68 INTERVIEW “Other ideas he imparted throughout our time together include his methodology of working with the land, his on-site presence of working with the crew to build his visions, and his knowledge that the best modern architects benefit from being on site attending to the details of the design.” While at Austin, Whitman got his first solo design opportunity, back home in Alberta. His college friend Ryan Vold asked if he would design a course his family was planning on its ranch near the small town of Ponoka. Over five years Whitman would build 27 holes (he returned in 2010 for nine more, to make two full eighteens, the Old and the Links) on the sandy site. While Whitman moved plenty of earth, his work at Wolf Creek was applauded for its natural, minimalist appearance, with low profile dune styling and pot bunkers. With his first design came Whitman’s first entry into Canada’s ‘top course’ lists – and the Wolf Creek layout has since been joined by his Blackhawk, Sagebrush and Cabot Links layouts. After Wolf Creek, Whitman continued working with Dye, as a design associate. He was involved in the greens rebuild at Crooked Stick in Indiana and the renovation of Oak Tree in Oklahoma. Then in the late 1980s, Europe called. Coore had been approached by Bernard Pascassio, a French tour professional, to design a course among the vineyards of the Bordeaux region of France. “Bill approached me to help with the construction and to supervise some of the works,” recalls Whitman. “We built the Château course, and the ownership wanted the same team to build a second eighteen. Bill turned down that commission but recommended that I be retained to do it.” His Vignes course for Golf de Medoc was followed by 27 holes in Germany, at Schloss Langenstein, in the south of the country near the Swiss border. “Working in Europe was a great challenge,” says Whitman. “The foreign language and culture were hurdles, but the food was incredible! The European lifestyle was definitely more relaxed than what we experience here in North America.” Despite his growing list of top-class layouts, Whitman never took to selfpromotion, so his work could be a bit stop-start. “Jobs were scarce at times, but fortunately when I didn’t have my Whitman’s first solo design, Wolf Creek in Alberta, has a natural, minimalist appearance, with low profile dune styling, and marked his entry into Canada’s ‘top course’ lists
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