"I want to see smiling golfers on the 18th green!"

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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