North Carolina-based architect Rick Robbins was elected president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects at the organisation’s recent annual meeting at Reynolds Plantation in Georgia.

Robbins, who began his career working for Robert von Hagge, and later joined Nicklaus Design before starting his own firm in 1991, has been responsible for projects in 24 US states, plus eleven other countries, including China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Robbins said: “I want to work with our friends at the allied associations of golf to find creative ways to combat the three primary issues that prevent golf from growing: the difficulty of the game for most players, the cost to play and the time it takes to complete an average round.

“Looking at new ways to make golf more acceptable to kids as a regular activity is a start, but we as golf architects must also do our part to encourage our clients whenever possible to think about the cost of golf courses and how difficult they want to make them.”