15
as golf courses that are looking for
answers at their individual clubs.
Secondly, a committee of members
will look into ways that we can “Build
Community.” We are looking for ways
to work more closely with the media
and other golf organizations to keep
the game of golf healthy. Giving our
members more opportunities to interact
with other influencers in golf will make
ASGCA and the game stronger.
Finally, I will be working closely with
our Membership committee to reach
out to prospective members who meet
our admission criteria. We want to make
sure potential members know about
ASGCA and, and we’re investigating
ways to help mentor those who are
working to enter the profession.
In Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus, you
have worked with arguably both the
greatest architect and greatest player
in modern golf. What did you draw
from these experiences?
No matter the profession, everyone
has individuals in their lives that help
us grow in our professions and Pete
and Jack are two key individuals to
my career growth. I started working
for Pete out of college and he is
very ‘hands on’ to his approach to
design. His detailed plan work is
minimal, but he spends a great
deal of time onsite looking at the
land, exchanging concepts with the
construction team and finding ways
to challenge golfers but also make the
course playable. Many may dispute
my ‘playable’ comment, but he truly
wants for all levels of golfers to be
able to enjoy the course. His courses
are very strategic in design and
unique in style.
Jack’s course design company is
more structured. As design associates,
we were assigned to specific projects
and would then keep Jack involved
as the design progressed. Plan work
was much more detailed at Nicklaus
Design. The majority of hole strategies
were set early on with adjustments
made through the construction phase.
I learned so much from these two
individuals and could not have had
better mentors for my career in golf
course architecture.
Schmidt-Curley is known for its
prolific activity in new golf markets,
particularly in Asia. How much
of your time is spent working
internationally, and how does this
compare to work in the USA?
When Brain Curley and I formed
Schmidt-Curley Design 18 years ago,
the majority of our work was in the
USA. As we all know, the growth of
new golf facilities in the USA has
declined in recent years due to many
factors; oversupply, an economic
downturn and decline in active
golfers. Prior to this slowdown, we
were fortunate to have expanded our
presence into Asia. Presently we
have two offices in China and the
majority of our work is in the Asia
region. We have been very fortunate
to work with some great clients and
interesting sites that have allowed us
to create new designs and also help
grow the game in other parts of the
world. China, in particular, has grown
from less than twenty courses to over
one thousand in a relatively short
period of time. This growth translates
to more golfers playing worldwide
and also having golfers traveling more
to see and enjoy courses.
What is your outlook for the golf
design business?
There are design opportunities both
in remodeling work and new designs.
Existing courses are looking for ways
to attract new members by upgrading
their facilities, and the entire industry
is focused on attracting and keeping
players. As I mentioned earlier, we
want to use our skills as creative
problem solvers—thought leaders—
to help owners envision ways to
make the game healthy. Increasing
water use rates coupled with water
availability issues worldwide are also
creating opportunities to redesign
courses to make them more efficient.
The demand for new designs is fewer
than in years past, but these courses
need to be more adaptive to tougher
terrains and more environmentally
sensitive. We have currently started a
new project in Myanmar, which shows
there are still new frontiers available
for expanding golf worldwide. We
have many very talented members in
the ASGCA who can help developers
and owners with their projects.
•
Bali Hai GC, Las Vegas, Nev.
