15 Minutes With ... golf-course architect Beau Welling

15 Minutes With … golf-course architect Beau Welling

Posted by author February 16, 2025 Golf

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Leanne Cobb
| TALK Greenville

Beau Welling, Founder and CEO of Greenville-based Beau Welling Design, is a renowned golf course architect, having worked on over 120 golf course design projects for major tournament venues.

He grew up playing golf on the par three course at the Greenville Country Club and eventually graduated to the bigger course at Chanticleer.

He has worked on golf course projects with renowned course designer Tom Fazio and Tiger Woods and has a unique perspective on golf as a sport that encourages human connection.

But golf course design is just the beginning of his diverse range of educational and professional background and interests.

He holds a degree in physics from Brown University, and an international business degree from the University of South Carolina, studied landscape architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design and Irish drama at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

Not to mention that he’s an international official for the sport of Curling… and he also has a keen interest in Sasquatch.

We sat down with Beau to learn more about him and the passions and curiosities that have inspired his varied pursuits.

TALK Greenville: You’ve said your interest in golf began at age 6. Tell us how you were initially exposed to the game and your earliest memories of realizing your passion for it.

Beau Welling: I was first exposed at age 2 because my dad was a golfer. My first memory of golf is being part of the junior golf program at the Greenville Country Club when I was about 6. I played golf all day long on the par-3 golf course. The club had a strong junior program where they cultivate juniors in golf with skills tests and assessments. Once you were good enough, you played at Chanticleer, which was, at the time, one of the Top 100 golf courses in the country.

TG: You played collegiate golf at Brown University. Tell us about the Ivy League college experience.

BW: I traveled some growing up, but never lived anywhere other than Greenville, so I was anxious to explore. I applied to Brown and other Ivy League schools and was fortunate to get into many. Brown has no core curriculum and grades are optional, which seemed interesting to an 18-year-old. I was a fish out of water at Brown. It was a sink or swim environment, and I had to swim. It brought me out of my bubble and was a positive experience, even though socially it wasn’t easy. Academically, it was more rigorous than what I was used to, but I’m a curious person and it allowed me to explore my varied interests.

TG: While you were in college you became interested in golf design. Give us an overview of what that encompasses.

BW: Golf design, also known as golf course architecture, is designing the field of play for the game of golf. We determine how to turn a piece of raw land into a golf course. It’s like being an architect of a building, but I am an architect of land. We do routing plans, grading plans, drainage plans, landscape plans and strategy plans. There is a whole set of drawings and specifications that become contract documents between a builder and a landowner. It differs from traditional vertical architecture because a lot of the decisions take place in the field, so we are hands-on during construction to make sure the design achieves the goals and objectives of the project.

TG: You worked under famed golf architect Tom Fazio for a decade. What kinds of projects did you work on?

BW: I began working with Fazio while I was at Brown. He was designing Thornblade at the time, and my father was on the development team for the project. I called Fazio and asked for advice on becoming a golf course designer and that led to me working for him as an intern. After college, I worked in banking and a few other things, but eventually Fazio lured me back to golf course design. I was involved in over 80 projects, including Sage Valley in Graniteville (near Aiken), the Cliffs, some in Hilton Head and Charleston, Dallas National Golf Club and I renovated Waterville Golf Links in Ireland.

TG: You’ve said you founded Beau Welling Design with the goal of it being a different kind of firm. How is it different from other golf-design firms?

BW: The traditional golf course designer is focused on playing golf. We remain committed to the game, but we consider the big picture more than the standard golf course architect, in that we plan and design what happens around the golf course. This applies to my degree in International Business. Looking at the totality of a project is in my DNA. I believe that golf is a driver of fellowship and human connection. We try to foster places and spaces around golf that encourage people to put their phone down and have a conversation. The common thread in all my projects is to create spaces where people connect.

TG: Tell us about some of your most notable golf design projects, particularly those here in South Carolina.

BW: Sage Valley, the Cliffs at Keowee Springs, and the Daniel Island Club were great. We’ve been renovating Chanticleer, where I grew up playing, so it’s exciting but terrifying because I know so many people there. We’re working on Orange Hill, a part of the Kiawah Island Club. I grew up going to Kiawah, so that is very special as well.

TG: You have worked with Tiger Woods on his golf-course projects. Tell us about that experience.

BW: When he decided to get into golf course design, he called and asked me how to get started. He was actually my first client after starting my own firm. We worked on a project in Dubai. Since then, he has hired us to assist him on all his projects because he trusts our guidance and consultation. He is very interested in designing courses that everyone, regardless of skill level, can enjoy.

TG: In addition to golf, you have a deep interest in the sport of Curling (Welling is the current president of World Curling, the sport’s international governing body). What drew you to the sport?

BW: Curling is an ancient Scottish game, just as golf is. It’s played on ice and four people take turns throwing a heavy stone at a target along the ice. The objective is to score more points than your opponent by getting your stone closest to the target once all stones have been thrown. It is a Winter Olympic sport and I’ll be assisting with the next Winter Olympics (in Cortina, Italy). Like golf, Curling is a game of honor and integrity. I truly believe if the world had more Curlers, it would be a better place.

TG: We hear you love Sasquatch and that he even made an appearance at your wedding. Did you invite him yourself?

BW: I did invite him myself. He makes appearances from time to time. I got married in Highlands, NC at the Old Edwards Inn. The wedding officiant was officiating for the first time, and he was very nervous. As Sasquatch began walking into the ceremony, my youngest sister shrieked loudly, which led to a lot of laughter, settled the officiant’s nerves and led to a very happy and memorable time. I was very glad he was able to make my nuptials.

TG: In addition to Brown, you also went to Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland where you studied Irish Literature. Who is your favorite Irish writer?

BW: James Joyce is on a whole unique level. I’ve read everything he ever wrote. Irish writers are awesome!