I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and started playing at the 9-hole par 32 Glenway and graduated up to the 18-hole Odana Hills.
Those facilities offered me, and countless others, the chance to grow into the game and be part of the local golf community. They were a safe outdoor space, a nature preserve, a restaurant hangout and more.
Learning the game at a municipal course exposes you to the best that golf brings out in people.
I’ve also been involved with designing municipal facilities.
Creating Chambers Bay as part of a larger open space for Pierce County, Washington was a dream come true. While the course welcomes visitors from around the globe and brought in over $130 million to the community during the 2015 U.S. Open, local residents like to walk the trails and use the parks.
Sharp Park in Pacifica, California, is a 1932 A. MacKenzie masterpiece along the Pacific Ocean. After 11 years working to save the course, we are now focused on restoring it.
And back in Madison, I am a small part of a big team led by Michael Keiser that is reimagining Glenway.
Hopefully, next year my 2-year-old son and I can go play the new Glenway. Or maybe we will just walk and pick up sticks.
Either way, it will be a great memory for both of us. All made possible because a community invested in golf for the people.
– Jay Blasi is a golf architect who has worked on courses such as Chambers Bay, The Patriot and Santa Ana Country Club. He also serves as a Golfweek’s Best rater ambassador and contributes frequently to Golfweek.
Jason Blasi, golf course designer.
Chambers Bay
Chambers Bay
Chambers Bay
Chambers Bay
Sharp Park in San Francisco
Sharp Park in San Francisco
Sharp Park in San Francisco