New Zealand courses have changed drastically since the golf boom of the 1960s.
Almost all the holes consisted of a tee at one end, a green at the other, pine trees either side of the fairways, and bunkers to the left and right of the greens.
The St Clair course has changed dramatically with the removal of many trees and the shaping and sloping of the greens - the 18th green being developed only a year ago.
More ideas may be coming St Clair's way as, fresh from winning seven of his eight games in the national masters tournament, head green keeper Andrew Hobbs is off to the United States to attend a conference.
It is a trip of a lifetime for Hobbs, who has played countless representative games for Canterbury and, more recently, Otago, as well as making his career in turf culture.
''When I arrive I will attend a three-day conference for greens staff and golf architects on restoring the character of old golf courses,'' Hobbs said.
''I will then have a tour of the John Deere factory, which is famous for building our turf equipment.
''I am keen to visit their maintenance facilities and see what they do and how they do it, which may save us some money in future.''
Hobbs will also be looking at a large variety of equipment and what St Clair might use in the future.
After that, the keen golfer is going to play a round at Pinehurst No2, in North Carolina, where Michael Campbell won the US Open in 2005.
''It should be in good order, as it is also the venue of next year's US Open.''
Hobbs also intends to play a round on the Tobacco Road course, in North Carolina, which has been crafted out of a reclaimed quarry.
He hopes to fit in a third round somewhere and the Needles course, Arizona, is top of his list.
