Email Paul: paul@golf-designs.com
If there is a word to describe Paul, it is passion. He has a passion for golf architecture, which is evident in the golf designs he has created and the dedication he shows to the profession. Paul prides himself on being able to envision concepts and transform creative ideas into reality. Picking up the game of golf at age 5, Paul was a single-digit handicapper by the time he was 13. More importantly, he was fascinated by the great courses he was exposed to in Northern New Jersey, most notably Somerset Hills C.C. (A.W. Tillinghast), Baltusrol G.C. (A.W. Tillinghast), and Plainfield C.C. (Donald Ross). It was at this time that Paul thought being a golf course architect, creating classic venues around the world, would be a profession that has no equal.
Cornell University recruited Paul to play on the golf team, and in his senior year, he was captain of the team. His experience on the Cornell golf team allowed him to visit many classic courses on the East Coast, including the renowned Bethpage Black course, where the Ivy League Championships are held every year. Additionally, Cornell’s home golf course is Robert Trent Jones’ second-ever course design, which had a significant influence on Paul’s desire to pursue golf architecture. Paul received a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental and Agricultural Engineering from Cornell University’s College of Engineering.
By the time Paul finished at Cornell, he knew he had the technical skills to create golf courses, but to create truly memorable golf spaces, he wanted to learn the creative side of design. He then proceeded to Harvard University, where he earned a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture. During his tenure at Harvard, he crafted his design curriculum to focus specifically on golf course architecture. In his third year, he established an independent studio in golf architecture and was advised by the nationally recognized landscape architect George Hargreaves. Paul also received a prestigious Penny White grant for travel to Scotland to study the classic precedents in golf architecture. During that trip, he developed a genuine appreciation for the roots of golf architecture, as well as the role that golf landscapes in Scotland play as vital components of their society.
Following his education, Paul headed to Lansing, Michigan, as an associate designer with the prominent golf architect Matthews & Associates. His designs for Hunters Ridge and Timberstone (ranked the 3rd best upscale public course by Golf Digest in 1998) were widely praised, and he seized the opportunity to start a new firm with a colleague, building the company from a start-up enterprise into an internationally recognized, award-winning firm.
In addition to creating golf designs around the world, Paul is also the Director of Golf Course Architecture at the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. This prestigious position, and one of only two programs in the world, allows him to educate the future golf designers of the globe.
Paul is a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, and he has qualified twice for the Michigan Amateur as an alternate.
Paul has lived and worked by a straightforward philosophy – Exceed Expectations. All of his past clients have benefited from his design talent and leadership, and he looks forward to continuing to create memorable golf spaces.
