Background
Jeffrey Stein is a New York City based golf architect and a 2008 graduate of Brandeis University. Jeffrey quickly made the move into golf design starting with an internship for Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design in 2009, at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.
In 2020, he started his solo design career restoring the Seawane Club, a seaside classic, designed by Devereux Emmet in Hewlett, New York. Currently, Jeffrey is engaged with the design and build of the Brookside Country Club in Allentown, Pennsylvania and is also the inaugural recipient of the World 100’s Fellowship to study the Old Course in St. Andrews Scotland, replicating a trip made by Charles Blair Macdonald over 100 years ago.
The Stein Story
I started my career in golf design as an intern, literally picking up rocks with a shovel and a bucket. From there, I graduated to digging ditches, some more elaborate than others and now I’m receiving the opportunity to plan and execute projects on a much larger scale. The point being is that I’ve immersed myself in all aspects of the design and construction of golf courses from the very beginning and I intend to stay involved with the details as much as possible.
Right now, I have a very exciting creative opportunity to renovate the Brookside Country Club near Allentown, Pennsylvania, built in 1929 by Frank Meehan. I am the project architect and have completed a master plan for the golf course but I am also acting in the role of a general contractor, advising the Club on the best practices, who to hire for certain tasks, and also putting together a small shaping/construction team of my own to get the project off the ground. We just started this past September and I’m really enjoying the challenge.
In the future I would like to focus on one or two projects at a time so that I can be personally involved in each. Certainly, if I decide to take on work, it’s because I want to be there.
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What drew your interest to golf course architecture initially?
Initially, I was fascinated with the sheer number of golf courses in the area where I grew up, around New York City. I was aware that each golf course was designed by a different person and was curious to learn more about each one.
I also spent time around two very different classic golf courses as a kid, one designed by Devereux Emmet and the other by Charles Banks. I have to think that the contrast between the two had something to do with my curiosity about golf design.
How did the fellowship opportunity via the World 100 group come to your attention?
I was contacted by Jeffrey Brauer, the director of outreach for the ASGCA and he encouraged me to apply.
What specific courses are you looking to visit firsthand and why?
I’m planning to spend 3-4 weeks in Scotland and would love to see more golf courses in the Open rota for their architectural pedigree, enduring quality, and championship history. Carnoustie, Muirfield, and Prestwick are three courses at the top of my list that meet these criteria.
While I would like to see as many golf courses as possible, the Old Course will occupy the majority of my time. There is no substitute for the lessons I can learn about the game of golf other than by spending quality time with the Old Course. If I can stretch the trip to a full month, I would love to spend a week on the West coast visiting Prestwick, Royal Troon, Western Gailes, Turnberry, and possibly even Machrihanish.
That is an ambitious wish list but I’ve never seen anything on the West coast so I’m hoping to make it, rain or shine!
The USGA and R&A have stated that the overall distance the golf ball travels now needs to be modified. What's your take on this and what would you recommend being done on this topic?
I wholeheartedly agree with the conclusions made by the USGA & R&A. Personally, I would like to see a competition ball being used at the highest levels of amateur and professional play while also keeping an unrestricted recreational golf ball meant for beginners and average players.
Depending on your level of play and goals in golf would determine which ball to play and practice with. I think it’s important (particularly to golf ball manufacturers) to give everyone a choice to make on their own, rather than restricting the golf ball across the board. The rule makers could also go one step further to create a handicapping quotient for players using a “competition” ball in recreational match play.
If you could change one thing in golf unilaterally -- what would it be and why?
I would abolish Par because it is somewhat of an artificial standard that can be a psychological inhibitor to appreciating what the game of golf really has to offer. Our constant comparison to par can sometimes bring joy but more often ruins our day on the golf course instead of simply enjoying a match with friends and family. If you insist on medal play , just count your strokes and keep it moving.
There's also a growing debate on how golf and the environment can work together. A number of pro-environment groups see golf as a waste of land and water. How do you see the debate evolving and as someone involved closely with course architecture what role do you see yourself playing in that discussion?
It is an absolute necessity that we consider and respect the environmental impacts of our work on golf courses. Whether that be by protecting green space, conserving water consumption or measuring the carbon footprint of our respective facilities, the environment should be a core tenet of golf course architecture.
All of the elements stated above are reflected in my design style as I have made efforts to reduce regularly mown rough, incorporate native grasses and create pollinator areas as cornerstones of sustainable design work. In my career I have been influenced by some great golf courses which seem to intertwine with the beautiful landscapes around them and I hope that my work also influences other clubs to take up more efficient initiatives as well. In addition, all types of learning programs around golf and environment could be hosted at clubs/public facilities which would go a long way to change the conversation.
