The European Institute of Golf Course Architects and the American Society of Golf Course Architects have both announced new presidents for 2021/22. Tim Lobb has stepped into the role at the EIGCA while Jason Straka has become president of the ASGCA.

Lobb, principal of design firm Lobb + Partners, was announced as the twelfth president of the EIGCA at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting in Cardiff, Wales, last week.

The Australian-born architect has worked in golf course design for 25 years, starting his career in Melbourne, before moving to Kuala Lumpur and then settling in the UK in 1998 where he worked with European Golf Design and later formed a partnership with Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett. Lobb created his own firm in 2016, which now has offices in the UK, Canada and South Korea.

“We, as golf course architects, have the power to shape the future,” said Lobb. “We need to design courses that are relevant in our modern-day society. It is our chance, now, in a post-Covid world, to bring families and young people into golf. We must create the facilities that make golf interesting and fun.

“I will use my term as EIGCA president, and the platform this provides, to drive ahead with the message that the design of a course is fundamental to safeguarding the future of golf. We need to stress how the design of courses helps promote the game of golf, for all.”

Straka, a principal with Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design, was elected president at the ASGCA’s 75th annual meeting in Cleveland in early October, and will serve until autumn 2022.

Straka’s design portfolio includes projects at Camelback Golf Club in Arizona, Los Robles Greens Golf Course in California, Shelter Harbor Golf Club in Rhode Island, The Oaks Club in Florida, Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, and Union League National Golf Club, which is progressing in New Jersey.

Straka has also served as an instructor at a variety of professional institutions around the world, including The Graduate School of Industry and Environment at Kyungwon University in Seoul, South Korea, the Brazilian Golf Confederation, the Portuguese Greenskeeper’s Association, the Polish Golf Properties Conference, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, and many others.

“I am honoured to serve ASGCA, my colleagues, the golf course design profession and the game of golf during ASGCA’s 75th-year anniversary,” said Straka. “While golf has seen a resurgence of late, we still find ourselves in the middle of a pandemic and politically divided times. It is my charge to carry on the success of my predecessors, lead where there is no roadmap, and continue to help the golf industry grow and nourish the game. Further, I look forward to strengthening the influence of ASGCA by encouraging all qualified designers to participate, and by working even more closely with our industry partners.”