By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — For a lot of people, golf is an adventure sport. Played in the great outdoors, traversing over hill and dale with occasional side trips into the woods, sand traps, creeks or lakes, there is a certain masochistic fun in accepting the challenge of striking a tiny, 1.68 inches in diameter orb with a stick, aiming to make it go into a 4.25-inch hole some 400 to 600 yards away.
The folks who are the original orchestrators of this fun? The golf course architect, of which on a global scale there are only about 300 of them.
It is not as simple as bulldozing a flat spot and cutting down a few trees.
High Country-based Ron Cutlip is one of the newest members of an exclusive club: the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA). He was inducted last month at the annual meeting in San Francisco. Tracking Cutlip’s career and his path to ASGCA membership provides interesting insights into the creative professionals who enable these on-course adventures.
According to the ASGCA’s Director of Outreach, Jeff Brauer, who served as the association’s president in the 1995-96 fiscal year, gaining induction into the organization is not as simple as writing a check.
“You have to be an accomplished golf course architect. We go through an extensive vetting process,” said Brauer. “That process includes a review of a candidate’s work, citations by owners he or she might have worked for, then you have to be sponsored by at least three current ASGCA members. And that is all before the ASGCA Board of Governors votes you in.”
Brauer added that the minimum requirement for a new member’s body of work is to have designed at least 100 holes of new courses or in one or more renovations. He pointed out that the earlier requirement was to have designed at least five 18-hole courses, but in recent years the marketplace has changed.
“Especially in the last five years and since COVID-19, there has been significant growth in playing golf as people have wanted to be outdoors rather than in confined spaces,” said Brauer. “That led to not only a lot of new 18-hole courses, but a great many course renovations. There have also been many new 9-hole and 12-hole courses. So, moving to a 100-hole requirement just made sense with the new market dynamics.”
He added that the trend toward courses with fewer holes can perhaps be explained by modern-day shorter attention spans as well as the cost of acquiring property and rising construction costs.
Who are these guys?
Golf course architects take great delight in making our outdoor adventures memorable. The rules of the game may be the same on every course, but every 18-hole, 12-hole, or 9-hole journey is created on a different artistic “canvas”: a plot of land with its own unique terrain features. Whether designing a links course near the coast or an up-and-down masterpiece in the mountains, these Michelangelos of sporting adventure use inter-disciplinary skills to give us extra-sensory experiences.
It is not as simple as bulldozing a flat spot and cutting down a few trees. Understanding the game’s various elements is important, of course, but in golf course design other academic disciplines come into play ranging from civil engineering, agronomy, landscape architecture, environmental sciences, turf management, hydrology, physics, geometry, soil sciences, botany, and even psychology to name a few.
Then, of course, there is the business side of things: evaluating market demand, site selection, estimating costs, developing a budget, securing the necessary permits, understanding construction methodologies, master planning, and considering how long it will take for the course to “grow in” sufficiently to enable playing.
Understanding the challenges and opportunities of a site’s topography, the region’s climate, the soil composition, and what makes up the site’s natural vegetation helps the designer create a course that harmonizes with its surroundings and offer a unique playing experience.
When all is said and done, it is no wonder that golf course architecture has developed as a professional trade. According to Leading Courses (www.leadingcourses.com), there are 16,572 golf courses in the United States, which amounts to 43 percent of the world’s total number.
A good golf course creates an escape from a person’s normal day.
As one of the world’s premier trade associations for golf course architecture, membership in the ASGCA is by invitation only. According to Brauer, there are fewer than 200 current members in the American society, with other smaller organizations in Europe and Australia.
Cutlip’s latest completed course design is the South Shore Golf Club, a 9-hole course in South Kingstown, R.I., an integral part of the South Shore Village planned community. The course opened last spring to rave reviews and a growing reputation for excellence among serious players. It also now serves as one of the most frequented practice facilities for the University of Rhode Island men’s golf team.
A Donald Ross Connection
Rhode Island and golf have a special connection: legendary golf course architect Donald Ross, who ran a substantial portion of his practice from offices in Little Compton, R.I., his summertime home. Ross is regarded as the patron saint of American golf course architecture, having designed or redesigned 399 golf courses between 1900 and 1948, according to the Rhode Island Golf Association (RIGA). He was a charter member of the ASGCA. Of Ross, legendary PGA professional and golf course architect Jack Nicklaus is credited by RIGA as saying, “He seems to be the standard by which we are all measured today.”
For the ASGCA, those are not idle words since the organization’s trademark, red plaid jacket (worn by all members), known as the Ross tartan, was adopted in 1973 as a tribute to the group’s honorary first president, Donald Ross, a native of Dornoch, Scotland (Scottish clans are identified by their distinctive tartan patterns, to which anyone who has attended the Highland Games on Grandfather Mountain can attest!).
Cutlip is among the golf course designers following in the Ross tradition of courses with a “natural” feel to them, taking advantage of the natural lay of the land with little in the way of intense earth moving. For Cutlip, the mental aspect of why we play golf is as important as the physical experience.
