While they were almost commonplace in the legal, accounting, consulting, and insurance professions before the turn of the century (the architecture business had its share of examples, too), golf design firms with three principals have been a rarity.
A hundred years ago, Harry Colt headed two three-partner companies in England—Colt, MacKenzie, and Alison from 1919–23; and Colt, Alison, and Morrison from 1928 until Colt’s death in 1951. The firm of von Hagge (Robert), Smelek (Mike), and Baril (Rick) was quite active in the 1990s and early 2000s. There have also been a couple of four-man teams, the first created when Herbert Fowler and Tom Simpson joined forces with J.F. Abercromby and Arthur Croome in 1923; the second an Australian outfit formed officially in 2010 and comprising Geoff Ogilvy, Michael Clayton, Mike Cocking, and Ashley Mead (OCCM). But that’s about it.
Other companies may have operated with three lead architects, but there were usually one or two big names on the company letterhead. There have been dozens of pairs and singles, obviously, but a third principal was perhaps seen as one cook too many.
In the last few years, however, we’ve seen the creation of four prominent three-man teams. And while a quartet of such companies isn’t exactly overwhelming or universal, it’s probably fair to say the three-man firm is a thing now.
Clayton, Devries & Pont
Michael Clayton, Mike DeVries, and Frank Pont (CDP) came together in late 2019 after DeVries and Pont had collaborated on a restoration of the Colt-designed Bloomfield Hills in suburban Detroit and Pont suggested joining with Clayton who had recently split from OCCM. While they were certainly aware of Colt’s companies in the 1920s and have published ads like those used by Colt and his partners, CDP didn’t form simply to recreate the past.
“We formed because it just made sense,” says DeVries. “We have great global reach with people based in Michigan, California, England, The Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and Australia, but we also have our own local contacts in our respective areas.”
After six years together, CDP has built an impressive resume whose highlights include a large-scale renovation plan of Port Fairy in Australia; an extensive bunker restoration at Royal Dublin in Ireland; two new 18-hole courses that are part of the $10 billion Ha Long Xanh development in Vietnam; a total redesign (making it reversible) of Spey Bay in Scotland; the well-documented renovation of J.F. Abercromby’s The Addington in London; and the soon-to-open new-build at 7 Mile Beach in Tasmania.
Whitman, Axland & Cutten
The camaraderie and respect within the CDP team is also very evident at Whitman, Axland & Cutten (WAC), established in 2020. Rod Whitman and Dave Axland had worked together on a handful of Coore & Crenshaw projects, and Whitman and Cutten also went back aways. They were all involved at Cabot Links in Nova Scotia and Sagebrush in British Columbia and, in 2019, were back at Cabot Cape Breton to work on the 11-hole par-3 course, The Nest.
“It was so enjoyable,” Axland remembers. “We just had so much fun. So, when Rod called about a year later to talk about forming the company, I was very excited.” Cutten did the legal work to make the company official and, says Axland, contributes so much else. “It’s actually hard to list all the things Keith does,” Axland says. “Besides being a very good architect and builder, he does all the paperwork and graphics for presentations to clients. He’s written an amazing book (The Evolution of Golf Course Design) and is a great podcast guest.”
Combine all that with the skill and experience Whitman and Axland bring, and you have a formidable team that, like CDP, is now firmly established and building a very strong body of work. In addition to its partners’ past projects and consulting roles, the firm is currently building two courses at The Ranch in Florida for Ken Bakst, founder of Friar’s Head on Long Island; another course for Ben Cowan Dewar’s Cabot properties in Revelstoke, British Columbia; and is working on major renovations at Hillsdale Golf Club in Montreal and The Glencoe Golf & Country Club in Calgary. WAC is probably best-known, however, for the superb design of the 19-hole par-3 course, Shorty’s, at Bandon Dunes which opened in May of 2024 during the resort’s 25th anniversary.
