Travis became a student of the layout and design features of golf courses early in his golfing career as the result of trips to Great Britain. In late 1901, Travis wrote an article, published in the Bulletin of the USGA, titled, "Impressions of British Golf". He observed that in "England and Scotland ... you have golf—golf in its best and highest form". He referred to the "radical difference in their physical configurations in relation to our courses." He was impressed with the lack of trees, the number and placement of bunkers, the natural undulations of the greens, and the quality of turf. In a later article, Travis presented his ideas for the design of a ""first class" "golf course. In this article, Travis emphasized the importance of soil that provides "natural drainage", land that is "more or less undulating—neither flat nor hilly ... but a judicious blending of the two extremes" and "trees of any kind are non-existent—as they should be", and "holes should be so laid out as to provide for the playing of every conceivable sort of stroke, with every club in one's bag". He noted, "diversity of play should be the aim of the architect of a first-class course".