FAR HILLS, N.J. (April 13, 2015) – The USGA will host a free public symposium about golf course architecture from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 18, at its campus in Far Hills, N.J. The four guest speakers will be Gil Hanse, talking about golf’s return to the Olympics in 2016; Robert Trent Jones II, speaking about Chambers Bay and the 2015 U.S. Open; Michael Hurdzan, discussing 2017 U.S. Open site Erin Hills, and sustainability; and Forrest Richardson, exploring golf course design as art and the work of golf course architect Desmond Muirhead.
“One of the most recognized activities in sport and leisure is golf, says Debert Cook, publisher of the 12-year old African American Golfer’s Digest. “Black Americans have long been playing golf recreationally, but few take a look at the opportunities that are available on the business-side of the game, for themselves and their children.”
“Yes, it’s great fun, and great exercise, but besides being an avid golfer, golf course architecture is a career field to be considered…and there is money to be made. Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not record any data regarding golf course designers specifically, Salary statistics for landscape architects, however, are available. The average annual salary of a landscape architect in 2010 was $66,880. More experienced and talented architects and designers, however, made even more, with the highest ten percent earning over $100,000.”
Hanse began his career in golf design while studying at Cornell University in the late 1980s. Hanse was a design partner with Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design. In 1993, he founded Hanse Golf Course Design, Inc. He is one of only a handful of Americans to build a course in Scotland, where he constructed the Craighead Golf Links. He was chosen to design and oversee creation of the Olympic golf course in Rio for the 2016 Olympic Games. He also designed and constructed the nine-hole Pynes Putting Green on the USGA’s campus.
Jones II has designed more than 270 courses in more than 40 countries in six continents. He learned about golf from Tommy Armour while at Winged Foot Golf Club and started working with his father on golf course design after completing his studies at Yale University and Stanford University. Known by some as “the father of environmental golf course design,” Jones designed Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., the site of the 2015 U.S. Open Championship.
Hurdzan is an internationally recognized authority on golf course environmental issues. He is a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and serves on the USGA’s Museum Committee. His book, Golf Course Architecture: Design, Construction & Renovation has been described as “one of the definitive modern volumes on the subject.” He is one of the architects of Erin Hills, the host site of the 2017 U.S. Open Championship.
Richardson studied golf course architecture in Scotland, learning under Arthur Jack Snyder. He established his own firm, Forrest Richardson & Associates, in 1988. He has authored four books on golf course architecture, including Bunkers, Pits & Other Hazards. Richardson is a member of the USGA Museum Committee and has studied the work of Muirhead for several decades.
WHAT:
USGA Golf Course Architecture Symposium
WHO:
Gil Hanse, Golf Course Architect
Michael Hurdzan, Golf Course Architect
Robert Trent Jones II, Golf Course Architect
Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect
WHERE:
USGA Museum
77 Liberty Corner Road
Far Hills, NJ 07931
WHEN:
Saturday, April 18, 2015
•10 a.m. to 4 p.m.EDT
CONTACT:
RSVP if you plan to attend:
Jeff Altstadter, USGA Communications
jaltstadter@usga.org, 908-326-1880 (office) or 973-908-9991 (cell)