King Collins Dormer
Trevor Dormer is certainly the youngest member of the new company King Collins Dormer (which also includes Rob Collins and Tad King, creators of Sweetens Cove in Tennessee, Inness in New York, and Landmand in Nebraska), but, again, he’s not exactly an intern getting work experience. Dormer has been around for two decades and has worked on several courses for Coore & Crenshaw—Cabot Cliffs in Canada, Point Hardy in Saint Lucia, and Yokohama in Japan among them. He’s currently working on a solo project in Nebraska, turning the 9-hole Old Dane course into a 12-holer, and has developed into one of the best shapers in the business.
Dormer first met Collins in 2007, and they’ve been friends since. Talk of them working together began a long time before they actually went official. “We spoke about it for years,” says Dormer. “But the timing was never quite right until late last year.”
For now, they have a couple of separate projects—Old Dane (Dormer) and Bounty Club outside Nashville, Tenn. (King-Collins)—but will be working together in Australia on the second course at 7 Mile Beach and, likely, at the 21 Club in South Carolina. And they will, of course, be very busy at Royal Dornoch, which announced in early May that, following the acquisition of 50 acres adjoining the club’s Struie Course, it had hired KCD for an extensive redesign of the Struie as well as the addition of an entirely new 18-hole layout, an 18-hole par-3 course, and practice area. Details on when the project would get underway or how long it might take to complete aren’t clear though, and in a press release, Collins did hint that he and his partners would be spending a lot of time in Scotland.
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Smyers, Craig, & Coyne
The newest of the three-man companies, Smyers (Steve), Craig (Colton), & Coyne (Tom) announced in February, but which had been operating since last August, has, Craig believes, “the ideal make up.
“We’re different ages, come from different parts of the country, and have very different personalities and skillsets,” he continues. “Steve may be the eldest member but, as well as being a great architect, he is an excellent golfer with an athletic mindset. I think I’m a pretty creative golf designer with a business background having run my own business for a few years. And Tom is obviously a great writer and media guy, has many contacts around the world, and brings an academic mentality. It’s a nice combination of sport, science, and art.”
Coyne says he really hadn’t considered being part of a design firm before he and Craig discussed it in 2021/22. “I’d not been planning to get into that side of golf, but the more I thought about it the more interested I became,” Coyne says. “I’ve been lucky to see plenty of golf courses in my travels, and though I still can’t find you fairways on a topo map, I think I have an idea of what a good golf hole looks like, so it’s been a really fun way to put my experiences in golf to a new practical purpose.”
The company is currently building a new 18 at Lazy J Sporting Club in South Dakota; will be completing a pretty big renovation at Bloomington Country Club in Indiana; recently completed a six-hole course that is part of an extensive teaching academy at Graves Golf Club in Oklahoma; and has built a 9-hole extension to New York’s Sullivan County Golf Club, which Coyne owns.
“I can now certainly relate to someone who wants to achieve X but can only spend Y,” Coyne says. “That’s a language I’ve come to know, and I like the idea of trying to achieve something special without special amounts of money, though we’ll of course never say no to more elastic budgets. I’ll visit sites but I’m not in the dirt as much as Colton and Steve, which is fine as they own far better boots than I do.”
Getting the work is obviously why they’re doing this but, says Craig, the enjoyment factor is through the roof. “Working for myself was a great start to my career, but it was nowhere near as enjoyable as getting to work with Tom and Steve,” he adds. “And even if I’m still working as a golf architect 50 years from now, the name of the company won’t change. It will always be Smyers, Craig, & Coyne.”
That says a lot about the company. Craig confirms there are no big egos despite Smyers’s long and successful career and Coyne’s obvious talents. “We like, and try to live by, the African proverb—‘If you want to go fast, go alone; If you want to go far, go together’,” he says.
It’s a sentiment that’s clearly common to each of the companies mentioned here. Every team member has tremendous respect for his colleagues, and they are all obviously enjoying themselves. The bottom line every time, though, is building meaningful, enduring golf. “Because if it doesn’t result in great golf,” says Craig, ”then we’re missing the point.”
