By Design - Fall 2016

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Settindown Creek, Brookhaven and
Hawks Ridge, all near Atlanta.”
He has also inspired many along
the way. Billy Fuller, ASGCA,
was previously the golf course
superintendent at Augusta National.
Cupp was instrumental in his
journey to becoming a golf course
architect: “He alone allowed me
to realize that dream,” says Fuller.
“He taught me one masterpiece at
a time. I never tired of listening to
and learning from his wisdom about
golf and about life. As we traveled
millions of miles together we covered
every nook and cranny of our lives.
We laughed and cried together
through life’s ups and downs.”
Cupp was a mentor to many of
today’s ASGCA members, imparting
valued guidance and advice on their
career journeys, which will ensure that
his design philosophies will live on.
“To say that he was my mentor is
accurate,” says Bill Bergin, ASGCA,
“but it is also too limited. The
lessons learned from Bob Cupp have
fermented and ripened over the years
in ways I never could have imagined.
Bob Cupp lived a big full life, and my
life is fuller for having been guided by
such a talented, generous man.”
“I had the fortune to work for Bob
from 1989-97,” adds David Johnson,
ASGCA Associate. “He was the ideal
mentor, brilliant in his approach to
golf course design. He was a tireless
worker and seemed to excel at
everything—athletically, artistically,
musically, storytelling, woodworking
and, of course, golf course design.”
Nathan Crace, ASGCA Associate,
reflects on his first meeting with Cupp
in 1994, while working as an assistant
golf professional at Old Waverly in
West Point, Mississippi. Cupp had
designed the course in the late 1980s
and was visiting to help get it ready for
a USGA visit. On hearing of Crace’s
desire to become an architect, Cupp
responded “Good luck! It’s a tough
business to get into.”
Initially somewhat knocked back,
Crace describes how Cupp in fact
went on to follow the progress of his
career, providing encouragement and
guidance along the way, culminating
in his nomination of Crace for
ASGCA membership (read more at
).
In recent correspondence with
ASGCA Executive Director Chad
Ritterbusch, Cupp described the
ASGCA as “an important and
meaningful part of my life.” He
continued: “So many are close
friends and it has been a very special
privilege to observe our industry
in such complete detail. It is clear
we live parallel lives perhaps more
closely than most want to admit and
it seems to me that understanding
this fact may be the single key to
making our brotherhood as good
as it can be. It’s about appreciating
your competitors, not the converse.
Knowing we fight most of the
same battles, experience similar
disappointments or euphoria and
make our way with our individual
talents in a spirit of good will should
be the crux of our fellowship. In my
estimation, we are well along in that
accomplishment.”•
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Bob Cupp designed Liberty National Golf Club
(main pic) in Jersey City, New Jersey, a complex
engineering project on a landfill site. The course
hosted the PGA Tour in 2009 and 2013. Other
notable designs include Marietta Country Club,
near Atlanta (below)
Photos: ©2013-2016 Dave Sansom