, Forrest Richardson, ASGCA will undertake a re-design project to help make way for an expanded floodway project adjacent to the course.

As part of ASGCA's successful Remodeling University program, Forrest Richardson, ASGCA recently presented on "Seven Essential Steps for Moving a Remodeling Project Forward." Richardson has been an ASGCA member since 2000 and established his own firm, Forrest Richardson & Associates, in 1988. The firm is based in Phoenix, Arizona

As golfers are already rationing their recreation dollars, courses must be sure the cutbacks they are making do not adversely affect the quality of their product. To save money, course operators are learning new ways to do more with less. According to Richardson, one option is cutting back on the amount of turf they maintain.

The Lookout Mountain Golf Club at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort has undergone an environmental transformation this summer. Taking the place of three ponds on the course are new hazard complexes comprised of bunkers and native desert waste areas. The annual water savings is estimated to be more than ten million gallons.Forrest Richardson, original designer with PGA Senior Player Bill Johnston, was brought back to integrate the new hazards into the natural desert layout. The ponds had been additions shortly before opening in 1987.