Jansen Golf Design was founded by Paul Jansen in 2011 and has offices in Asia and the Americas. A frequent presenter at R&A sustainability conferences and a speaker at last week’s India Golf Expo in Bangalore, Jansen’s passion for golf has seen him traverse the globe.
“Jansen Golf Design & Construction is a boutique golf design and construction firm focused on helping create high quality courses and destinations that are cost-effective to build/restore and maintain, are environmentally friendly and sustainable in nature; courses that are visually striking to look at and diversely interesting to play,” said Jansen, who has worked on a variety of projects in the region.
“I have always felt that the best work is done in the field and this has guided our business model moving forward. I do all the design work and look to project manage as much as possible, or at least spend considerable amount of time on site during the construction of each of my projects,” said Jansen.
This is currently the case at Sri Lanka’s Royal Colombo where he is based for the next few months, overseeing the work on the ground at this prestigious club.
Jansen also said that this model gives him the opportunity to work with the individual clubs (or teams on the ground where it’s a new golf course) to see where they can develop and grow the individuals who will continue to work at the facility when they are gone.
In Thailand, Laguna Golf Phuket’s redevelopment was completed in-house by the club’s dedicated maintenance team under the direction of Jansen. The award-winning redesign created intriguing and strategic interest while being environmentally conscious and sustainable.
A strong proponent of sustainable golf course design and responsible construction method, Jansen grew up in Durban, South Africa. After completing his studies in Johannesburg in 1999, he headed to Washington DC, where he worked for American golf architect Tom Clark.
“My time in the USA was invaluable in that I was given a real opportunity to experience all facets of the business. I had a good balance between time spent in the office understanding processes and working on drawings and reports as well as time spent on site getting a feel for design implementation and the construction side of the business,” said Jansen, who became consumed by golf course literature and classic golf architecture during his time in America.
In 2001, Jansen moved to Europe where he based himself in London and then Geneva. In this time, he visited and studied some of the great golf courses throughout the British Isles and Continental Europe.
It was in 2004 that Jansen joined Faldo Design, the golf design office for Sir Nick Faldo. Jansen worked with the six-time Major champion as an Associate and Lead Architect on golf projects in the Asia, Europe and Africa.
He said: “My time with Sir Nick, on site and in the office, has certainly impacted many of my views on golf architecture and, in particular, my views on strategy. Strategy, as a key component to any great golf course, is something Sir Nick explores to a great extent on every project.”
Eric Lynge, the AGIF’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We’re pleased to welcome Jansen Golf Design & Construction as an Associate Business Member of the Federation. We look forward to Paul’s participation is our future seminars around the region.”
Asian Golf Industry Federation www.agif.asia
Jansen Design & Construction https://www.jansengolfdesign.com