Fitzpatrick Set to Re-join GolfScapes


In a move that will return him to his roots in the golf industry, veteran technical advisor and project designer Bill Fitzpatrick has re-joined the team at GolfScapes, Inc., where he will work in conjunction with company founder and principal Jeffrey D. Brauer.

Fitzpatrick worked with Brauer and GolfScapes from 1997-2003, when he left to become a land development project manager, construction administrator and field representative with D.R. Horton Homes. His time at that position will bring new sophistication to his field work skills.

"I have missed the design and artistic parts of working in golf course architecture," said Fitzpatrick, who returned to Brauer's firm in January 2010. "The work I have done at D.R. Horton has given me added knowledge in the development field and will allow me a better view of the big picture of how golf works hand-in-hand with communities and their development."

Fitzpatrick graduated from Texas Tech University in 1988 with a Bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture. He became a golf course architect in 1989, starting under ASGCA member Garret Gill, before joining Brauer and GolfScapes for a seven-year stint.

He later became a certified storm water compliance inspector in the State of Texas and has written SWP3 plans, which adds to GolfScapes' in-house capabilities, especially with new storm water pollution regulations coming into effect in 2010.

In his previous time with the company, Fitzpatrick was instrumental in developing GolfScapes' CAD and 3D imaging capabilities, and he will continue to keep the firm up to date in that regard with his return. He will also be called upon by Brauer to utilize his golf architecture skills, which are considerable, as well as assist in project design.

Fitzpatrick was the project architect assisting Brauer on three acclaimed golf course projects, The Quarry at Giant's Ridge, The Wilderness at Fortune Bay (each of which was lauded as Best New Courses by Golf Digest) and Colbert Hills Golf Course at Kansas State University, which is the top-rated public course in Kansas.

"It's great to have Bill back on board," Brauer said. "He was instrumental in both of our "best new" winners in Minnesota, and behind the scenes, was also the guy who got us going on CAD drafting after many years of struggle in that area. It's rare to have both technical and creative skills at high levels, but that is what Bill brings."

"I think Jeff and I complement each other very well and I look forward to continuing our exchange of ideas," Fitzpatrick said. "Jeff is amazing in what he sees in the field and I will do all I can to bring his ideas to paper and computer screen in order for GolfScapes' clients to fully understand his - and their - collective visions."

About Jeffrey D. Brauer and GolfScapes, Inc.

Jeffrey D. Brauer knows golf and the courses which make golf great. Now in his 26th year of private practice, and with 33 years in the business of fashioning golf courses overall, Brauer's work - from his 36-hole masterpiece at the Giants Ridge Golf Club in Minnesota to the Avocet Course at Wild Wing Plantation in South Carolina to the sublime Cowboys Golf Club in Grapevine - speaks to his knowledge of expert design and ability to use of the land to make each course distinct.

Brauer began his career in the Chicago area; his first project was Kemper Lakes Golf Course, site of the 1989 US PGA Championship. In 1984, he formed his own company - GolfScapes, Inc. - and moved to Arlington, Texas, where he has developed a national portfolio of both new course and renovation projects. Brauer has been commended for his work in such publications as Golf Magazine, Golf World and Golf Digest. He is currently working on a handful of projects around the United States.

A member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects since 1980, Brauer served as president of that organization during its milestone 50th anniversary year in 1995-1996. As that role, he spearheaded the development of the USGA's Environmental Principals of Golf. The book, "Golf Has Never Failed Me" by Donald Ross, is a result of Brauer's efforts to produce a commemorative work for the 50th anniversary of the ASGCA.

Brauer's completed projects, both individually and in conjunction with some of the world's top designers, include:

The Legends at Giants Ridge (Biwabik, MN)
The Quarry at Giants Ridge (Biwabik, MN)
The Wilderness at Fortune Bay (Tower, MN)
Sand Creek Station Golf Course (Newton, KS)
Colbert Hills Golf Course (Manhattan, KS)
Cowboys Golf Club (Grapevine, TX)
Tangle Ridge Golf Club (Grand Prairie, TX)
Indian Creek Golf Course (Carrollton, TX) The Wilderness (Lake Jackson, TX)
The Bridges of Preston Crossings Golf Club (Gunter, TX)
Ridgeview Ranch Golf Course (Plano, TX)
Squaw Valley Golf Club, Apache Links (Glen Rose, TX)
Whitestone Golf Club (Benbrook, TX)
Black Bear Golf Club (Parker, CO)
Wild Wing Plantation, Avocet Course (Myrtle Beach, SC)
Holiday Hills Golf Club (Branson, MO)
Champions Run (Omaha, NE)
Highlands Golf Course (Lincoln, NE)
Links at Sierra Blanca (Ruidoso, NM)
Gaylord Springs Golf Links (Nashville, TN)

For more information about Brauer and GolfScapes, visit www.jeffreydbrauer.com.