34 INTERVIEW Australians, in general, like to travel. If the focus of the developed world can be said to be (historically at least) in Europe and North America, well, Australasia is a long way away from both. And Australia, because of the way it developed as a modern country, tends to breed a particular sort of person: friendly, laid back, optimistic and happy to travel. Almost perfect personality traits, in fact, for careers in golf course architecture! Bob Harrison is the paterfamilias of the Australian golf design community. He found his career earlier in life, albeit partly by accident. “Contact with the Australian property development company Lend Lease was my break,” he says. “I studied civil engineering at university, and it was great fun, but I wasn’t really motivated and in my final year asked the professors if I could do my thesis on a golf course project. This wasn’t totally preposterous because golf course projects involve earthworks, drainage, water supply, dams and the like. They agreed, provided I could find someone in the commercial world preparing to develop a golf course project and they were then able to compare what I did with the real thing. “So, I chased around and found Lend Lease, who were preparing to relocate the golf course at Campbelltown outside of Sydney into their proposed residential development nearby. The then golf course became the site for what is now Campbelltown Hospital. Von Hagge Barnes & Devlin (VBD) had been engaged by Lend Lease and were well-advanced with the design process. Lend Lease needed somebody to work for them on the project management who understood something about golf – and I got the job after graduating. VBD had produced a design which subsequently proved to be far too expensive, and after a year Lend Lease fired them and took a chance with me. So, I ended up with the design of an 18-hole course about a year out of university.” After working for Lend Lease for a while, Harrison made the move that would define his career. It was the late 1980s, and Greg Norman was the world’s number one golfer. As such, he had a lot of opportunities in the thenbooming signature golf design market, so he established his own design firm in 1987. Norman himself was, by that time, based in the USA, but as a son of Australia, his homeland offered many opportunities, so he needed an Australian-based design associate. “I got very lucky but was also resourceful,” says Harrison. “I got the best job going in the golf industry in Australia when I teamed up with Norman and IMG at the very beginning of Greg Norman Golf Course Design (GNGCD) to do the design in Australia and Asia. My scope included the documentation of the first five courses Bob Harrison has had a long career as one of Australia’s top golf designers and, like many of his countrymen, has spent much of it away from home. Adam Lawrence listened to his tales from the road. Wizard of Oz BOB HARRISON “ I ended up with the design of an 18-hole course about a year out of university”
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