The Annual General Meeting of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects was held this year in Vilamoura, Portugal.
Peter Harradine was elected President, succeeding Simon Gidman, and Alain Prat was elected Vice President. Born in 1945 next to the old course in Gurten, Switzerland, Peter Harradine is the third generation of golf course architects in his family dating back to 1891. Working with his father, Donald Harradine, during school holidays and playing golf since the age of 6, Peter went to America in 1966 to study the theoretical and practical aspects of landscaping and golf course design and construction. He returned to Europe and has personally designed and/or co-designed over 150 golf courses in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia.
The winner of the Toro Student Golf Course Architect of the Year Award was announced at the AGM. Rolf-Stephan Hansen wins an all expenses paid trip to the United States which includes visits to Toro’s headquarters in Minneapolis and the irrigation plant in California. The Barenbrug Award was awarded to Steve Pope, who will travel to Holland to visit Barenbrug’s extensive turf trial plots. Other students who graduated were Peter Fjà¤llman (Distinction), David Partridge (Distinction), Edwin Rögnvaldsson and David Ross. At the meeting EIGCA congratulated David Krause on achieving full membership status and welcomed Jorge Soler as a new associate.
The three-day event included a well-attended Continuing Professional Development Seminar. The topics covered included ecology, architecture and the commercial aspects of golf and EIGCA welcomed speakers from two sponsors, Toro and Textron, as well as its own members and Antonio Henriques da Silva, managing director of Lusotur Golfes SA. Lusotur helped to organise the event and hosted the President’s Cup, won this year by Christoph Stà¤dler, and the President’s Dinner at the Millennium golf course.
In July 2000 the merger of the three biggest European golf course architects associations, BIGCA, ESGA and AFAG, resulted in the formation of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects. EIGCA represents 48 full members, 16 associates and 21 qualified graduates. They have offices in 16 European countries ranging from Slovenia to Norway and Spain to Ireland.
In addition to its many on-going activities, which encompass the student programme leading to an MSc in golf course architecture at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, continuing professional development seminars, networking with golf federations and the exchange of information, one of the Institute’s main objectives is to develop and standardise ecological and environmental issues relating to the construction of golf courses within the European Union.
The EIGCA is to lobby the European authorities in Brussels to obtain official recognition. The Institute believes that its members are qualified, competent and experienced architects and that they should be accredited officially and endorsed by the EU authorities for the construction of golf courses within the European Union.
Over the next 12 months EIGCA and its members will attend the Fairway Exhibition in Munich, BTME in Harrogate and the GREENEXPO in Deauville.
The EIGCA head office has recently to new premises and the new contact details are as follows:
EIGCA
Chiddingfold Golf Club
Petworth Road
Chiddingfold
Surrey GU8 4SL
United Kingdom
Tel/Fax: +44 (0) 1428 681528
Email: info@eigca.org
EIGCA www.eigca.org