ASGCA adds 6 new members during annual meeting

The American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) welcomed six new Associate members to its ranks at the group’s recent 72nd Annual Meeting in Houston. With these additions, there are now nearly 180 ASGCA members who practice around the world.

The new members are Jeffrey Danner, David Ginkel, Mike Gorman, Pedro Guereca Gurrola, Chris Lutzke and Steve Shepherdson.

Jeffrey Danner works with Greg Norman Golf Design in West Palm Beach, Fla. He holds a bachelor’s in landscape architecture from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He began his golf course architecture career at Lohmann Golf Designs, moved to Golfplan for seven years, and currently works as senior design associate at Greg Norman Golf Course Design. He lists representative courses in Turkey and across Asia.

David Ginkel heads Ginkel Design in Gilroy, Calif. He received his bachelor’s in landscape architecture from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and began his design career as a land planner in California. He launched his golf course architecture career with Mark Rathert, ASGCA, before setting out on his own in 1997. He is president of Ginkel Design, and lists representative courses primarily in California.

Mike Gorman is part of the Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects team in Mountain View, Calif. He earned his bachelor’s in landscape architecture from Arizona State University and has worked as senior project architect for Robert Trent Jones II, LLC, since 2001. He lists representative courses in California, Canada, France and Greece.

Pedro Guereca Gurrola heads Guereca Golf Design in Mexico City, Mexico. He holds a degree in architecture and a master of urban design from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and a diploma in landscape architecture from Universidad La Salle Cuernavaca. He was a protégé of Mario Schjetnan Dantán, where he learned the practice of golf course architecture. He has been president of his own design firm in Mexico since 1988 and lists courses primarily in Mexico.

Chris Lutzke is a partner with Albanese & Lutzke, Plymouth, Mich. He holds degrees from Michigan State University in turfgrass management and landscape architecture. He is a partner with Paul Albanese, ASGCA in Albanese & Lutzke, and also continues to work with ASGCA past president Pete Dye, which he has done since 1986. He lists representative courses in Indiana, Michigan and Florida.

Steve Shepherdson is senior design associate/project manager for IMG, and works for the firm from his base in Thailand. He started his design career with Jack Nicklaus, ASGCA Fellow, as a project coordinator, and holds a degree from Lake City Community College in golf course operations. His list of representative projects spans Asia.

Candidates for associate membership in ASGCA complete a rigorous, multi-phase application process that includes peer review of four completed courses, discussions with project owners and a personal interview to assess the candidate’s professional capabilities.