While not a big name in the biz, I just saw in the ASGCA newsletter that Jim Spear, ASGCA Fellow, died on Sept. 5, 2010 in St. Charles, Ill. Thought you might have an interest. especially with the Chicago threads, and a mention of Dave Gill here recently.
He led William James Spear & Associates, Golf Course Architects until his death, keeping an office in a former warehouse on the Fox River in St. Charles that he helped develop as retail and office space. He was 81 years old.
Spear began his career in the office of Robert Bruce Harris in 1953 after graduating from University of Iowa with a degree in Botany and Iowa State University with a degree in Landscape Architecture. He came to embrace Harris‘ straightforward ―Chicago School of Architecture‖ style, and was known for designing enjoyable municipal layouts that appealed to the mid-handicapper. He also spent time working with David Gill in his office in St. Charles before he opened his own practice in 1958. Some of his representative work includes Hickory Ridge Golf Course, Carbon-dale, Ill.; Amana Colonies Golf Course, Middle Amana, Iowa; Hawthorn Ridge Golf Course, Aledo, Ill.; Prairie View Golf Course, Byron, Ill. and Voyager Village Golf Course, Danbury, Wis.
Greg Martin, ASGCA worked for Spear for a short time at the beginning of his career in golf course architecture. He shared some memories:
New to the business, I learned about the value of detailed plans and vigilance from Jim. He was diligent, determined and had a great work ethic. Jim was a quiet man with an infectious smile. I mentioned his passing last night, and someone asked if I had learned anything from Jim. My response was, ’Yes, a lot – more than you can imagine.’ A large measure of my success can be traced to Jim.
Bryce Swanson, ASGCA got his start in golf course architecture working for Spear shortly after his college graduation. Swanson also shared some impressions and stories about his time in Spear‘s office:
Mr. Spear—I called him that when I first interviewed for a position and he never corrected me—offered me my first job in golf course architec-ture. Our office had two drafting tables set up facing each other; that was where he taught me to draft plans in an efficient way. He wanted clean and organized base sheets, a practice that has become a habit for me.
He was committed to the ‘Chicago School’ lessons he learned from Robert Bruce Harris. He felt that a client’s money should be spent carefully; he always made sure his courses had USGA greens, good tees and good bunker construction. He had a method to his designs, never over-bunkering, and would move only enough dirt to move water. His designs were practical and very enjoyable to play. He designed for the municipal and daily fee player who just wanted to have a good round of golf, and he was great at that. He’d often build nine holes for a client, and when the layout was up and running and had some real estate development around it, he’d go back and add another nine. He was very respectful of his clients’ budgets.
We had clients in a few states around the Midwest, and whenever I’d drive to the sites, Jim would have me take a different route. He wanted me to stop at golf courses along the way to introduce myself, interview the superintendent and learn about the course. I’d have to write a report about my visit. I really didn’t want to do that—I was pretty young and not too happy about talking to people I didn’t know—but Jim wanted me to get experience presenting myself and wanted to expose me to lots of different layouts. I probably visited about 70 courses in that manner and ap-preciate how it gave me confidence in interacting with clients.
I owe Jim a lot. He was very down-to-Earth, had very little ego and seemed very happy with how things turned out for him and his family.
Elected as an ASGCA Associate in 1974 and a Regular member in 1976, Spear is survived by his wife Peggy and his daughter Mari.
I have played a few Spears courses, like Amana Colonies and some of his Chicago area work. My only critique was that he tended to place the LZ on hilltops, making it very difficult course for someone who topped a drive constantly! He also seemed committed to that perfect par rotation more than even Larry Packard (4-5-4-3-4-5-4-3-4) and sometimes, IMHO, missed a few opportunities.
The last story, BTW, reminds me of my father, a Campbell Soup sales manager. A few years ago a ranger on one of my courses introduced himself as having worked with my father. He told the story that whenever Dad flew to Iowa he would announce one route, but then go in nearly the opposite way so that no sales person had the chance to get ready and make a better than normal impression. Sorry for the OT, but it does seem applicable.