Clayton Golf Enterprises of Melbourne, Australia (“CGE”), DeVries Designs of Traverse City, Michigan, USA (“DVD”) and Infinite Variety Golf Design of Den Dolder, The Netherlands (“IVGD”) have entered into an agreement that will deliver a seamless level of collaboration between the three practices. Clients of all three entities now have access to the resources of this Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic partnership. Upon request, Mike Clayton, Mike DeVries and Frank Pont, the lead architects of each firm, will provide their expertise on a collaborative basis.
Boasting over 80 years of cumulative experience in golf design, CDP will offer clients access to an unparalleled range of talents. It has overseen the intelligent renovation of some of the world's most iconic courses, including designs by the likes of Harry Colt, Alister MacKenzie and Tom Simpson. Its talents also lie behind the creation of several recently built courses, including four of the most highly ranked designs of the past two decades, namely, Bambougle Dunes and Cape Wickham Links, both in Australia, and Kingsley Club and the Greywalls course at Marquette Golf Club, both in the United States.
This agreement marks the widening and formalising of existing collaboration agreements; IVGD is assisting DVD with the upcoming restoration works at Bloomfield Hills Country Club, Michigan, USA; CGE will be assisting IVGD with a new commission in Ireland to be announced shortly.
CDP's operations will be coordinated from its London headquarters, located just a good 5-wood away from Fowler & Simpson’s Mayfair office.
For over a century, the world's foremost golf architects have worked within partnerships. From Colt, Morrison & Alison to Fowler, Abercromby, Simpson & Croome to MacKenzie & Maxwell, the sum of the parts was usually greater than the individual no matter how talented that individual might have been. Clayton, DeVries & Pont is such a partnership, a collaboration between three of the world's best architects of their generation. It has been founded on the same principles but with one key difference, its global reach. COE, DVD and IVGD will remain standalone entities but CDP will afford them more resource and opportunities. The partnership's collective body of work and unsurpassed breadth of expertise makes Clayton DeVries & Pont a compelling design partner for any project regardless of the requirements or location.
Edward Cartwright, Chairman of CDP
After a very successful amateur career which included victory in the 1978 Australian Amateur and the 1977 and 1981 Victorian Amateurs, Mike Clayton turned professional in 1981 and played on the Australasian Tour until 2007, winning seven times. He was also a regular participant on the European Tour from 1982 to 2000. Having studied golf architecture whilst travelling the world as a touring pro, Mike formed Michael Clayton Golf Design in 1995 in partnership with John Sloan and the late Bruce Grant. In 2010, that business morphed into Ogilvy Clayton, which later became OCCM. When not working for clients of CGE, Mike is a renowned writer, speaker and broadcaster. His views on the relevance of period architecture in the modem era are required reading and/or listening for anyone who is a student of golf and golf design. Earlier in 2019, Golf World considered him to be one of the five most influential commentators on golf via social media. Mike is undoubtedly one of the southern hemisphere's most highly acclaimed architects. Clients that have used his services for renovation and restoration work include:
- The Lakes, NSW, host of the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Australian Opens
- Royal Queensland, QLD, partially redesigned by Alister MacKenzie in 1926
- Victoria, VIC, partially designed by Alister MacKenzie in 1928 and host of many Australian national championships
- Kingston Heath, VIC, designed by Dan Soutar with further advice from Alister Mackenzie in 1926, host of many Australian national championships and currently an International Final Qualifying course for The Open
- Lake Karrinyup, WA, designed by Alex Russell in 1928 and host of several Australian Opens and other professional tournaments
- RACY Course at Healesville, VIC
- Peninsula Kingswood, VIC
- Port Fairy, VIC
- Yangtze Dunes, Lanhai, designed by Jack Nicklaus in 2011
In terms of new courses, he worked with Tom Doak on the creation of Bambougle Dunes, TAS, in 2004, the first ever Australian course to be place in the world's top 100 rankings after its first appraisal, and designed Ranfurlie, VIC, in 2002.
Igrew up on the opposite side of the world to Mike but, unsurprisingly, we have both been heavily influenced by Alister MacKenzie. For me, Crystal Downs is the top of the class in Michigan, and in Australia, MacKenzie’s genius shines through at Royal Melbourne and extends all the way across the sandbelt. In 1995, with the late Bruce Grant, John Sloan and I started Michael Clayton Golf Design. That business morphed into Ogilvy Clayton and, later, OCCM. For me, it’s time to move on and broaden my horizons and this partnership is a perfect fit with Frank being an acknowledged expert on Harry Colt who, like MacKenzie, was a huge influence on golf around the world. I look forward to spending time in Europe and the US helping CDP's activities flourish. No other partnership has the world covered like this one.
