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Golf School: Is There More to Becoming a Golf Course Designer?
Golf School:
Is There More to Becoming a Golf Course Designer?
If you're thinking about attending a golf school to turn your love for the links into a rewarding career in golf course design, there are a few things you need to know first. Chris Cochran, senior golf associate at Nicklaus Design—one of the world's largest golf course design firms—is ready to share the knowledge he's gleaned from over 27 years in the business.
In an interview for the Education Compass article, "How to design your career future in golf," Chris explains how he "stumbled" onto a career in golf course design by way of the maintenance industry, after realizing his skills weren't up to par for the PGA route. With this in mind, he earned a degree in agronomy with an emphasis in turf grass management from Iowa State University, which has proven very valuable to his career.
As Chris says, no two days are alike. "It could be getting on a plane and making a site visit to a project across the world. Or it could be coming into the office and answering emails or drawing plans."
Although designing each course is different, Chris follows a basic model. Generally, after the client approaches him with a piece of property to develop, he will do a site evaluation, a routing plan (how the golf course fits onto the proposed site), and then a contour plan (an earth moving plan). Once all the plans are finalized and the building contractor is in place, the actual building of the course can begin.
Despite the hard work and the often-tiring travel, Chris still loves his job. With 53 golf courses in his repertoire to date, he cites "the creativity involved in it and the opportunity to still be involved with golf" as the two main reasons he finds his career so enjoyable.
And for aspiring golf course designers, Chris offers some expert advice:
- Be prepared to travel to where the work is (which, right now, is China)
- "Put your back into it" by constructing some courses before you attempt to
design them
- Hit the greens and get a solid understanding of the game of golf
- Get a formal education
If you'd like to learn more about what it takes to succeed as a golf course designer, read the full interview with Chris Cochran in the article, "How to design your career future in golf." And, if you'd like to explore educational options that can help get your foot in the door of the golf industry, check out this directory of golf schools.
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