LATEST
NEWS

Adam Lawrence
/ Categories: News

Clayton, De Vries and Pont form new global architecture practice

Three well-known and established golf course architects have announced they will pool their resources as part of a new firm with principals on three continents. Mike Clayton, Mike de Vries and Frank Pont will together form CDP Golf, which will have its central base in London’s West End.

The three principals of the new firm have experience of working together already – Pont and De Vries have an established collaboration that recently secured a contract to restore Harry Colt’s Bloomfield Hills course in Detroit, while Pont and Clayton’s previous firm, OCCM, submitted an ultimately unsuccessful joint bid to become consulting architects to the Berkshire club outside London a couple of years ago.

Clayton said: “We are fully committed to travelling to each other’s continents to assist with projects. In my instance, as the partner slightly more removed from the others geographically speaking, I shall be spending part of my time based in England for the foreseeable future. Frank and Mike are already working together on Bloomfield Hills C.C. and Frank and I will shortly be announcing a collaboration in Ireland.”

De Vries said: “Golf architecture is a global business. As Frank and I have shown at Bloomfield Hill, the best solution is not necessarily an all-American one.” Pont added: “Clayton, DeVries & Pont is a global affiliation with local presence. Today’s technology and ease of travel makes golf course architecture much more portable a process than it was a century ago when MacKenzie, Fowler, Alison and others travelled around the world by steamship.”

Company chairman Edward Cartwright, who will run the company’s central HQ in London, said: “The three partners have a wonderfully diverse set of talents that complement each other very well. Mike Clayton is, of course, is a highly proficient professional golfer. Mike DeVries is, in addition to being a wonderful designer, a highly talented technician, who is just as adept with bulldozers and Sand Pros as he is with computers and pens. Frank has a background in civil engineering and has a great understanding of the technical aspects of golf course architecture.”

Previous Article Construction advances at Faldo Design project in Pakistan
Next Article Reopening for renovated Plantation course at historic Sea Island
Print
5621 Rate this article:
No rating
Slideshow HTML
  • CDP

    Frank Pont and Mike de Vries are working together at Bloomfield Hills

  • CDP

    Mike Clayton, de Vries and Pont have formed a new golf architecture firm called CDP Golf

Adam Lawrence

Adam LawrenceAdam Lawrence

Other posts by Adam Lawrence
Contact author

Contact author

x
Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now
Magazine, News | Fri 14 Mar, 2025

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now

New issue asks whether the golf boom has led to an increase in municipal golf investment

The January 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!
Magazine, News | Fri 17 Jan, 2025

The January 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!

Projects covered include Golf Club Föhr, Brautarholt, Cabot Citrus Farms, Somabay and more

FEATURE
ARTICLES

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz
Konrad Borkowski
Interview | Adam Lawrence

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz

The Australian designer has had a long career and, like many of his countrymen, has spent much of it away from home. Adam Lawrence listened to his tales from the road

Jim Wagner and Rusty Mercer discuss Kinsale design and build
Kinsale Golf Club
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Jim Wagner and Rusty Mercer discuss Kinsale design and build

Florida course is a tribute to the Golden Age designs of Raynor and Macdonald

Are bunkers getting too pretty for their own good?
Larry Lambrecht
Feature | Adam Lawrence

Are bunkers getting too pretty for their own good?

Is the beauty of bunkering being over-emphasised at the expense of its function, asks Adam Lawrence

Good Read: The Prairie Raynor
Grant Books Ltd
Good Read | John Moran and Rand Jerris

Good Read: The Prairie Raynor

John Moran and Rand Jerris share insight into their book about Seth Raynor’s design at Chicago Golf Club

Vinpearl Golf Léman: New pearls for Vietnam
Vinpearl Golf Leman
Report | Richard Humphreys

Vinpearl Golf Léman: New pearls for Vietnam

The first of two Golfplan-designed courses at club near Ho Chi Minh City has opened for play

Seven Canyons: Desert drama
Brad Klein
Report | Bradley Klein

Seven Canyons: Desert drama

Brad Klein reports on a Phil Smith Design renovation in Sedona, Arizona

Golf Club Föhr: Reinvented for a new century
Stefan von Stengel
On site | Adam Lawrence

Golf Club Föhr: Reinvented for a new century

Adam Lawrence reports on a visit to the far north of Germany where Christian Althaus has completely rebuilt the 27-hole course over the last 15 years

Nauka Nayarit: Welcome to the jungle
Harris Kalinka
Report | Richard Humphreys

Nauka Nayarit: Welcome to the jungle

Ten holes of a new Fazio Design course on Mexico’s Pacific coast have opened for play

Brautarholt: Oceanic connection
Tony Ristola
On site | Adam Lawrence

Brautarholt: Oceanic connection

One of the world’s best 12-hole courses is being extended to 18 by architect Tony Ristola. Adam Lawrence reports from Iceland and says he expects the finished course to make quite a splash

The Club at Quail Ridge: Delivering the dramatic
Evan Schiller
Report | Richard Humphreys

The Club at Quail Ridge: Delivering the dramatic

Florida club unveils results of North course redesign, completed by Fry/Straka and NMP Golf Construction

Addison Reserve: Return on investment
Gideon Heller
Report | Toby Ingleton

Addison Reserve: Return on investment

One of southeast Florida’s premier residential communities has completed a project to redesign its three nines of golf

Gopher Watch Competition – January 2025
Gopher Watch, News | Fri 17 Jan, 2025

Gopher Watch Competition – January 2025

Which course has Sandy the gopher visited this month?

MOST
POPULAR

FEATURED
BUSINESSES