So many golf designs often intersect with housing requirements to handle the costs involved. Can creative golf design and the close proximity of housing work in concert with one another? What's the best example you have seen where top tier design and housing have worked very well together?
I don’t believe that creative golf design and housing developments have to be mutually exclusive. It only requires a creative and open-minded developer to let the architect build a bespoke golf course to their particular parcel. If it costs too much to build an 18-hole championship golf course, why not build a smaller golf course? Throw out yardage and throw out par and I firmly believe you can build compelling golf that people are going to want to play for pure recreation.
One of the best examples of top-tier design and housing is probably Colorado Golf Club, designed by Coore and Crenshaw. It seems they put a premium on the quality of the golf course and the unspoiled views looking out from the golf course. There are some very large houses in this development but I don’t recall it really being visible or obtrusive to the golf experience.
I would also add that one of the most successful designs where housing is conspicuously missing is the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. When Mr. Keiser planned the resort with Howard Mckee; they put an emphasis on land conservation and developing the highest quality golf experience possible. I can only hope to be involved in my career with developments such as these which have shown forward thinking and enduring quality.
There's been a movement in recent years in emphasizing playability over sheer difficulty. What's your take on playability and can that formula be successful without actually "dumbing down" courses?
I think you have to ask golfers to think their way around a golf course by putting attainable challenges in their way, at all skill levels. These obstacles, the most obvious of which are sand traps, can also be achieved with slopes, mounds, and hollows. The latter are particularly fun and playable if draped in closely mown turf. Closely mown turf around greens is both fun and challenging for all skill levels and should be used to the best advantage in the given landscape.
This statement must be repeated because the conventional mantra of golf is that it can only be difficult with thick rough surrounding the green. However, it seems to be greatly overlooked by the general golfing public that short grass slopes should be seen as a defensive feature because the ball will tend to scoot further away from the target when struck off line. The resulting recovery gives all players the opportunity to play in three dimensions trying a variety of low, medium and high shots.
Your favorite classical period architect is who and what course from that designer merits high praise.
Alistair MacKenzie is my favorite golden age architect. When you step foot on a MacKenzie golf course, you are always in for a treat. Crystal Downs especially deserves study for the use of steep terrain to create a unique and fascinating golf experience. The Downs possesses several world class golf holes built on topography which lesser architects would not have capitalized. Mackenzie’s flair for routing and bunkering a golf course is nearly unmatched and Crystal Downs is a masterful example of his architectural skills from tee to green.
The single most impactful course you have visited to date is what? What separates it from all others?
The National Golf Links of America. Full stop. It is Macdonald’s laboratory and the single greatest contribution to the American golf experiment. The creation of NGLA from the outset was in itself a monumental achievement and continues to be relevant to the modern game. Within her eighteen holes lie the timeless qualities of all the great holes of the United Kingdom. Just how many golf courses can bring out that kind of feeling?
You've worked for a number of architects in various capacities -- which one stands out the most and what key lessons did you learn from that architect?
I should probably be more diplomatic or talk about restoring Tillinghast greens, but that wouldn’t be very interesting. I’d have to say that working with Mike DeVries over the course of a few projects made a big impact on my skill development. Mike was the first architect to put me in a bulldozer and really taught me how to efficiently think through an earth moving exercise. Mike also had me run a couple of small projects for him where I was shaping and working with the contractor on a daily basis.
In these situations, I gained a lot of confidence that I could design and build on my own because of the trust he had in me. With that said, by far, the project which stands out the most was working in a 10-acre peat bog at Pelham CC in the Summer of 2019. It was the most challenging build I had ever participated in and I think it was equally challenging for Mike and the contractor.
Working with Mike always felt like a great learning environment because we seemed to be taking on difficult problems created by his bold and transformative vision. This project in particular incorporated an engineered drainage solution to collect storm water through a man-made stream which would help save the Club on their yearly water expenses. I just loved the synergy between the utilitarian need for drainage and the way the stream was used to create architectural interest.
Through the design process Mike also dreamed up a mega 600-yard par-5 , followed by an equally shocking 275-yard par-4. My biggest takeaway from this project and working with Mike in general was understanding how he thinks through the problems on plan and solves them in the field. For all the challenges we confronted at Pelham it was equally rewarding to be a part of the solution.
Getting a business going in the field of golf architecture is no easy lift. Plenty of people are already involved. How do you plan on differentiating yourself?
I would put myself in a pretty small group of people who can draw plans, creatively shape greens and bunkers, lead a team, sweep the dust off their boots, and then go into a meeting with owners and committees. Having an architect who can step into different roles, when needed, is a valuable asset to any project.
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