By Design – Issue 51, Winter 2020

FOREWORD By Design is sponsored by: Inspired by our origins Forrest Richardson President, ASGCA O ne of the most prolific and admired architects to emerge from the ‘Golden Age’ of golf design in the early twentieth century was Donald Ross. Born in Dornoch, Scotland, he became a greenkeeper at the town’s famous links, then served as an apprentice to Old Tom Morris at St Andrews, before packing his bags and setting sail to the United States. It was during his time as golf professional at Oakley CC in Massachusetts and shortly after at Pinehurst CC in North Carolina that he found his taste for course design, and the rest – some 400 layouts across the United States and Canada that introduced many thousands to the game – is history. As he approached the end of his career, Ross banded together with thirteen fellow golf industry professionals to form the American Society of Golf Course Architects, with Ross named Honorary President. This direct lineage to the Golden Age inspired our feature article for this issue, which begins on page 14, where some of our members share insights into how the design philosophies of that era continue to have great relevance and impact on our work today. It is with immeasurable pride that I accept the gavel to become ASGCA President as we enter our 75th year. I would like to thank ASGCA Past President Jan Bel Jan for her remarkable service as President over the past 18 months, a most unusual and challenging time. To mark the start of my tenure as ASGCA President, I created a short film which outlines my vision for what golf course architecture needs to focus on today and in the future. You can read about that and more in my conversation with Marc Whitney, which begins on page 20. As always, there is plenty more for you to enjoy in this issue of By Design . I hope you enjoy the read. 3