“A good golf course design creates an escape from a person’s normal day,” Cutlip told High Country Sports, recently. “In my view, the player is presented with the game of golf as well as with the dramatic beauty of nature. Potentially, even a course’s historic setting comes into play during a round.
“For example, up at South Shore in Rhode Island, we developed a course that was on a farm with stone walls dating back to the 1600s. For me, it was important that we preserve those walls and integrate them into the course layout,” said Cutlip. “That’s appreciating history and it helps make a course special. We want the player to feel good about their experience and return to play again and again, whether they are a professional player or a weekend warrior.”
What’s It All About?
Talking with the three current members of the ASGCA who sponsored Cutlip for membership provided us with not only insights about Cutlip, as well as about the golf course architect’s role in one of America’s favorite pastimes.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with Ron, including site visits to projects and potential projects,” said Rick Robbins in a phone interview. “I feel he has the background and personality to make a good member of ASGCA.”
There are a lot of people involved in the design and construction of a new golf course.
Robbins has High Country connections as the son of Spencer Robbins, one of the region’s iconic figures in tourism and development. Along with brothers Grover, Jr. and Harry Robbins, Spencer had a hand in the creation of Tweetsie Railroad, the Land of Oz, Hound Ears Golf Club and the Elk River Club, among other developments.
Rick Robbins is a past president of the ASGCA, serving in that capacity in 2013-14. He is credited with designing or redesigning 125 courses around the world since 1991, under the banner of his firm, Robbins & Associates International. His U.S. portfolio includes courses in a variety of states, including North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas and Michigan, among others.
When asked if he had any favorite projects, Robbins hesitated because all of his projects have been special to him in one way or another.
“Horseshoe Bay in Dore County, Wisconsin is one of the prettiest, nicest courses I have ever done,” he said before adding, “I’ve done four, full 18-hole designs in North Carolina, plus several renovations. A favorite is Mill Creek, in Mebane, N.C. It is on a beautiful piece of land with a lot of rolling hills, creeks and streams and wetlands.”
I love going into the 19th hole and listening to the good stuff of a golfer’s day.
What gets his juices flowing in golf course design?
“Really, it is the balance between field work and the joy of sitting at a table and drawing plans. I enjoy going out in the field and working with shapers on a tractor. Golf course design is very interdisciplinary. We are working with planners, engineers, agronomists, owners… There are a lot of people involved in the construction and design of a new golf course.”
In approaching a new project, Robbins said, “I think about different ways you can play a hole under different conditions. Is the wind behind you or in your face? Can I carry this particular hazard or should I lay up short of it? You really want to give the golfer choices. It is fun to see their reactions to the decisions that have to be made and what goes into their thinking. I love going into the 19th hole and listening to the good stuff of a golfer’s day.”
All in the Family
John Harvey was also a Cutlip sponsor. He started his golf industry career in 1988, when he joined the design office of two well-known golf course architects, Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and Roger Rulewich, after graduating from Michigan State University with high honors in landscape architecture.
In a phone interview with High Country Sports, Harvey described highlights of his career: working on the Robert Trent Jones Trail in Alabama and international projects in Wales and Ireland. In the U.S., his work covers the design or redesign of courses in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, South Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina and Texas.
“I knew of Ron for a long time before actually meeting him,” said Harvey. “I was practicing and had my offices in New Jersey, so I knew of him because he was practicing in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area for many years. A few years ago, we formally met at the wedding of my nephew and his niece. That brought us closer together. It gave me a chance to look Ron in the eye, shake his hand and talk shop, as well as about family.”
It turns out, getting to know Cutlip resulted in encouraging the new member of Harvey’s extended family to also pursue inclusion in ASGCA.
“We have a lot in common,” said Harvey, “both in the people we know as well as work experiences. I encouraged Ron to apply for membership a little over a year ago, so I hope I was the nudge that finally got him to apply. I certainly felt he had the depth and body of work and that he would be a great candidate and a great representative of what embodies the ASGCA.”
The property was previously a uranium processing site, so this was a reclamation project.
Asked why he thought ASGCA membership was so important, Harvey replied, “For golf course architecture, it is the foremost (trade association) in the world. There are other societies, such as the European and Australian, but for someone working in the U.S., membership in the ASGCA is reaching a milestone in your career. It is peer recognition, but it is also marketable in terms of clientele work. It is a feather in your cap, professionally.”
The ASGCA Director of Outreach, Brauer, described becoming a member as being akin to being named to play in the NFL Pro Bowl.
“Attending his first meeting in San Francisco, Ron got to be in the same room as giants in the industry, guys like the late Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus and so many others. And they treat you like equals. It is a magical experience and I am happy that guys like Ron are accepted. It is a very elite group,” said Brauer.
