62 INTERVIEW From the ground up DAVE AXLAND Shaper-turned-architect Dave Axland has worked alongside some of the most talented designers in the business, but what is his story? Richard Humphreys finds out. After working as an assistant superintendent at Corpus Christi CC in South Texas, Dave Axland set out to gain some experience in golf course construction. He found it at nearby Kings Crossing GC, where he met Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, and Dan Proctor. It was a project that laid the foundations for 40 years as a shaper and architect. Axland says that Coore has had a profound influence on his own design philosophy. “He and Ben instilled the importance of staying open-minded throughout the design process,” he says. “Their leadership promotes a level of creative freedom within the team, allowing designs to evolve with time. Each step within the design process, once it is played out in the field, makes for better decisions for the next step. Sometimes these decisions are easy to make, other times it takes a process like clearing or a bit more time to identify the best use of a golfing corridor. Variety is always the goal and trying to get the most out of the site. “The relationship between associate and architect is a tight one and all efforts are valuable to the final product. If the associate charged with getting a concept from a thought to an actual tangible result ends up producing something different than anticipated, that work can either be further developed or adjusted in a way whereby the effort is always contributing towards the goal of finding the best fit for that ground. Work is always given a hard look with an open mind. This respect for individual creativity has fostered a loyal team dynamic at C&C. Teammates have a sense of ownership. Bill’s advice to ‘know when you have something’ also underscores the importance of recognising when to stop pushing a design. Sometimes the ‘24-hour rule’ was invoked. Work was simply let alone for a day after a first look.” Axland also formed a lasting partnership with Dan Proctor, dating back to the late 1980s, when Proctor secured their first design job. They would travel on the weekend to play at affordable courses, which reinforced their design ideas. “The work we saw for these smaller communities was the thing that gave
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