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Jeff Schley

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Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« on: January 27, 2018, 02:59:34 AM »
Told a female friend of mine that I had broadened my online interests and recently been on a golf architecture discussion group.  She is a golfer and instantly asks, "are there any women on there?" I said well I'm not sure, but she says that she doesn't know of any females who are course designers other than seeing Annika Sorenstam's name a couple of places.  I assume there are women on GCA and by extension the design industry.

Anyone have any information on women in the design industry and where it is going?  I would think it is a very small minority.

In my MBA coursework we talked often about diversity in the board room to make good decisions and not just one woman, the ideal number is actually 3 or more.  There are numerous articles concerning this topic, I will just post one from the Harvard Business Review:

Reaping the value of these contributions, though, depends on having the right number of women. Solo women on boards often feel isolated and marginalized. When they are effective, it’s not because of but in spite of being the only woman. Adding a second woman to a board helps reduce the sense of isolation, but it doesn’t always cause change and may create its own difficulties. Two women may be perceived as a separate group and may find they have to be careful not to appear to be conspiring. What’s more, they may not be distinguished from each other. One woman we spoke to explained, “I raised a question at a board meeting that caused the board to take some important action. Later on, the chairman thanked the other woman on the board for raising the question. No one said anything to correct him.”

A clear shift occurs when boards have three or more women. At that critical mass, our research shows, women tend to be regarded by other board members not as “female directors” but simply as directors, and they don’t report being isolated or ignored. Three women or more can also change the dynamic on an average-size board. As one woman director said, “The competition to get your voice heard is over. It’s a supportive dynamic—less combative, more collaborative. You can see the guys decompress from their normal very aggressive style.”
« Last Edit: January 27, 2018, 03:02:12 AM by Jeff Schley »
"To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice your gifts."
- Steve Prefontaine

Mike Sweeney

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2018, 04:46:44 AM »
Here is an old thread on Women's Golf Clubs:


http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,38105.0.html


25 years with the Trophy Wife. It's probably best that she runs rather than plays golf :)
"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us."

Dr. Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

Adam Lawrence

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #2 on: January 27, 2018, 05:50:32 AM »
There are a few. Alice Dye obviously has played a major role in Pete's career. Pete's niece Cynthia Dye McGarey is probably the most successful female golf architect in her own name; she has designed quite a lot of courses around the world, most recently the excellent West Cliffs in Portugal. Vicki Martz was at Palmer Design for many years; she died last year (lovely woman). Jan Bel Jan worked for Fazio for ages, now has her own practice. In the younger generation, there's Kristine Kerr in New Zealand, Kari Haug in Minnesota, Christine Fraser and Giulia Ferroni who are with Hawtree, Virginia Costa who works with Dana Fry and Jason Straka, Line Mortensen who designed a number of courses in Denmark and now lives in Scotland making her living mostly as an artist/craftswoman -- she makes beautiful jewellery among other things (see http://www.linemortensen.com). And there is Angela Moser who has worked with Tom Doak and Gil Hanse and is currently helping Mike Nuzzo build his new course outside Houston.


But it is fair to say that no woman has yet really made it big in golf course design. We live in hope. And I imagine I've missed at least one person that I should have remembered, and will probably get into trouble with. Such is the risk of these lists  :)
Adam Lawrence

Editor, Golf Course Architecture
www.golfcoursearchitecture.net

Principal, Oxford Golf Consulting
www.oxfordgolfconsulting.com

Author, 'More Enduring Than Brass: a biography of Harry Colt' (forthcoming).

Short words are best, and the old words, when short, are the best of all.

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +2/-1
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2018, 10:36:21 AM »
Adam did a good job of covering everyone who deserved mention, I think.  There are several women pros who have put their names to a design or two, and women amateurs who did in the past -- Molly Gourlay worked with Tom Simpson, for example -- but I would not say they designed those courses any more than many of the figureheads from the men's tour.


