Golf Course Architecture - Issue 63, January 2021

57 booming in the 1990s in Singapore, where my parents were living. I had a degree in landscape architecture and learnt the ropes with Nelson Wright Haworth, who were prolific and highly regarded. My dad was a scratch golfer and we were exposed to golf from an early age. We also moved from NZ to Australia for my parents to be involved in the development of Palm Meadows in Queensland.” Kerr subsequently worked with Gary Player Design in Europe and China and credits them and NWH with giving her the expertise and exposure to win her own commissions. Bel Jan says: “When people see others like themselves participating in a game or profession, they are likely to participate, too. When male golfers read about golf course architecture, they saw that not only as a dream, but a possible walk of life. Globally, the few women who were acknowledged as golf course architects received little public recognition, so the possibility of golf course design as a profession was not seen by females, or by males who may have suggested such a career to their daughters, sisters, friends, or students.” Bel Jan continues: “In recent years, females have enjoyed an increasing presence on the golf course, on secondary school and collegiate teams, in multiple golf organisations, and with vendors and suppliers that support golf. Most of these women and girls were introduced to golf by a male family member or friend, just as most men have been introduced to golf.” It was a passion for golf that drew Italian architect Giulia Ferroni into the course design profession. She says: “I studied architecture and after university started working in the building design business. I spent a few years designing houses, offices, shops and furniture, but I ended up being not completely satisfied by that career, as golf is my passion.” Martin Hawtree provided Ferroni with the opportunity to enter the golf business. “I spent lots of time on site and in the office, and as an eager reader went through Martin’s entire library,” says Ferroni, who completed the EIGCA’s professional diploma course in 2018 and has now established her own firm, Leeds Golf Design, in the UK. “You have to be very committed to find your way to become a golf course designer. It is a very specific career – there are very few golf design firms compared to other businesses, so the chance of entering the industry and have success can be very limited,” says Ferroni. “The best candidates may be players, who are very passionate about the game and want to move forward exploring the discipline of designing golf courses. But the statistics show fewer girls play than boys, and carry on through the years. This is the core of the problem, there are fewer women in golf design because fewer girls start playing at a young age.” Although womens’ golf has become much higher profile and popular in Kari Haug is leading the EIGCA’s efforts to open up golf course architecture to women and says she is “enthusiastically advocating” the recruitment of women in the business “ When people see others like themselves participating in a game or profession, they are likely to participate, too” WOMEN IN GOL F DES IGN