Art Johnson, GCA passes away.

[RJ_Daley]

I'd like to make note that a golf course architect that hardly anyone knows about who passed away today at 82 years old.  Ironically or counterintuitively as a person in a business that requires that one market themselves, Art Johnson of Madison, Wisconsin liked to keep it just that way, -that hardly anyone needs to know about him.   He didn't care if you knew about him as a golf course architect, per se.  Yet, he designed or contributed on some 40 golf course design and build projects in his career.  He primarily was the City of Madison's landscape architect who contributed plans for many of its enjoyable parks and land features in those parks.  Yet mostly through his municipal work contacts, was invited by area developers who came to know him, to design golf courses for mostly "mom and pop" operations.  So, Art was a proponent of the modest and economical to build and maintain, municipal or community style golf course. 

My most fond memory of Art, was attending the 1991 GCSAA convention in Las Vegas, where one of the daily program features was a very comprehensive lecture and dog and pony show put on by Tom Fazio and Steve Wynn accompanied by Kenny Rogers, where they presented a program on the design and construction of Shadow Creek.  Art liked to nip a few afternoon brewskies, and well, I had to kick him under the chair a few times to restrain some of his guffaws at all the lavish and ostentatiousness of the grand project as it was demonstrated.  Geoffrey Cornish asked me the following year at the convention in NOLA (I was lucky enough to sit next to him at lunch) if I could get Art to submit a bio of his background and list of his GCA work.   When I asked Art, he just shrugged and said, "who cares about that stuff". 

I cared, because Art did have a sincere body of work as a GCA and was a real regular and down to earth, modest man, in a world that seems to be all about PR and self promotion.  It is refreshing to be around the antithesis of that.  But, walking some interesting land parcels and evaluating possibilities, I know that Art had all the knowledge and capabilities to design something quite noteworthy as he explained things he encountered on the land and described their potential incorporation into a golf design.  Yet, he didn't want to do elaborate features.  He was always first considering the drainage and engineering of the project for its workability and efficency. He wanted to stick with modest and economical municipal oriented facilities.  That was enough for him. 

And, he passed away of a heart attack after helping take out a tree.  Must have been his true golf sense.  RIP

[Jeff_Brauer]

I am sorry to hear of this, having met Art in Wisconsin in my old Killian and Nugent days.  As you allude, he was always kind of on the outside looking in the gca world, but he seemed like the nicest guy in the world when I met him and someone who should have gotten more involved with others in the profession.

And, ya gotta love a guy who has his John Deere tractor mentioned in his obit!  I was with some friends with farm backgrounds last night and the discussion of Deere vs Harvester, plus a number of other defucnt brands from the past came up.  Some of these rural guys identify as strongly with their tractors as we might with our golf club affiliations.

I didn't realize his strong non-golf background until reading the obit....but he sounds like the prototypical "greatest generation" kind of guy that made America great, with him personally making many contributions to Wisconsin's development.  And, ya gotta love a guy who has his John Deere tractor mentioned in his obit!  I was with some friends with farm backgrounds last night and the discussion of Deere vs Harvester, plus a number of other defucnt brands from the past came up.  Some of these rural guys identify as strongly with their tractors as we might with our golf club affiliations.

[Mike Cirba]

Dick,

Thanks for sharing Mr. Johnson's story.

In reading his obituary, I'm reminded of the last stanza of a poem by Harry Chapin;

"But one who has seen so many springs
Does not regret the winter's coming.
A life progressed so competently
up to its end stands
ready to encompass death."

[Phil McDade]

Thanks to Da' Mayor for noting Art's passing. I've probably played more golf on Art Johnson courses than any other architect in golf, a product of living in the Madison WI area for the past 20 years. As Dick points out, Art's courses aren't quirky or grand or humbling, just honest sets of holes that provide challenge for most golfers. He helped build muni golf courses at a time when such courses weren't viewed (as they often are today) as extravagant or wasteful government expense, but as a way to provide recreation to folks from any corner of life. Now the public golf being built (even in seemingly modest Wisconsin) involves courses with "views," and "championship tees," and the feel of Scottish or Irish "links," and $200 greens fees and, well, you know the rest. I'm guessing Art blanched at what public golf had evolved into in his adopted home state. But I think he likely smiled at the notion that, even these days, on a brisk fall morning in Madison, you can play one of Art's courses for a buck a hole. I knew of Art only by reputation, and would note in addition that his work in developing parks in Madison was notable and substantial -- the city is full of small, neighborhood parks, often little-known or visited by those outside the immediate walking area, and they are truly some of the treasures of this town.

[Norbert P]

 
  Salute ! 

  "Don't let the low descending sun find you with no worthy action done."   

   The Greatest Generation, indeed.

[RJ_Daley]

Kelly, thanks very much for locating that obit.  It is a very accurate account of Art.  It didn't say, but I think he played a little football for UW in about '1949-50.  As he moved through the woods with me (and I was young and pretty in shape then) Art in his 60s was agile and you could see how he loved moving across the land, diving right into thickets and taking on steep slopes and such.

Art lived about two blocks from me in Madison.  I first knew him through his wife who was an alderperson, and I worked with her in her capacity and mine as police union pres.  Then, I started to get interested in golf course design in the late 80s, and she told me about her husband.  I contacted him when I started to seriously entertain some involvement in a golf project, planning to leave the P.D. quite early.  Now that I think of it, I believe maybe Art is the one who pointed me to Cornish and Whitten's book, just out at the time.  That would be ironic since he didn't want to be part of the bio on architects.  I do remember us talking about the ideal land for golf (links) and in his keen knowledge of U.S. geography, he mentioned the sand hills areas of Neb and out west.  I knew nothing about that at that time.  I lost track of Art when I moved to Green Bay, and he retired to Portage-Dells area. 

I think we can blame Art for spending enough time with me to be an early influence on my learning much about GCA issues.  He was an enabler in my obsession, I  reckon.

[Norbert P]

. . .  He was an enabler in my obsession, I  reckon.

 As you are for us.