Mike Clayton
With over 40 years in the golf industry, Mike DeVries remains a true craftsman. He is personally involved in all design and construction aspects of golf course development. His grandfather introduced him to golf at an early age at Crystal Downs C.C. in Frankfort, MI, and he grew up working on the Downs, developing a deep respect and admiration for the work of Dr. Alister MacKenzie and Perry Maxwell. After graduating from Lake Forest College, Illinois, Mike worked with Tom Doak before attending the University of Michigan, where he earned his Master's degree in Landscape Architecture in 1994. There then followed a stint working as on-site coordinator for Tom Fazio. Clients that have used DVD's services for renovation and restoration work include:
- Meadow Club, CA, designed by Alister Mackenzie & Robert Hunter in 1927
- Univ. of Michigan, designed by Alister MacKenzie and Perry Maxwell in 1931
- Sunningdale C.C., NY, designed by Raynor, Travis and Tillinghast from 1918
- Siwanoy C.C., NY, designed by Donald Ross in 1013 and host of the first PGA Championship in 1916
- Pelham C.C., NY, designed by Devereux Emmet in 1921
- Flint C.C, MI, designed by Willie Park, Jr. in 1919
- St Charles C.C., Manitoba, designed by Alister MacKenzie and Donald Ross and host of many Canadian national championships
- Jockey Club, Buenos Aires,·designed by Alister MacKenzie in 1930
Mike is one of the leading exponents of the modem minimalist movement and, over the past twenty years, has also become a renowned contributor to books and magazines. In 2015, he was called the industry's "most underrated golf architect" when he appeared on Golf Channel's animal Golf Architecture Week.
His most recent solo design is Cape Wickham Links on King Island in Tasmania, which debuted at #24 in Golf Digest's World Top 100 in 2016. Of his other designs, The Kingsley Club is #23 in Golfweek's Top 100 Modem Courses and Greywalls is #54 in Golf Digest's Top 100 Public Courses in America.
Mike has partnered with IVGD to restore Bloomfield Hills C.C. in Michigan, the only remaining course in the United States to have been designed by Harry Colt himself.
In the first heyday of golf course development here in the US, local architects vied with foreign ones, the British in particular. The key design features of many of our best courses were heavily influenced by those from abroad. Golf architecture was a global business then just as it is now. As Frank and I have shown at Bloomfield Hills, the best solution is not necessarily an All-American one. Bringing in Europe's leading restorer of Colt courses to assist made great sense to everyone involved in the project. By designing and overseeing the construction of Cape Wickham, I have proved that DVD's talents are highly transportable. Working with Mike and Frank will, I am sure, develop that ethos much further. Having known them both for several years, I look forward to us bouncing ideas off each other and building great courses that are fun to play and stimulate a golfer's creativity
Mike DeVries
After qualifying as a civil engineer from Delft Technical University, Frank worked for Shell before earning an MBA from the University of Chicago. This was followed by a career in the consulting sector and investment banking, culminating in him overseeing Deutsche Bank's global telecoms team in London. In 2001, he left London to study golf course architecture at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh. There, his specialist studies were in the work of Harry Colt and Tom Simpson. Thereafter, he undertook pprenticeships with David McLay Kidd in Ireland and Hawaii. At present, IVGD is working with over 30 Colt, Simpson and Pennink designed courses across Europe in order to help restore their original strategies and styles. Clients include:
- De Pan, Utrecht, designed by Harry Colt in 1928 and currently ranked #2 in Continental Europe by Golf World
- Royal Hague, designed by Colt & Alison in 193 8 and host of three Dutch Opens
- Eindhovensche, designed by Harry Colt in 1930
- Le Touquet La Mer, designed by Colt & Alison in 1931
- Hardelot Les Pins, designed by Tom Simpson in 1934
- Falkenstein, designed by Harry Colt in 1930 and frequently ranked Germany's #1 course
- New Zealand, Surrey, designed by Mure Fergusson in 1985 and amended by Tom Simpson in 1931
- Blackwell, Worcestershire, designed by Fowler & Simpson in 1924
- Real Club Puerta de Hierro, Madrid, originally designed by Tom Simpson and amended by Harry Colt in 1912
Additionally, IVGD has built 7 new courses. IVGD is the retained advisor to seven clients in Gold World's Top 50 Courses for Continental Europe, six of which were originally designed or redesigned by Harry Colt.
Mike Clayton has not just been a friend for many years, he is an architect whose work I have long admired. His forthright views are almost always in synch with my own, which is probably why we get on so well. Likewise, Mike DeVries is a longstanding friend whose creative talents have so impressed me that it was a simple decision to enter into a cooperation agreement with him three years ago. The cumulative experience that resides within our three firms is immense; the projects we have undertaken cover a vast range of client requirements. Whether it is a new build, a detailed renovation or a carefully researched restoration, this partnership offers a market-leading solution.
Frank Pont