The post-pandemic golf boom has led to a surge in new course construction, multiple renovations and restorations, and a creative variety of short courses and practice areas that are unprecedented in their scope. To say the least, architects are busy.
I spent a summer working on a course maintenance crew when I was 17, and I started writing for a golf maintenance publication many years later. Throughout my life, as I watched and played more golf, and as I developed as a student of the game, I began to understand how golf’s history and architecture are inextricably linked.
When the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) Foundation announced in 2024 that it was hosting a Design Boot Camp — four days at Erin Hills in Wisconsin — with industry leaders walking students through (up, down and over) an immersive crash course on architectural principles, I couldn’t resist. Through a combination of presentations, hands-on activities and informal conversations, I learned more in four days than I would have thought possible.
Other than related reading, I had no formal education in landscape architecture or golf course design. Lecture topics ranged from routing to interpreting topographic maps to design philosophy, and I was hesitant that I might struggle to keep up with the material conveyed by multiple prestigious ASGCA architects, all donating their time and talents. Dr. Mike Hurdzan, who designed Erin Hills with Dana Fry and Ron Whitten, was there driving the entire initiative.
Erin Hills was the Boot Camp site, in part, because it has enough land to build another championship course. Students were split up into teams, each captained by an architect, and were designated a parcel of land and a number of holes to design. At the end of our time together, each team presented their ideas. We dreamed big and created a full, viable routing.
Two specific questions help lead the thinking about a new course. One, “Who is the design for?” Are you designing for low and scratch handicappers, or is the course primarily going to be played by golfers with a wider range of abilities? At this point it is also helpful to know who is going to approve or vote upon the final design — what are the decision-makers envisioning?
Question two is, simply, “Which way is north?” You want to avoid a driving range, or opening and finishing holes that face east or west. As the sun rises and sets, it affects the golfer’s experience and eventually the popularity of the course. Comprehending how the sun moves across the property and where it sits in the sky during all seasons is a critical part of the player experience, as well as growing conditions for the turf. Wind direction is another element of golf course design, and we haven’t even started addressing the ground movement, strategies, hazards and natural features.
My team featured two other participants and was led by Steve Forrest (principal, Hills, Forrest, Smith) and Jan Bel Jan (founder, Jan Bel Jan Golf Course Design). They directed our reasoning and education in the field with grace, wisdom and enthusiasm. The September weather was sunny and dry, and the autumnal turf contrasts were gorgeous. After some walks across the undeveloped area, staking and measuring and studying maps, routing and considering options, we agreed on the best ways to fit the holes on our parcel and proceeded to work out a grading plan. We paid particularly close attention to yardages off the tees, to ensure that the course would be playable by golfers of diverse abilities. It’s a beautiful property, so we also took advantage of scenic high points — excellent for aesthetics and drainage.
In addition to the education, the food was great, complemented by the local brew or a Fescue Rescue, the crisp signature drink of Erin Hills — a combination of Jameson, lemonade and ginger beer. The accommodations were sublime and we even got to play. The experience was blissfully immersive.
While out on the championship course, where the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open has been contested, it was especially interesting to hear Hurdzan describe how some of the holes were designed. They shifted as little land as possible because the Kettle Moraine, created long ago by a retreating glacier, provided much of the movement that makes the course so interesting. Working with the land as opposed to adjusting it on a large scale is often more efficient, more natural and likely easier to maintain, but it takes a creative talent.
Since the Boot Camp, I have been able to think more visually and strategically. I sometimes look at a hazard or the shape of a green and wonder about the architect’s thought process. I ponder yardages and angles more than ever before, in a good way. What I know is that a course comes together in the same way that a book does, with many contributing factors. Budgets, land, timelines, priorities and the odd moment of whimsy — it’s always a combination of elements. The birth of a course is unique to that time and space, making every course one-of-one.
Most noticeably, my course management has improved. Like chess, I’m better at thinking several moves in advance, which gives me the confidence to simply hit the shot that is right in front of me. What I gained from the experience is better golf, more love for the nuances of the game and appreciation for how it all comes together.
The last night, before everyone departed, each architect — there were seven in all — told a funny story from their life and career. These stories are not mine to share, but there was so much warm laughter and camaraderie in the Irish Pub that evening.
The next Design Boot Camp is in Pinehurst in March 2026, with many of the same architects leading and much of the funding again going to charities. The Carolinas Golf Foundation will be supported, and previously the Wee One Foundation and Clearview Golf Club received substantial donations. With golf, you always have to take a chance and work through that shot that’s uncomfortable — it’s part of the game. You can take a chance and think like an architect, too, and even walk in their footsteps.
For information on the Design Boot Camp, go to https://asgcafoundation.org/architects-boot-camp-2026/.
