By Design – Issue 53, Summer 2021

14 A rthur Hills – who served as ASGCA President from 1992- 93 – passed away in May 2021, aged 91. During his career as a golf course architect, which began in the 1960s, Hills designed more than 200 new golf courses and renovated more than 150 others. His new designs include The Golf Club of Georgia in Atlanta, Bighorn Golf Club in California, and Hyatt Hill Country Resort in Texas. Hills’ career saw him work on many private courses in Florida, leading Pete Dye, a Past President and Fellow of the ASGCA, to dub him “the Mayor of Naples”. Drew Rogers, ASGCA, worked with Hills for near 20 years, including on projects such as Oitavos Dunes in Portugal. “He afforded me the chance to pursue my dream of becoming a golf course architect and to work on projects of varied complexities and challenges all over the world,” says Rogers. “I don’t think there were many others who were willing to take that chance on me!” ASGCA Past President Steve Forrest says: “He started the business by placing an ad in the Toledo Yellow Pages under ‘Golf Course Architect’ while operating a landscape contracting business. I had the great privilege of learning all aspects of golf course architecture from a distinguished professional practitioner and humble gentleman over 42 years. Arthur became a father-like figure to me who was a mentor, an instructor, exhorter and admonisher while always trying to improve his own skills and increase his personal knowledge every day.” Continual improvement was a key asset to Hills’ career in the golf industry, says Shawn Smith, ASGCA. “Maybe more than anybody I’ve ever known, Arthur was always trying to improve,” he says. “He was always trying to get better, and he encouraged those around him to do the same. “One of my favorite memories was in 2004 when he took the entire office to Scotland to visit the home of golf. For a week, 14 of us traveled across Scotland on an unforgettable boondoggle, soaking up everything in an effort to make us better architects. In the evenings, we would sit around having dinner and a few pints and talk about the day’s experiences. For many of us, it was our first time there, and I remember all of us hanging on Art’s every word to get his perspective. “However, he was more interested in hearing from us! Even with all his experience designing golf courses, ASGCA Past President Arthur Hills passed away in May 2021. By Design hears about the qualities he possessed as a designer and a person. REMEMBRANCE A constant improver “ One of our favorite Arthur-isms was, ‘take the worst hole and make it the best’”