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"I'm extremely
fortunate to be able to do what I love for a living. For
me, designing or renovating a golf course is not about
ego--it's about
helping my client and being part of creating something
that will long outlive me and my time. It's a
blessing...a very humbling one."
-- Nathan Crace |
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Nathan E. Crace,
APA, Affiliate ASLA | principal/golf course architect
e-mail
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Our principal
golf course architect,
Nathan Crace, was born in Louisville, Kentucky and raised just across
the Ohio River in Charlestown, Indiana. His entire family
(parents and sisters) still
resides in the Greater Louisville, Kentucky
metropolitan area. Nathan is a Graduate of Mississippi State University's
prestigious Professional Golf Management Program--one of only three such programs in the
world that were sanctioned by the PGA of America at the time. He also has a degree in Business
Administration with a Major in Marketing from Mississippi State University, graduating
Summa Cum Laude. Nathan is a member in good standing of both the American Planning
Association and the Golf Writer's Association of America and is an
affiliate member of the American Society of
Landscape Architects (ASLA).
During the collegiate
school year, Nathan also serves as a guest lecturer and speaker at
Mississippi State University for the "Design of the Golf
Environment" class where he utilizes his real-world experience
and public speaking skills to assist students from the Professional
Golf Management, Sports and Turf Management, and Landscape
Architecture programs in the planning, routing, development, and
design of golf facilities for class projects and thesis
projects.
Nathan's
body of work in golf course architecture has received high-profile
recognition throughout his career. Perhaps the most recognizable
awards include Golf Digest's "Best New Affordable Public Course
in America" in January of 2005 for his design of Copper Mill Golf Club
in Zachary, Louisiana (Greater Baton Rouge) and more recently by Golf
Inc. Magazine for naming his re-design of Ole Miss Golf Course for
The University of Mississippi (in historic Oxford, Mississippi) as the
"Third Best Renovation in America" for 2008.
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Nathan has
more than 14 years of extensive and invaluable experience in
golf course architecture and planning, including the creation and preparation of drawings
and technical specifications, project budgeting, bidding for public
entities, oversight and monitoring of construction, assistance with
grow-in and the like. Prior to co-founding Watermark Golf, Nathan
served as the Senior Design Associate with another golf course design
firm for nearly eight years and during his tenure with that firm, Nathan was
directly involved with the full design and implementation of the firm's projects including such
notable projects as Hattiesburg C.C., Brookhaven C.C., Caroline Golf Club, and Copper Mill
Golf Club to name a few, where he took the lead first-hand in the design
process. Since co-founding Watermark Golf, Nathan has continued
his success by providing
designs that are both cost-effective and aesthetically-appealing for his
clients for private developers and owners, country clubs, municipalities
and other public groups, and even the United States Air Force.
Although his true passion is golf course
architecture, he has discovered a keen sense of practical skill and ingenuity in
residential and golf course master planning to provide clients with a better overall
synergy in regards to the operations of a golf course, its related ancillary facilities,
and any surrounding residential development. This ability enables his clients to
realize a cost savings by better planning for the future for their facilities. More
information regarding our land planning services can be found at www.watermarkplanning.com.
Nathan is also active in promoting the game
of golf for juniors and promoting the golf industry for those seeking a career in golf.
In addition to serving as a former member of the advisory committee for Hinds Community
College's Irrigation and Turf Equipment Maintenance program, he is also
active in his support for the LPGA/USGA's Mary Ann Edge Mississippi Junior Girls' Golf
School that promotes the game to both beginners and more experienced
junior girl players. You may have also read some of Nathan's "literary work" in his
freelance column called "Lipouts"
where he writes about his perspective on current events in the world of golf.
Lipouts appears in a number of regional and national publications on a
regular basis as well as special runs for features.
Through his educational background
as well as life and work
experiences, Nathan has gained invaluable insight into all aspects of golf--the game, the
course, and the business. Nathan has not only completed several PGA seminars, but he
has also participated in a project jury and seminar conducted at Mississippi State
University while he was in college by renown golf course architect Robert
Cupp. |
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Nathan's educational background includes
Turfgrass Management, Golf Course Operations, Design of The Golf Environment, Golf Course
Architecture, Plant Biology, and Landscape Architecture in addition to International
Marketing, Business Quantitative Analysis, Marketing Research and other specialized
business courses to offer clients a full package of services.
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Prior to
designing golf courses, Nathan served as assistant golf
professional at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Mississippi (host site of the 1999
U.S. Women's Open); Big Spring Country Club in Louisville, Kentucky (site of the
1952 PGA Championship); Castlewoods Country Club in Jackson, Mississippi;
and Diamondhead Country
Club on the Gulf Coast. He has found that those "real world"
experiences from the operational side of the golf industry have given
him a leg up on other golf course architects who may never fully
understand how their work impacts the day to day operations of the
course they design and/or renovate.
Note: To find more information regarding
Nathan's background and how he found the golf course design industry as
a career (or how it found him), be sure to visit the "Experience" page.
* Nathan is
an affiliate member of the American Society of Landscape Architects
and a golf course architect,
but is not a licensed landscape architect.
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Click
here for our other staff and advisory board members
In
the news: See what they're saying about Nathan in his hometown
Indiana newspaper here.
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