This
motto best describes William Amick's approach to golf course design.
Each of the more than 75 new golf courses he has designed in the
last four and a half decades reflects his philosophy.
This approach to both sculpting new and remodeling
existing courses has gained Bill a distinguished reputation with course
developers, golf industry professionals, fellow golf course
architects and most importantly – golfers!
As
a teenager and already a low handicap golfer, Bill always dreamed of
becoming a golf course architect.
He focused on achieving his goal while earning a Bachelor of
Arts degree and serving as a Graduate Assistant in Turfgrass
Management under a USGA Green Section grant.
After graduating, one of his primary duties as an Air Force
officer was supervising the maintenance and operation of a base golf
course. Next, he gained
valuable work experience and hands-on training in formal golf course
design as an assistant to golf course architects in Indianapolis and
Atlanta.
After
years of studying and training, he realized his dream by opening his
own design practice in 1959. It
is now the oldest golf course architectural office in Florida.
In 1977, Bill was elected president of the American Society
of Golf Course Architects. He
has also recently been elected a Fellow in the ASGCA.
While
the majority of his projects are still of traditional length and
par, Bill feels certain that more and more new public golf courses
should be smaller and less expensive to build in the future.
This growing concept appeals to golf course developers even
now because it reduces land requirements, construction costs, annual
maintenance budgets, water usage and environmental impact concerns.
To read more about his thoughts on the subject, please click on this
link - "Affordable Golf
Courses."
Today,
these smaller, or "saving" courses are also appealing to many golfers
who
may not have the time or skills to play more demanding layouts.
A saving course attracts a
wide range of golfers including juniors, beginners
of all ages, lesser-skilled golfers, shorter hitters and people with
disabilities. Another
strength of a design like this is that it can either serve as the
primary course or be added to complement an existing layout.
With these saving courses,
both golfers and course operators see benefits from much lower costs
and faster play.
Because of his strong belief in this
expanding trend, Bill Amick is now concentrating an increasing
portion of his time, training and talent to designing these saving
courses. Who knows,
Bill’s motto may even change to... “I
want to see even more golfers smiling on the 18th green!"
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