Brian Curley (born November 12, 1959) is a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

architect. He was raised in

Pebble Beach, California Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...

where he played, caddied and worked at the area’s iconic courses. He currently resides in Scottsdale,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. Curley is a member of the

American Society of Golf Course Architects The American Society of Golf Course Architects (abbreviated as ASGCA) is a professional organization of golf course designers in America. Founded in 1946, its members are actively involved in the design of new courses and the renovation of existi ...

(ASGCA) and currently serves on its Board of Governors.

Education

Curley is a 1982 graduate of the School of Architecture and Environmental Design, California Polytechnic University,

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Work experience

Much of his early years in design were spent working alongside golf course designer

Pete Dye Paul Dye Jr. (December 29, 1925 – January 9, 2020), known as Pete Dye, was an American golf course designer and a member of a family of course designers. He was married to fellow designer and amateur champion Alice Dye. Early life Dye was ...

and future design partner,

Lee Schmidt Lee Schmidt (born September 14, 1947) is a golf course architect and principal of Schmidt-Curley Design Inc. He was raised in Carmel, Indiana and currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona. Schmidt is a member of the American Society of Golf Course A ...

, while working with Landmark Design Company from 1984 to 1992. Formative years were spent building Kiawah Island (Ocean Course) among other golf courses under Pete Dye. In 1997, he and Schmidt formed Schmidt-Curley Design, working primarily in the southwest United States. Schmidt-Curley soon focused much of its business interests on the burgeoning Asian market with a strong emphasis on China. They are considered leaders of the China golf course development movement and were subsequently cited b
Golf Inc. in 2011
as one of golf’s most influential architects. Schmidt-Curley was also named “Architect of the Year” by

GOLF Magazine ''Golf Magazine'' is a monthly golf magazine. It was started in April 1959 by Universal Publishing and Distributing, who sold it to Times Mirror in 1972. Time Inc. acquired it in 2000. It was acquired by Howard Milstein in 2018. It was the world' ...

in 2011 and “Best Golf Course Architect – Asia-Pacific” by Asian Golf Monthly in both 2011 and 2012. Curley’s design credits include 20 courses at China’s Mission Hills Golf Club. Schmidt-Curley designed the 10 courses at

Mission Hills Haikou Mission Hills Haikou is a golf complex in Haikou, Hainan, China. Located around 10 km south of the center of Haikou, it comprises 10 golf courses, and at the north end, hotels including a Ritz Carlton and Renaissance, condominiums, a water p ...

, “World’s Largest Golf Club”, which opened in 2010 and is located one hour north of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. The resort’s Lava Fields Course was named the “Best New Course” in the International category by GOLF Magazine in 2011. The Blackstone Course was voted the “No. 1 Course in China” and “Best Championship Course – Asia-Pacific” in 2012 by Asian Golf Monthly.

Golf Courses (Original Design)

United States of America * Bali Hai Golf Club -

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

* Crosby National Golf Club -

Rancho Santa Fe Rancho Santa Fe is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California, United States, within the San Diego metropolitan area. The population was 3,156 at the 2020 census. The CDP is primarily residential with a few shopping block ...

, California * The Plantation - Indio, California * Marriott's Shadow Ridge -

Palm Desert Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has been ...

, California * Oak Quarry, California * Southern Dunes Golf Club -

Maricopa, Arizona Maricopa is a city in the Gila River Valley in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. With 62,720 residents as of 2021, Maricopa is the largest incorporated municipality in Pinal County History Maricopa has had three locations over the years: ...

* The Wilderness Club - Eureka, Montana Egypt * Katameya Dunes -

New Cairo New Cairo ( ar, القاهرة الجديدة ' is an Egyptian city covering an area of about on the southeastern edge of Cairo Governorate, 25 kilometres (15 mi) from Maadi. New Cairo is one of the new cities which have been built in ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Sweden * Vidbynäs Golf Club -

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropoli ...

(2 Courses) Cambodia * Phnom Penh, East (expected 2024) * Phnom Penh, West (expected 2024) China * Mission Hills Golf Club -

Shenzhen, China Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major Sub-provincial division, sub-provincial city and one of the Special economic zones of China, special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pea ...

(10 courses) * Mission Hills Golf Club -

Haikou, China Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the Ha ...

(10 courses) * Stone Forest International Country Club -

Kunming, China Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

(3 Courses) * Tianjin Binhai Lake -

Tianjin, China Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popula ...

(2 Courses) Mexico * Amanali Country Club, Mexico City, Mexico Thailand * Chiangmai Highlands Golf, Chiang Mai, Thailand * Siam Country Club (Old), Chon Buri, Thailand * Siam Country Club (Plantation), Chon Buri, Thailand * Siam Country Club (Rolling Hills), Chon Buri, Thailand Vietnam * An Bien, Ha Long, Vietnam * FLC Halong Bay, Ha Long, Vietnam * FLC Quang Binh (Ocean Dunes), Dong Hoi, Vietnam * FLC Quang Binh (Forest Dunes), Dong Hoi, Vietnam * FLC Quy Nhon (Mountain), Binh Dinh, Vietnam * Stone Valley #2, Hanoi, Vietnam * Stone Valley #3, Hanoi, Vietnam

Select awards

* GOLF Magazine – “Architect of the Year” (2011) * Asian Golf Monthly – “Best Golf Course Architects” (2011, 2012, 2013) * GOLF Magazine – “Best New” Asia Course (Blackstone Course, Mission Hills Hainan) (2010) * GOLF Magazine – “Best New” International Course (Lava Fields Course, Mission Hills Hainan) (2011) * Golf World Magazine – “World Top 100” (Lava Fields Course, Mission Hills Hainan) (2011) * GOLF INC – #8 Asia's Most Powerful Person in Golf

References

External links

American Society of Golf Course Architects profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curley, Brian Golf course architects Living people 1959 births People from Pebble Beach, California