Mike Strantz

Mike Strantz (May 27, 1955 - June 10, 2005) was an American golf course architect based out of South Carolina. In 2000, he was named as one of the "Top 10 Greatest Golf Architects of All Time" by Golfweek magazine.[1]

Mike Strantz
Born(1955-05-27)May 27, 1955
Toledo, Ohio
DiedJune 10, 2005(2005-06-10) (aged 50)
Alma materMichigan State University
OccupationArchitect
PracticeGolf Course architect

Life and career

Strantz was born in Toledo, Ohio and raised in Walbridge.[2][3] He graduated from Michigan State University in 1978 with a degree in turf grass management. He began his career working on the grounds crew at Inverness Club in Toledo where Tom Fazio was preparing the course for the 1979 U.S. Open. Fazio noticed that Strantz had a gift for the work and was invited to join his construction crew in Hilton Head, South Carolina on Moss Creek Plantation. Strantz continued to work for eight additional years as an on-site designer for Fazio’s Links and Harbour courses at Wild Dunes near Charleston, Lake Nona, Wade Hampton Club, Osprey Point on Kiawah Island and Black Diamond Ranch in Florida among others.[2]

In 1987, he left Fazio’s company to oversee the reconstruction of Wild Dunes and for the construction of Dunes West in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Upon completion of Dunes West, Strantz was hired by Myrtle Beach's Legends Group as Director of Golf Design for their Parkland course.[2]

He formed his own design company, Michael Strantz Studios in 1988 where he was free to apply his own design philosophies to forthcoming projects. His first solo project was Caledonia Golf and Fish Club on Pawleys Island, South Carolina in 1993.[4] Strantz designed nine courses:

Tobacco Road Golf Club #16
  • Caledonia Golf and Fish Club (South Carolina)[4]
  • True Blue (South Carolina)[5]
  • Bulls Bay (South Carolina)[6]
  • Tobacco Road (North Carolina)[7]
  • Tot Hill Farm (North Carolina)[8]
  • Royal New Kent (Virginia)[9]
  • Stonehouse (Virginia)[10]
  • Silver Creek Valley (California)[11]
  • Monterey Peninsula Country Club - Shore Course (California)[12]

Strantz's last project before his death from cancer at the age of 50, was the renovation of Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course.[12] Among his acknowledgments, Strantz was listed as one of the "Top 10 Greatest Golf Architects of All Time" by Golfweek in 2000, and he was earlier described as the "most in-demand course designer in the U.S." by Golf World in 1989.[13] Three of his courses were listed in the top twenty of Golf Digest's 2007 list of the 50 toughest golf courses in the US.[14]

References
  1. Hackenberg, Dave. (15 June 2005). "Inverness' Open prospects not promising". Toledo Blade. Retrieved July 24, 2012
  2. Braswell, Tommy (May 16, 1998). "Mike Strantz: He's one of the hottest young names in golf course architecture whose work is known for its distinctive wide fairways and mammoth bunkers". The Post and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina.
  3. "In Loving Memory: Michael J. Stratz". Mike Stratz Design. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  4. Ginella, Matt (2011). "One Course / Two Perspectives: Caledonia Golf & Fish Club". Golf Digest. 62 (2): 64. ISSN 0017-176X.
  5. Kupelian, Vartan (February 27, 2007). "Best of the Grand Stand". Detroit News. Detroit, Michigan.
  6. "Designed by the Legendary Mike Strantz". Bulls Bay Golf Course. Archived from the original on March 29, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  7. "Meet The Architect - Mike Strantz (1955-2005)". Village of Pinehurst Area Golf. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  8. "Architect Mike Strantz". Tot Hill Farm Golf Club. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  9. Cruickshank, Ian (May 19, 2007). "Yes, Virginia is for lovers – and golfers, too". The Star. Toronto, Canada. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  10. Hackenberg, Dave (April 12, 1997). "Strantz a Top Designer". Toledo Blade, Toledo, Ohio, page GT-8
  11. "Golf". Silver Creek Valley Country Club. Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  12. Kroichick, Ron (September 2, 2010). "New course to test Pebble Beach field". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 24, 2012
  13. Bargmann, Joe (December 15, 2006). "Mike Strantz the Golf Course Designer". Golf.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  14. Braswell, Tommy (February 7, 2007). "America's Toughest; Golf Digest chooses Ocean Course as nation's most difficult". The Post and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. p. C1.


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