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Chad Goetz, ASGCA Associate, of Nicklaus Design, was
on the design team for the third course at Golf La Moraleja in
Madrid, Spain, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Course
I
n 2015, the American Society of
Golf Course Architects welcomed
three new associate members to its
ranks. To achieve this status, each had
to complete a rigorous, multi-phase
application process that includes peer
review of four completed courses,
discussions with project owners and
a personal interview to assess the
candidate’s professional capabilities.
This process typically takes two years
for an applicant to complete, but more
often than not, ASGCA membership has
been a goal for far longer than that. Take
new associate member Nathan Crace,
for example. He established Watermark
Golf/Nathan Crace Design in 2002,
but his ambition to attain ASGCA
membership was formed long before
then. “I was about 10 when I built a
three-hole course on my parents’ land in
southern Indiana, because there was no
golf course in my home town. I studied
books about golf courses intently, either
from the city library or bought for me
by my mother. In one of those books, I
came across a reference to the ASGCA
and I told my parents that when I
grew up, I was going to be a member.
Imagine that: my friends were all going
to be astronauts or the President or
professional ball players and here I was
telling everyone I was going to be a golf
course architect when I grew up!”
For another new associate member,
Thad Layton, a senior golf course
architect for Arnold Palmer Design
Company, thoughts of design also
started at an early age: “At 13, I learned
to play the game during summer golf
camp at a local muni in Gulfport,
Mississippi, called Tramark. It was a
pretty basic 18-hole layout with small
pushup greens and two bunkers on the
entire course. The lack of features must
have bothered me on some level as I was
always making changes to the course in
my mind. As my play improved, so did
the quality of golf courses on which I
got to play and my appreciation for the
differences in each golf course grew. My
dad was very supportive of my interests,
taking me to play golf at different
courses in our area. At 15, I picked up
a book on golf course design and knew
I’d found my calling. I’ve been pursuing
that dream ever since.”
His introduction to the ASGCA
came while studying for a degree in
Landscape Architecture at Mississippi
State University. “I sent off for a
brochure listing all the members. With
the intent of learning more about the
craft, I wrote to every member enquiring
about a summer internship. It was
through that process that I learned