As for what makes a golf course design special to him, Harvey said, “It is the journey with each course and the people involved, the contractor, the circumstances of the property… it is much more than just the property you are developing. All of my courses have been special, about 125 projects. A couple of special ones that come to mind are Grand Dunes in Myrtle Beach and Ballyowen in Hardyston, New Jersey. I worked on one of the last Robert Trent Jones, Sr. courses in New York, Anglebrook Golf Club in Stomers, N.Y., and Saratoga National in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.”
Harvey concluded the interview by saying how special it has been for him and Ron to have gotten closer in the last five years since their nephew and niece tied the knot.
“It is just so ironic that the world is so small that circles come together, in this case our families and our respective golf industry careers,” said Harvey.
Meeting the Golf Course Philosopher
Forrest Richardson, whose golf course architecture firm is based in Phoenix, Ariz., was Cutlip’s third, but by no means the least of his sponsors. Like Robbins, he is also a past president of ASGCA (2020-2021).
I love going onto a piece of land and creating something spectacular.
Visit his firm’s website (www.forrestrichardsongolf.com) and you quickly surmise that Richardson is a cerebral personality sitting behind the design and planning desk, based on some of his quotes about golf course design:
- “Part of the fun (of golf) should be hitting different shots and not always slamming away in pursuit of length. Golf is a thoughtful game, and thinking should always be rewarded.”
- “A golf course is a story to be unfolded. For the greatest enjoyment there should be anticipation, intrigue, the occasional chase scene and even a pinch of humor.”
- “Golf is supposed to be fun. When you figure out the puzzle, you should score well — and scoring success is something I have always embraced in my work.
Like Harvey and Robbins, Richardson suggested that Cutlip was long overdue for membership in ASGCA.
“I have known Ron for 25 years or more. The golf course design industry is a fairly small world. We are fierce competitors, but we are always best of friends. It is a mantra we all live by. In my opinion, it was long overdue that Ron become a member of the ASGCA.”
Waxing philosophical, Richardson explained to High Country Sports that what you give back to the industry is as important — and maybe even more so — than what you gain through ASGCA membership.
“Golf course architecture is a rare art form. Perhaps more than with any other art form, it is very important for people in our profession to share ideas,” said Richardson. “There are only about 300 of us worldwide. Over the years, I think we have proven that the sense of community works to the benefit of all. You are learning, but you are also sharing your wisdom. The main focus is not getting work but being part of a group of like-minded people, all involved in one of the most unusual art forms on earth. To appreciate our art, you either have to be playing the game or in an airplane looking down on a course. If you look back at some of the greatest art periods, such as the 1700s, 1800s, 1900s and even today, the art schools and art colonies of those times were important in the development of different artistic styles. I think that same concept applies to golf course design.”
Richardson primarily focuses his work in arid climate projects of the western United States. Look over a portfolio list and you find a lot of Arizona and California courses, as well as sashays into Utah, Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, Texas, Nevada and Alaska, among other states. But international names crop up in the list, too, including Mexico, Sweden, India and Bulgaria.
Richardson and Cutlip both had contributions to The Hideout course, in Monticello, Utah. Richardson did the final design work. Cutlip did the original work on the project for the U.S. Department of Energy.
“The property previously was a uranium processing site, so this was a reclamation project. The Department of Energy hired me to do the original work for regrading it, which I did so it could be used as a future golf course. Later, Forrest came in and made it a golf course,” Cutlip recalled.
Cutlip’s thoughts on golf course design echoed many of the other professionals who sponsored him.
“I love going out onto a piece of land and creating something spectacular,” said Cutlip. “I want it to look like it has been there a hundred years, that the golf course fits into the flow of the land. I love working with the shapers. I have to have my plans submitted for approval by the land owners and any regulatory agencies, but the true creativity comes when you take those plans and go into the field and start making those adjustments.
“The onsite adjustments take the design to a higher level than anything you could ever achieve on a drafting table. I also love the interdisciplinary aspect, working with different types of engineers whether civil, environmental, soil, and others. I will frequently work with architects on the clubhouse facilities. As a golf course architect I am working in the planning and there are a lot of things to consider. Is it in a subdivision or a standalone course? You are working with soil, water, and earth moving.
“Ultimately, what I like to do is take what nature has given me on a property and accentuate it,” said Cutlip. “Like with those stone walls from the 1600s on the South Shore course, I really like taking something old and integrating it with my new course, making it look and feel like they have always been a part of each other.”
Some of the names in Cutlip’s portfolio include Top of the World Golf Club (Lake George, N.Y.), Azalea Sands (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), Mohican Hills (Jeromesville, Ohio), Ramsey Golf & Country Club (Ramsey, N.J.) Stonebridge Golf Links (Lexington, S.C.), Fire Ridge Golf Club (Millersburg, Ohio), Arcadian Shores (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), Pine Hills Country Club (Taylor, Pa.) and Riverdale Country Club (Riverdale, N.J.), Crytal Springs (Hopewell, Ohio) and High Mountain Golf Club (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) and Canyon Club (Armonk, N.Y.), among others.
