Schmidt-Curley Design Hires Veteran Golf Course Architect Shane Witcombe

Schmidt-Curley Design — one of the world’s most active and innovative golf course design firms — announces it has hired 20-year industry veteran Shane Witcombe as a lead designer.

A member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), Witcombe has worked on more than 40 golf course design projects around the globe. Most recently, as lead designer for Greg Norman Golf Course Design, he was involved with projects in Asia, South and Central America, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean.

With the hiring, Schmidt-Curley Design now employs one of the industry’s largest staffs of ASGCA members: Lee Schmidt, Brian Curley, Grant Haserot, Andy Raugust and Witcombe.

“We’re excited to welcome Shane to our team,” says firm co-founder and member of the ASGCA Board of Governors, Brian Curley. “His impressive track record on a wide variety of sites over the last two decades makes him ideally suited to tackle the myriad projects we’re engaged with worldwide.”

Although officially based out of Schmidt-Curley’s USA headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, Witcombe will spend considerable time at the firm’s Haikou and Kunming, China offices. He is a 1991 graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture.

Curley continues: “Adding Shane’s considerable experience and talents to our line-up is further proof of our commitment to combining top-notch design with unparalleled customer service. As the only American design firm with two offices in Asia, we’re best positioned to serve the booming Pacific Rim market.”

A consistently high finisher in Asian Golf Monthly’s “Best Golf Course Architect” rankings, Schmidt-Curley’s Blackstone Course at Mission Hills Hainan was recently named Asia’s “Best New” course by GOLF Magazine. It will host the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, November 24-27, 2011.

For more information about completed and current projects, visit www.schmidt-curley.com or call 480.483.1994.

About Schmidt-Curley Design
Founded by partners Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley with offices in Scottsdale, Arizona; Haikou, Hainan Island, China and Kunming, China, Schmidt-Curley is a full-service, international golf course architecture and master-planning firm with more than 100 layouts in 24 countries. The tandem is responsible for crafting 10 of the 12 courses at storied Mission Hills Shenzhen — the “World’s Largest Golf Club” — and is currently designing and building all 10 golf courses at new Mission Hills Hainan Resort on Hainan Island.

Other high profile, award-winning projects from Schmidt-Curley include Bali Hai and Siena Golf Clubs (Las Vegas), Amata Spring Golf Club (Chonburi, Thailand, four-time host of the PGA European Tour’s Royal Trophy), Terra Lago Golf Club (Indio, California, site of the Skins Game from 1999 – 2002), Twin Creeks Golf Club (Cedar Park, Texas) and Crosby National Golf Club (Rancho Santa Fe, California).

Schmidt-Curley has also worked extensively with golf’s biggest names — including Pete Dye, Nick Faldo, Jack Nicklaus and Fred Couples on numerous high-profile projects — and boasts four ASGCA members (Lee Schmidt, Brian Curley, Grant Haserot and Andy Raugust).

Producing demanding yet beautiful and enjoyable courses, Schmidt-Curley strives to create golf experiences that stir the senses and elevate golfers’ appreciations for the land and the game. By balancing classic golf course architecture with ever-changing contemporary technology, Schmidt-Curley places an emphasis on site-adaptive courses, memorable and satisfying for all levels of play and always designed for cost-efficient maintenance and operations.

Source: www.golfclubbusiness.com