Golf course architecture practice King-Collins Golf Course Design has added a third partner, Canadian designer-shaper Trevor Dormer, creating a new company, King Collins Dormer Golf Course Design.
Dormer, who is based in Kimberley in south-east British Columbia, has spent the last decade principally working as an associate of the Coore and Crenshaw firm, playing a significant role in projects such as Cabot Cliffs in Cape Breton, the renovation of Yokohama Country Club in Japan, and, more recently, the Point Hardy course at Cabot St Lucia in the Caribbean, where he spent over two years on site.
“King-Collins is very excited to be expanding to include Trevor,” says Rob Collins. “The first time I met him was on the eighth hole at Wildstone in spring 2007 when I was working for Gary Player. We became immediate and fast friends on that project and have stayed in touch ever since.
“He is incredibly talented on both the design and construction side – I think he’s as good as anyone out there. He has a great mind for design and is highly skilled at operating equipment. He is young – he will add longevity to our operation – and he has the perfect skillset for our company, as we are a design-build firm.”
Dormer first worked with King-Collins on the construction of the Landmand course in Nebraska. He was on site for only two weeks, but made a big impression on course developer Will Andersen.
“I had Trevor for two weeks, and I have been a fan ever since,” says Andersen. “Even in that short time it was obvious what a talent he was, both as shaper and as a human being. He was the real visionary behind Landmand’s fourth hole – he created a great green that really made the hole.” He also worked with the firm on the rebuild of the Overton Park municipal in Memphis.
Dormer has just begun the reconstruction of the nine-hole Old Dane course a few miles from Landmand, for the Andersen family, his first solo design project. He will finish this project under his own name.
“Trevor had agreed the Old Dane job with Will Andersen before we agreed to partner up, so it remains entirely his gig,” says Collins. “But given the relationship we have with the Andersen family, it is wonderful to think that our people will be responsible for both their courses.”
“Rob and I have been really good friends for a long, long time, so when he asked me if I would like to come on as a partner, I couldn’t say no,” says Dormer. “It’s tough to leave Bill and Ben, but Rob and Tad are crazily busy, and I have such a great time with them, so it made total sense. First and foremost it’s fun being out there with those guys. Rob pushes the limits. He’s not scared to take risks, and there’s no-one breathing down your neck when you’re trying to be creative.”
Dormer explains that his relationship with Tad King is equally strong. “Tad is a very special person,” he says. “I’ve chatted with him at length about how he manages his construction projects. When I’m putting together cost estimates, he’s the guy I talk to. If Tad didn’t fit with me, or I with him, I’d have said ‘Rob, I can’t do it’. I think what I can bring to King-Collins Dormer is a different sort of experience. Rob has done a lot, Tad has been all over the world. I have been working with Bill and Ben for over ten years, and I have learned a lot from them.
“I am excited to take the experience I have gained from working with people of their calibre for so long and put it together with Rob and Tad’s skillsets – I hope and believe we will do some outstanding work together. I think that one of my talents is that I have a way of managing construction crews and work teams, of putting them at ease – the shaper that‘s roughing in a fairway or the guy that’s digging bunkers all have talents, and it’s about being able to find the best niche for them.”
