Attention to Business Goals is as Important as the Design Itself
So often a golf course’s design is either so artistically bent, or so ridden with difficulty, that it derails the course’s success or confounds the private club membership’s abilities. Kipp Schulties’ designs are fluid enough to shift with the necessities of the project and the goal of the developer or in serving the club membership’s high and low handicap players.
When renovating an existing layout, Schulties first looks at the project as a business venture. Working with the owner or members, he determines the market that is being targeted — private, public, resort or real-estate related facility, and the type of golfer who will be predominately served. He then shapes his design to meet the client’s wishes and the player’s enjoyment.
Kipp understands he is building a golf course not for his own personal accolades, but for the business plan of the owner.
In the world of high-end Country Club renovation projects, one name continues to rise to the top – Kipp Schulties. Beyond his well-documented talent, the real reason of his success, is his conviction that the renovated course is for the members, not the designer’s ego o r personal taste.
His first step is to interview and survey the membership and course administration on their likes, dislikes, wishes and needs… hole- by-hole for the entire course. He then plans and follows those desires as he revamps the full course. The results of this research and meticulous planning is a true “member’s course” where each hole is unique and special.
The praise and adulation from both members and course management alike has been overwhelmingly positive and Kipp’s reputation continues to grow within the star-studded field of golf course architects.