In the course of our intern program I've interviewed four or five women and hired two ... Angela Moser and Sara Mess, who ran my office for several years.  It's a shame we didn't get the Olympic job, since the two of them were more responsible for our proposal than anyone else, and I'd promised they could be involved if we got it.  [Of course, they're no Amy Alcott.]  Sara was as talented at working on routings as anyone who has ever worked for me, while Angela is talented at shaping things, which she'll need to be to get work on her own.  She's ready for that, if someone was ready to hire her.


It's pretty obvious from Adam's list that there have been more women in the business in Europe than in America, and I think it's right to say that Angela has more chance of getting work on her own in Europe than Sara did in America -- the competition is more fragmented, and the pool of potential clients a bit less chauvinistic.


One interesting point is that both Angela and Sara [and indeed three of the four other women I have played with on this list] are very good golfers who regularly play from the men's tees, so they do NOT provide the "women's perspective" that some would assume.  Mrs. Dye was the best player of the bunch, but she was also the least politically correct about the average woman golfer's abilities, and therefore the strongest voice for moving the forward tees way up and eliminating forced carries from the fairway.

Jeff_Brauer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2018, 10:47:15 AM »
Forgotten her name, but I believe Ron Garl had a female lead designer for many years.
Jeff Brauer, ASGCA Director of Outreach

Angela Moser

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2018, 11:12:51 AM »
As far as I know there is also Lyne Morrison from Australia. She is posting every now and then on GCA...

jeffwarne

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2018, 11:19:05 AM »
Joanne O'Haire designed the now defunct Tra Mor course at St. Patrick's
"Let's slow the damned greens down a bit, not take the character out of them." Tom Doak
"Take their focus off the grass and put it squarely on interesting golf." Don Mahaffey

Jeremy Blumberg

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #7 on: January 27, 2018, 11:19:15 AM »
Marion Hollins had a tremendous impact on the conceptual design of perhaps the greatest golf course--Cypress Point Club.

Adam Lawrence

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #8 on: January 27, 2018, 11:26:30 AM »
As far as I know there is also Lyne Morrison from Australia. She is posting every now and then on GCA...


Yes, I forgot Lyne.
Adam Lawrence

Editor, Golf Course Architecture
www.golfcoursearchitecture.net

Principal, Oxford Golf Consulting
www.oxfordgolfconsulting.com

Author, 'More Enduring Than Brass: a biography of Harry Colt' (forthcoming).

Short words are best, and the old words, when short, are the best of all.

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +2/-1
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #9 on: January 27, 2018, 12:57:08 PM »
Joanne O'Haire designed the now defunct Tra Mor course at St. Patrick's


Does anyone know her or where she has gone?  I have seen no backstory for her involvement with that course.

Adam Lawrence

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #10 on: January 27, 2018, 01:00:03 PM »

Joanne O'Haire designed the now defunct Tra Mor course at St. Patrick's


Does anyone know her or where she has gone?  I have seen no backstory for her involvement with that course.


Here's her LinkedIn page -- [/size][size=78%]https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanne-o-haire-5b3341107/[/size]


She was assistant pro at RCD at the time she did the St Pat's course. Frank Casey explained the circumstances to me but I forget what they were.
Adam Lawrence

Editor, Golf Course Architecture
www.golfcoursearchitecture.net

Principal, Oxford Golf Consulting
www.oxfordgolfconsulting.com

Author, 'More Enduring Than Brass: a biography of Harry Colt' (forthcoming).

Short words are best, and the old words, when short, are the best of all.

Thomas Dai

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #11 on: January 27, 2018, 01:00:20 PM »
Joanne O'Haire designed the now defunct Tra Mor course at St. Patrick's
Does anyone know her or where she has gone?  I have seen no backstory for her involvement with that course.

See - http://www.stpatricksgolflinks.com/

Atb
« Last Edit: January 27, 2018, 01:05:43 PM by Thomas Dai »

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +2/-1
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #12 on: January 27, 2018, 01:18:59 PM »
Thomas:  I'm very familiar with St. Patrick's, but there must be something more to explain how she wound up with the design job ... apparently the only one of her career.


