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S
teve Smyers, ASGCA, has a
simple message. “The game of
golf is extremely healthy! There
are 25 million players – 21 million
are active – and nearly 16,000 golf
courses in America, plus another
16,000 worldwide.”
As Smyers begins his term as
ASGCA President, he will focus
on ‘the evolution of the game’ and
its architecture. But to see where
Smyers is going, it helps to know
where he has been.
It all changed for him at the 1969
U.S. Open at Champions Golf Club in
Houston. Already a golfer for several
years, Smyers – a high school junior –
caddied for Miller Barber at the event.
“I stood on the practice range and
listened to Miller and the other players
talk about the golf course,” he says.
“They talked about what a great
course it was; that it could be attacked
from all over and didn’t set up for one
player better than another. Lee Trevino
could play the low hook he played at
that time, and Jack Nicklaus with his
high fade had an equal chance.
“I had never looked at a golf course
like that before, and those comments
stuck in my mind.”
An interest in golf course design and
architecture was sparked. That spark
would turn into quite the flame, as
evidenced today by Smyers’ work at
such courses as: Wolf Run Golf Club,
Zionsville, Indiana; Old Memorial,
Tampa, Florida; Chart Hills Golf
Club, Kent, England; and redesigns,
including Isleworth, Orlando,
Florida. He has plans to redesign Old
Memorial this summer.
Along the way he continued to play
the game he loves. As a teen, Smyers
watched Ben Hogan hit golf balls at
Champions and saw a young Trevino
play before the ‘Merry Mex’ joined
the PGA Tour. In college, Smyers was
a member of the University of Florida
golf team that won the 1973 NCAA
Championship. The team included
Andy Bean and Gary Koch.
His first 18-hole design, Wolf Run,
included input from a famous –
unpaid – consultant.
“Pete and Alice Dye were preparing
Crooked Stick for the PGA
Championship, and Pete would give
me hell or critique me for the work I
was doing at Wolf Run,” Smyers laughs.
“They would invite me to play and as
we talked I learned about the business.
I also learned from him what it took to
get a course ready for a championship.”
Besides the Dyes – both ASGCA Past
Presidents – Smyers notes the positive
influence of other ASGCA members.
“I learn so much every time I hear a
member speak at the Annual Meeting
or elsewhere,” he says. “To sit back
and listen to architects like the late
Jay Morrish, Lee Schmidt, Bruce
Charlton, Mike Hurdzan, Rees Jones
and so many others is a joy.”
Smyers continued to play at a high
level, competing in a number of USGA
championships. He was later asked
to serve on what is now the USGA
Equipment Standards committee,
which led to a six-year term on the
USGA Executive Committee.
“It was the most influential learning
experience I’ve had,” he says. “I
brought a perspective of someone who
was a designer and had played at a
fairly high level. And I got to see how
these smart executives went through
the decision-making process; taking
information, analyzing and discussing
before coming to a conclusion. The
goal of each decision isn’t to necessarily
benefit one specific group, but all the
constituencies in the entire game.”
Evolving
the game
INTERVIEW
16
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By Design
In his forthcoming year as ASGCA
President, Steve Smyers will focus on ‘the
evolution of the game’ and its architecture.
Marc Whitney finds out more