CONTINUED: How to design your career future in golf

---

Where there’s a will, there’s a way to the greens

If you’re adamant that your future lies in golf course design, I hope — for purely unselfish, non-horse-related reasons, of course — that it will take more than a sluggish industry to dampen your passion and put you off your game. After all, golf is still a multi-billion dollar business. With that in mind, Chris sheds some light on what it takes to succeed as a designer.

Chris strongly believes that the first prerequisite is a solid knowledge of the game itself. “I think you need to know golf. You need to understand the game, how the game is played, and what separates a good shot from a poor one,” he says.

Next on the list of priorities would be a basic understanding of the many factors involved in creating a course that is challenging, yet safe for both people and the environment. “You need to have some solid basics in agronomics, and a basic understanding of civil engineering, as far as drainage and irrigation,” he says. “Another important factor is environmental law. You need a strong understanding of what’s protected, and what your limitations are as far as what they will or won’t let you do.”

You may also be happy to know that hand-drawn design is still an important part of the process. Despite our tendency to rely on technology, many golf course design firms still encourage the art of putting pen to paper, and creating a hard copy of the masterpiece brewing in your mind. “It’s important to have some fundamental drafting skills, because everything is still done initially by hand. Although hand drawings are digitized with computer technology, all the basic work is done by hand first,” says Chris.

For a more in-depth look into the world of golf course design, the official Nicklaus Design website is a great place to start your research. Here, you will find designer bios, a step-by-step overview of the golf course design process, agronomy information, information on completed courses, as well as ones that are currently in development, and much more. The American Society of Golf Course Architects is another valuable resource, providing industry news, publications, directories, and a searchable database of members.

Now that you are armed with information, if you’ve got the ambition and discipline to follow through with a lot of hard work, a career in golf course design might just be your destiny. There are even specialized schools that can help. As for me, since I’ve been kind enough to give you an inside look, I will be expecting an invitation for me and my horse to “test out” your lovely courses in the future, although I’m guessing I shouldn’t hold my breath!