Adam, thanks for the LinkedIn information.  [I have resisted signing up myself.]  It says she has been working at The Belfry for many years ... never would have guessed that.

Adam Lawrence

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #13 on: January 27, 2018, 01:20:21 PM »
It also mentions Wisley and Worplesdon but doesn't explain when. I will try to find out more.
Adam Lawrence

Editor, Golf Course Architecture
www.golfcoursearchitecture.net

Principal, Oxford Golf Consulting
www.oxfordgolfconsulting.com

Author, 'More Enduring Than Brass: a biography of Harry Colt' (forthcoming).

Short words are best, and the old words, when short, are the best of all.

Forrest Richardson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #14 on: January 27, 2018, 03:11:26 PM »
There is Valerie Richardson, who for 30+ years has influenced my work ... and often tells me what to do  ;)
— Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect/ASGCA
    www.golfgroupltd.com
    www.golframes.com

Adam Lawrence

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #15 on: January 27, 2018, 03:19:40 PM »
There is Valerie Richardson, who for 30+ years has influenced my work ... and often tells me what to do  ;)


Your wife is a wonderful woman, and we know she's the brains in the household. So if you're saying that she does all the design work and you're just a patsy, I'm inclined to believe you.
Adam Lawrence

Editor, Golf Course Architecture
www.golfcoursearchitecture.net

Principal, Oxford Golf Consulting
www.oxfordgolfconsulting.com

Author, 'More Enduring Than Brass: a biography of Harry Colt' (forthcoming).

Short words are best, and the old words, when short, are the best of all.

Forrest Richardson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #16 on: January 27, 2018, 03:52:10 PM »
Must immediately disable her GCA account, else she will read this and make me redundant!
— Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect/ASGCA
    www.golfgroupltd.com
    www.golframes.com

Peter Pallotta

Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #17 on: January 27, 2018, 04:43:54 PM »
I always enjoyed and appreciated Lyne's posts, and from afar she also struck me as a very good and smart person. So I have often wondered, a bit sadly, why she (and Angela and the others Adam L mentioned) don't post, don't post more often, or in Lyne's case don't post at all anymore. And I do wonder if the nature and/or quality of the discourse here (including my own brand of discourse) was/is simply of no interest to her. If she or Angela or others wish to chime in, it would, I think, be instructive and productive both.
P
« Last Edit: January 27, 2018, 04:58:59 PM by Peter Pallotta »

Adam Lawrence

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #18 on: January 28, 2018, 05:18:21 AM »
I always enjoyed and appreciated Lyne's posts, and from afar she also struck me as a very good and smart person. So I have often wondered, a bit sadly, why she (and Angela and the others Adam L mentioned) don't post, don't post more often, or in Lyne's case don't post at all anymore. And I do wonder if the nature and/or quality of the discourse here (including my own brand of discourse) was/is simply of no interest to her. If she or Angela or others wish to chime in, it would, I think, be instructive and productive both.
P


Well, the overwhelming majority of male golf architects don't post here either...
Adam Lawrence

Editor, Golf Course Architecture
www.golfcoursearchitecture.net

Principal, Oxford Golf Consulting
www.oxfordgolfconsulting.com

Author, 'More Enduring Than Brass: a biography of Harry Colt' (forthcoming).

Short words are best, and the old words, when short, are the best of all.

Josh Bills

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Women of GCA and golf design industry?
« Reply #19 on: January 28, 2018, 12:56:32 PM »
I have played several in Ohio that Jodie Kinney designed, and they are enjoyable places to play.  National Golf Links and Rattlesnake Ridge are listed as her designs. 


She is listed as designing 3 others Big Beaver Creek (which I have driven by, but not played) Buck Ridge in Marysville  and Lafayette Club in Kentucky.  I believe she has done renovation work as well.  Don't know if she is still active, but certainly has done enough courses to deserve recognition. 


I have never met her but apparently her office is located in Dublin, Ohio, where my office is located.  I may have to see if she has any interest in talking about her work.


Josh

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