Don Placek began working for Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design in 1997 after being in Perry Dye’s Denver office for several years. It was a significant jump, going from the types of technical builds Dye was coordinating in the western U.S. and Asia to Doak’s more intuitive, organic way of designing and constructing courses. Placek…
Thad Layton, principal at Arnold Palmer Design Company, enters the Salon to talk to Derek Duncan and Jim Urbina about Palmer and the rules of architecture. Specifically the discussion revolves around fundamental rules, when it’s advisable to break them, whether it’s ever permissible to design crossing holes, working within the constraints of conservative developers, straight…
Designer Bill Coore comes into the salon to discuss greens and putting surfaces with Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan. Topics include the importance of shaping greens and surrounds in relation to single holes or the entire golf course, the 14th and 2nd greens at Sand Hills, building “floating” greens and finding natural landforms, looking vs.…
Designer Scot Sherman began his career working for the Dye family before joining Bobby Weed as an associate. He’s now the lead designer for Love Golf Design, the firm of brothers Mark Love and Davis Love III. In addition to overseeing new projects for them, he’s currently helping prep the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island…
When the story is at last written about the current era of neoclassical architecture, Jim Urbina is certain to be featured as a star character. He represents a distinct branch of the Dye architectural tree having begun his career working on projects for Pete and Perry Dye. Later, Tom Doak hired Urbina at Renaissance Design,…
Mike Nuzzo seemed to have struck gold when he was hired by a wealthy Texas businessman and rancher to build an ultra-exclusive golf course intended only for the client’s personal use. For almost three years, Nuzzo, a first-time architect, and Don Mahaffey, a turf and irrigation specialist, coaxed out a wide, bouncy and fascinating 18-hole…