Jim Lipe, ASGCA

Jim Lipe, ASGCA discusses his past experience and future outlook as a golf course architect, as well as some of the issues currently affecting the game of golf. Jim joined ASGCA in 1991 as an Associate Member and became a Regular Member in 1994. He currently owns and operates Jim Lipe Design, Inc.

Starting out...

I began playing golf at the age of 15, and when I started college at Louisiana State University, I was considering the possibility of playing professional golf as a career. It didn't take me long to realize I was a long way from being a tour player, and I wasn't cut out to work in a pro shop. I graduated in Business Management, but like many college students, however, my plans changed, and I ended up going on to graduate school to get my masters degree in landscape architecture.

Hole 10 at Boot Ranch

A career's worth of advice...

I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to work for Jack Nicklaus, ASGCA for over 25 years. I believe this opportunity has allowed me to see things, meet people and work in places I would not have been able to discover on my own. Working with Jack is an education in business and design, as well as a grand adventure, which is all part of the fun.

Have a solid foundation...

When contemplating designing a great course, the cornerstone is being able to work with a great piece of land. Quality sites are truly the foundation for challenging and attractive courses. When I designed Boot Ranch Golf Club near Fredericksburg, Texas for Hal Sutton, I was given a fantastic piece of the Texas hill country. Great elevation change, beautiful flowing streams with natural waterfalls, trees and rock formations. The land was full of natural golf holes, and the exercise was to gather the best to form a routing that maximized all the attributes of the property. I am very proud of the result. I was also fortunate to work on the Mayacama Golf Club in Santa Rosa, California and Sebonack Golf Club on Long Island with Jack Nicklaus. Both of these sites were dramatic, with natural rolling terrain and great vegetation. Each was an outstanding palette to develop a more classic, spectacular golf course and each required a routing to fit the terrain, rather than dominate it. I believe all of these courses are going to be considered great at some point. What a privilege to be involved with the vision and development of these course, which I truly feel will all one day be described as great. Architects today have to be ready to deal with all sorts of properties, but that is part of what keeps our business interesting. Every now and then a great one comes available, and that is when the work becomes fun.

Hole 12 - Sebonack Golf Club on Long Island

State of golf today...

Overall, I have an optimistic outlook for the future of golf. While the golf economy in the U.S. is slower than in Asia or Europe, I believe it can and will thrive again. The market will identify the weak and strong over the next few years. As for topical issues, golf course architects continue to be respectful of environmental concerns as they construct or remodel courses. But really, that's been the case for years now. For me, tackling these issues is just a matter of adapting your design approach to new methodology and technologies as they become available and keeping both the client's desires and the environment at the forefront.

Recent and upcoming work...

I am privileged to work with a few of my colleagues on some very exciting projects. In Cabo San Lucas, I am pleased to be associated with Jack Nicklaus at Quivira in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on two courses that wind along the scenic Pacific Ocean coastline. I am also working for Jack in association with John Sanford on developing a world-class 18-hole golf course at Ferry Point Park in Bronx, New York. This project involves re-working a landfill that dates back to the 1960's.

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