Mike Strantz Biography
Originally from Toledo, Ohio, Mike graduated from
Michigan State in 1978, and began his career
by working at the Inverness Club, which was preparing
to host the 1979 U.S. Open. Noted golf course architect Tom Fazio
was then under contract with the USGA to modify
courses before the Open, and Mike met Fazio in the
months prior to the tournament. "Tom did some
extensive work on the course for the Open, and he saw
that I had a knack for the work," said Strantz. "I just kind of fell in with him. He
hired me, and the day after the Open I was on a plane
to Hilton Head." In Hilton Head, Mike's
career with Tom Fazio began at Moss Creek Plantation.
He later served as an on-site designer and shaper for
Fazio's Links and Harbor courses at Wild Dunes near
Charleston, and served that same function at eleven
additional Fazio courses--including Lake Nona, Wade
Hampton Club, Kiawah Island's Osprey Point and
Florida's Black Diamond Ranch--over the next eight
years.
"Golf course design is one of the few
trades today where apprenticeship is the only way to
get good experience," he said. "A
good designer needs to have excellent knowledge soil
structures, engineering and vegetation knowledge, as
well as a feel for the average golfer. I was fortunate
to work with and learn from one of the best in the
business."
In 1987, Mike left Fazio's company to serve as
on-site supervisor for the reconstruction of Wild
Dunes--a job made more extensive by 1989's Hurricane
Hugo--and for the construction of Dunes West in nearby
Mt. Pleasant, where Mike and his family moved in 1987. "Working
with a premiere designer like Tom, you get moved
around quite a bit," said Strantz. "I
wanted to be able to dedicate myself to some key
projects, and working with Tom had given me the
experience to do so successfully."
Following the completion of Dunes West, Mike was
hired by Myrtle Beach's Legends Group as Director of
Golf Design for their Parkland course, which opened to
much fanfare in 1993. Following that project, demand
for Mike's services allowed him to form his own course
design company, where he could approach each project
with his unique ability and philosophy.
A natural artist, Strantz would sketch
detailed hole renderings on his first visit to an
undeveloped sight. "I take a lot of time
walking around a piece of property, and I try to let
the character of the property dictate the design,"
he said. "You have to let the land speak to
you to get the most out of it."
Mike's other unique approach was to spend
considerable amounts of time on the property. He worked
only one project at a time, and dedicated his entire
energy to the project at hand--a philosophy that
allowed him to create innovative, exciting and
breath-taking golf courses. "There are not a lot
of architects who will spend the amount of time on a
job that I will," he said in 2004. "It's just
the way I like to work."
Design
Achievements
1998
Architect of the Year – Golf World
1999 Number
One Golf Architect Highest in Demand – Golf World
2000 Top 10
Greatest Golf Architects of All Time – Golfweek
All courses have
been listed in Top 100 Best Modern Courses in America
- Golf Digest
1994-2001
Continuous Top 30 Ranking Best 100 Courses –
Golfweek
1997-2001
America’s 40 Best Public Courses - Golfweek
