Since the age of 16 Scott knew that he wanted to be a golf course designer. He puts this dream down to a combination of a few things, primarily growing up on a small farm with sandy soils, a keen interest in design and playing his local course from the age of 14. This set him up with a hunger for m
ore. When he was 17 Scott designed and built a par 3 hole on his family farm in New Zealand.
This early dreaming led to Scott studying horticulture and soils at college to give him a solid understanding of what makes a golf course tick. His time at college included a year in the US where he studied landscape architecture at the University of California - Davis. All of which continued to fuel his dreams and ambition to become a golf course designer.
This dream became a reality when he made is first step into the professional golf industry working with Peter Thomson in Melbourne Australia. This led to work with American designer Denis Griffiths and Scott being the on-site architect for two courses in St. Andrews. Since then Scott started his own design company which has been working all around the world since 2004.
There is an old proverb that says the earth was given to us by our parents, but loaned to us by our children. I like this, as it reminds me that we need to be kind to the planet.
Scott Macpherson
Scott was the golf course architect for GolfIt! in Glasgow, Scotland. This project saw a run-down, 18-hole course transformed into a 9-hole course with a large driving range that is now an integral part of the local community. This is a great example of clever land use and forward planning. The golf set-up provides a route into the sport while still giving enough of a challenge for the experienced player.
The project was a success in several ways but some of the notable ones include:
How well do you think the subject of sustainability and golf design can complement one another?
"They are completely interlinked. When I was accepted into UC Davis, it was off the back of a dissertation on environmentally sensitive golf course design, and that was in 1991. But I think the concept of sustainability has always been a cornerstone of golf course management. Think back to older courses when the laying out of the course was done with a soft touch, and the holes were placed around trees, lakes and habitat areas. Modern earthmoving machinery gave designers the opportunity to reshape large areas, and perhaps this has gone a step too far sometimes, but even when these courses are put back together there is often a focus on creating sustainable ecosystems and increasing biodiversity. For many golfers, part of the reason they play golf is to be outdoors, so it is incumbent on golf designers to ensure golf courses are wonderful places to enjoy nature."
What are some elements or processes you have included in your recent projects that you feel illustrate the integration of a sustainably led approach?
"Sustainable design is, in the first instance I think, an attitude. Start by looking at the land. What has value, and where are the key habitat areas? I look to work around these, and then create more. Recently I have been interested in introducing wildflowers and orchards into my projects. I did this at the new R&A GolfIt! facility in Glasgow, and am currently doing it at Miramar Golf Clinic in New Zealand. I call it "For the Love of Bees”, and part of it is saying that flowering trees are important to pollinators just as annual meadow grasses may be. I also happen to like orchards (I planted one at my family home growing up) and it's a great experience to pick fruit freshly off a tree – an experience many people never have."
Any words on GEO, sustainability in the industry, the importance of connections for golf with wider sustainability or landscape industries and how that could help?
"GEO has been, and remains, a really important organisation to drive the awareness and education of golf and sustainability. For golf clubs, having GEO recognition and becoming Certified® is also a great way for them to celebrate the short and long-term commitments many make to positive environmental improvements. Congratulations and keep it up!"
Can you say a few words on becoming a champion and what it means to you to be championing this kind of direction in the wider industry?
"I am really honoured to have been asked to be a Sustainable Golf Champion. It is not something I have sought, but feels like an acknowledgement of my early and sustained design philosophy that golf is meant to be good for the environment."
Find Scott and his work at:
.svg){kind=small}
.svg){kind=small}
