Tyler Denoff has, fittingly enough, carved out a rare niche where fine woodworking and golf obsession meet.
A longtime high-end custom furniture maker in West Palm Beach, Florida, the 43-year-old has turned a wood-carving side passion into Noble Tree Golf, a growing collection of lavish, detail-rich golf art pieces gaining attention well beyond his workshop.
The idea to enter golf emerged less from sudden inspiration than from serendipity.
“I'm fortunate enough to have some friends [who] are members of some really beautiful clubs down here, and I noticed that every time I'd walk into a private clubhouse, I would see the same oil-painting landscape or painting of a clubhouse or just photos on the wall,” says Denoff via phone. “It was always the same; it looked like you could plug and play any different clubhouse decor.”
That’s when Denoff envisioned golf-inspired pieces. He wasn’t sure about “the what” at first, but with creativity coursing through his mind, he started experimenting with wooden putters. Utilizing a technique that dries out wood, he impregnated the material with resin to strengthen it against rain and impact, then developed a process to insert tungsten weights (350 to 375 grams) inside. Perfecting that build opened the door to creative experimentation — carving putter heads into the shapes of famous greens and topographical maps.
Then Denoff’s mind went into overdrive. Thinking back to those clubhouse walls, he recalled seeing no carved depictions of individual holes or course landscapes — an opening that felt both obvious and untouched. Nearly three years ago, he launched Noble Tree Golf, building a catalog of custom wood designs that now includes divot repair tools, bag tags, 3D wall art, and other golf accessories. His wife, Joelle, keeps orders organized as project manager, and he recently brought on an apprentice. Orders have been steady enough that the golf work is nearing equal footing with his longtime furniture business, with the goal of transitioning to golf full-time.
“The detail from all the furniture work really has informed all of the golf work,” Denoff says.
Like hardcore golfers savoring a dawn tee time, Denoff was drawn to woodworking as a child. His father, a hobbyist woodworker, kept tools in the garage and Denoff built small items that eventually led him to art school and theater set design. After graduating from Florida Atlantic University, Denoff opened a furniture business in New York City that led to custom pieces and museum installations.
After relocating to West Palm Beach and eventually opening Seawall Palm Beach in 2024, Denoff found the golf work especially invigorating. Meticulous by nature, he says every detail can feel like a referendum on his talent. Most of his golf pieces measure roughly 30 to 40 inches, with intricate carvings requiring 120 to 180 hours to complete. Simpler two-dimensional layouts typically take 40 to 50 hours.
Furniture pieces can take up to 250 hours depending on complexity. One recent coffee table, he says, was built around the 17th hole at Seminole Golf Club, with the par-3’s elevated green rising from the tabletop and its surrounding bunkers shaped into the surface. The base carried the theme further, drawing inspiration from the Seminole clubhouse. Cypress truss beams accent the club’s locker room, so Denoff echoed that architectural detail in the table’s base — a subtle touch rooting the piece in its inspiration.
“Pretty much every single tiny detail in that piece is thought of as kind of a love letter to that club,” Denoff says. “I try to incorporate as many things as I can and not just put a regular table base on it and call it a day. But that’s actually my favorite part of it. I really love pulling in both the history of the course and the design influences from the surroundings and the environment that are around the area.”
When does he know a project is finished? Denoff laughed, noting he is a bit OCD about his work and knowing when it is complete.
One piece that Denoff is especially proud of is a carving he completed last year of Bethpage Black’s 18th hole. Working from aerial imagery —a reference point informing nearly every piece he creates —he noticed nuances that could give the design a stronger sense of place. He took artistic license, transforming the rough into a dot-matrix pattern echoing Manhattan’s street grid. (For those keeping score, Denoff estimates he carved roughly 22,000 individual dots.) The 18th fairway became his version of Central Park, with Broadway cutting through it — a detail giving the piece an unmistakably New York feel.
“The grid is laid out to place that hole, because that’s what everyone thinks about when they think of Bethpage,” Denoff says. “When you watch a major there, they’ll cut to the commercial break and show the flyover of the New York City skyline, even though it’s not really close to the city.”
When Denoff can visit a course, he absorbs as much detail as possible. When he can’t, he relies on drone imagery, reference photos and geographic clues. For an order from a Chicago golf club, he studied U.S. Geological Survey topographical maps for contouring. He tells clients that the more photos they provide, the better. If they can walk a hole, he recommends taking a picture every 25 to 30 yards on the approach, along with photos from multiple vantage points around the green, to help him understand elevations and translate the course into wood.
Asked about some of his favorite architects, Denoff did not hesitate: A.W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross, Mike Stranz, Gil Hanse and Rob Colley rolled off his tongue for their uniqueness. With each commission, he unearths new gems.
“They are the ones that really challenge me and are the favorite ones to carve,” Denoff says.
From a design standpoint, Denoff notes that everything is covered under the artistic copyright law. In other words, Augusta National’s Amen Corner is fair game for artistic interpretation.
“The best reference that I can give is the Andy Warhol Campbell's soup can paintings, where he painted it even though it's Campbell's logo,” Denoff says. “It’s considered a piece of art.”
Only twice have clients requested a club’s logo be used. In those cases, Denoff successfully sought permission. He estimates that his client base is split 50-50 between clubs and individuals.
Where this leads is anyone’s guess, but Denoff is encouraged by burgeoning interest. Plus, he is applying one passion to another. What could be better?
“I’m at the point where I’m trying to get my work in front of as many eyes as possible,” he says. “From everybody who has seen my work, and I say this humbly, it’s been overwhelmingly positive. Once people become more broadly aware of it, I think it is something that I will be able to do full time.”
