September 16, 2015 – Tripp Davis and Associates has announced the hiring of Jack Skirkanich as design associate. Skirkanich will establish TDA’s first East Coast office in New York City and will be focused on working closely with Davis on projects along the eastern seaboard.
Skirkanich was introduced to Davis at his home course at Rumson Country Club in Rumson, New Jersey, where Davis was working on a master plan for the restoration of the historic 1910 layout. Skirkanich sat in on several planning meetings with Davis and soon realized that he had a passion for golf course architecture.
“Golf architecture has always fascinated me,” Skirkanich said. “I’ve always enjoyed reading books on golf architecture and studying why the great courses were considered great and stood the test of time. But it wasn’t until I started working with Tripp during the master plan process for Rumson that my eyes were opened to the profession of a golf architect. It was then I realized this is what I was meant to do. My passion for golf course design was mentored by Tripp in the form of an internship and the pursuit of a masters of landscape architecture. I feel fortunate to be able to join TDA as it is doing some of the best work in the industry and becoming one of the most sought after firms.”
“One of the innate things you want a golf course architect to have is a good eye for what works visually and strategically,” Davis said. “Jack is just starting out so he has a lot to learn, but starting out with this good eye for what we do is important. He knows the game well, having played college golf at Vanderbilt with Brandt Snedeker, and being one of the better amateur players in New Jersey. When we first discussed him joining TDA, I strongly encouraged him to go back to school and get his masters in landscape architecture, which he will finish May 2016 at Rutgers. Jack has a great future in golf course architecture and I am excited to see him develop while he goes about making us better at what we do.”
Prior to entering the world of golf course architecture, Skirkanich was co-founder of a tech start-up called PrimeScout, an online recruiting platform for high school athletes seeking college scholarships. He also spent five years working for Coleman Research Group in New York as a research manager for the real estate and financial services group.
