How many architects are out there?

[Adam_F_Collins]

Two questions:

How many professional Golf Course Architects are working today? (roughly)

How many students are presently studying to enter this field? (roughly)

These may seem like strange questions, but according to Brad Klien's article, When Golf Design Becomes Big Business (in Geoff Shackelford's Masters of the Links- 1997) the ASGCA had 29 members in 1966 and 128 in '97. He figured then that there might be 300+ working in the U.S. at that time.

So it's seven or eight years later... Are the numbers still growing? How many students are lining up to "jump in the pool"?

What's this doing to the industry?

[JohnV]

A quick count shows 165 members in the ASGCA as of November 2004.

[Tom_Doak]

Adam:

It depends entirely on how you count:  by firms or by individuals.

The ASGCA list includes several people in the Fazio and Nicklaus firms [but it also does not include a lot of their younger, on-site people].  It leaves out any architects not in the society, including everyone in my firm, others who have chosen not to join, "golf planners" working for a landscape architect firm, and a lot of young designers with only a couple of courses under their belts.

If you include all of them, there are probably 200 "design companies" you could hire today.

My guess is there are as many as 500 people in America drawing some sort of pay as a golf course architect or associate.  On top of those, there are 50-75 students who apply for our internship each year [I'm sure we don't hear from them all, but only maybe 2/3 of those we hear from are really seriously pursuing a career to the exclusion of other aspects of landscape architecture] ... and there are a lot of graduates working in construction or other venues and hoping to catch on with an architect.

Which is a very long-winded way of saying the supply is much bigger than the demand.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Tom et al,
What would be your guess for architects world wide?  There are quite a few projects over seas that are done by American designers.
Would a total of 1000 world wide be close?
There are an awful lot of builders whose responsibilities often resemble a designers.
Cheers

[Tom_Doak]

Mike:

There might be another 500 golf course architects in the rest of the world, but I'd be surprised if it were that many.

I think there are maybe fifty in Australia, many of whom are working more in Asia than at home.

I think there are less than 100 in the European Institute or Society or whatever they call it now.

There used to be a Japanese Society of Golf Architects with about fifty members, but I think as many as half of them are out of the business now ... there's not much work for them at home.

[Marty Bonnar]

Adam,
Probably one less in Scotland damn soon (unless things pick up dramatically!!!!)

 
FBD.

[harley_kruse]

The Society of Australian Golf Course Architects www.sagca.org.au (website soon to be upgraded) has 27 members of which 3 honorary memebers are non practising.

Australia would be lucky to get more than 10 new courses in one year so as mentioned by Tom D, Asia provides much of the bread and butter for most.

Harley K

[ian]

Canadian Count:

McBroom 3 architects-staff is bigger
Carrick 4 architects
Graham Cooke, 8 on staff (I think)
Daryl Huxum 2 architects
Les Furbur 4 (I think)
Gary Browning, 2 architects
Rod Whitman, 2 architects (Mr Mingay included)
Golf Design Services, Calgary
Dick Kirkpatrick
Paul Tackahashi
Robert Heaslip
John Robinson

names I can't remember
guy in Halifax
guy in Picton

My count is 32 architects in Canada. I bet there isn't a quarter of that many new projects being done by Canadians this year. Most are located in Ontario.

[Jeff_Mingay]

It's Rob LeBlanc in Halifax, Ian.

Rob's a good guy, who used to post here awhile back.

[Matthew MacKay]

Steven Ward is the fella in Picton.  I've played a few of his courses down that way...not too bad.  His course in Brighton called Timber Ridge has been very well recieved and is definately a bargain...a few really good holes.

[Mike_Cirba]

Is it any wonder that so many architects are willing to take "redesign" work when it's offered?  

The market seems to be pretty saturated.  

[Tyler Kearns]

Ian,

Add David Grant from Winnipeg to your list - 33.

TK

[Jeff_Mingay]

Bottom line is, any one can advertise as a "golf course architect". That's the easy part.

Sell yourself on good projects and execute, and you'll be successful - no matter how many guys are advertising themselves as "golf architect". But that's the difficult part.

That's what it boils down to in any business: selling your service, then successfully executing on your promise.  

[Forrest Richardson]

I'd guess:

300 Architects
600 Assistants/Drafters/Etc.
1200 Other Personnel, Closely Associated with the Architect
2400 Distant Cousins, Students, Etc.

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