By Design - Winter 2018

18 | By Design EDUCATION Giving back Many ASGCA members share their expertise in golf course design through formal education programs. Richard Humphreys finds out more. T he American Society of Golf Course Architects is committed to the advancement of knowledge of golf course architecture and sharing this knowledge with those involved in creating golf courses. Numerous members help achieve this with roles in formal education programs. We spoke to a few to find out how they got involved and why they do it. Jason Straka, ASGCA , a former adjunct professor at The Ohio State University, says: “My father was an educator so that’s probably part of the reason I got involved. “I was attending an evening seminar from Tom Weiskopf and there was a student there from Ohio State University. He came up to me after the seminar and asked if I ever considered teaching. People had certainly helped me in the past— including Tom Doak and Gil Hanse, ASGCA, when I was at university— so I said I’d definitely consider it. That gentleman was Patrick Burton, ASGCA, and he’s ended up doing a bunch of work for us and has a successful career in his own right. “In my first year there were five students and then it grew from there. I’ve taught for 10 consecutive years at university—and have had upwards of 20 students at any given time.” ASGCA Past President Clyde Johnston teaches at The Professional Golfers Career College in Bluffton, South Carolina: “I received a call in the fall of 2008 from the director of the college. The school was new to the area and the instructor who was teaching—a golf course superintendent—was leaving for another job. After touring the facility and talking with the director, I agreed to teach the class. It was a two-hour class, one day per week for 15 weeks in a semester. My first semester was the spring of 2009 and I’m still teaching the class today. Chris Wilczynski, ASGCA , who teaches Golf Course Design and Construction at Michigan State University, says: “I started in 2017—I had previously been a guest lecturer at Michigan State University—and I took over a class called Golf Course Design and Construction, which had been taught for thirty years. Bruce Matthews, ASGCA—a Michigan architect—taught it before me and before him were Jerry Matthews, ASGCA Fellow, and Bill Newcomb. It is my second year teaching the class. It is taught to the two- year turf students—It is aimed at students who want to be golf course superintendents.” Stephen Kay, ASGCA , an adjunct instructor at the Professional Golf Turf Management School in New Jersey, also had his first experience of teaching at Michigan State. He says: “I first got involved in education in the early 1980s—I was working with Bill Newcomb, who also taught at the University of Michigan. He was busy with a project in California at the time, Jason Straka, ASGCA (above, in red shirt) teaching students while on a field trip. Clyde Johnston (right, seated) with a class at The Professional Golfers Career College When I was a kid I thought of being a math teacher, there was always a bit of teaching in my mind Stephen Kay, ASGCA