Andy Staples

Andy Staples, ASCGA member and principal of Staples Golf Design, was brought to golf at the age of seven by his dad, having learned the game at West Bend Country Club in West Bend, WI - a turn of the century course designed by Langford & Moreau.

As a kid, Andy’s family vacationed at a lake cottage near Rome, WI, and it was there Andy began practicing his bunker shots in and around the sand beach, initially playing to a stick in the ground. This target evolved into a flat “green” set on top of a sand ledge, surrounded by sandy grasses and native pine trees. This rudimentary sand green expanded to include 9 teeing grounds (including an “island” tee from the boat dock), small retaining walls, and transplanted trees. He eventually routed his course around the property and held his own golf tournament with his brothers each weekend. Seeing his creative dedication, Andy’s dad asked him if he knew that people designed golf courses for a living. It was then, at the age of 12, that Andy knew exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up.

In his early 20s, Andy began his career in golf with Wadsworth Golf Construction Company, a world-renowned golf course builder. These early construction experiences (mostly throughout the Midwest) are where he learned firsthand the nuts and bolts of implementing an architect’s design. Andy would go on to work with Jerry Slack, Bob Graves, Damian Pascuzzo, John Fought, Brian Curley, and Lee Schmidt.

Through nearly 30 years of experience in design, construction, and long-term maintenance throughout the world, Andy has developed twenty-seven (27) Master Plans, six (6) new golf course designs, and has performed over 100 golf course efficiency audits. His practice is built around his proven process of team collaboration, budget-oriented design, and proven results.

Andy was named one of the 9 Most Innovative People in Golf (2022) and 9 Most Innovative People in Player Development (2016) by Golf Inc. Magazine; has taught the subject of Golf Course Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, MA (1999, 2000); has been a keynote speaker for GolfWeek’s Architecture Summit – The 2nd Golden Age (2017); and is an active speaker within the industry, having presented to the USGA, GCSAA, ASGCA, among others, with regularity.

Andy holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has an extended degree from Denmark’s International Studies Program in Copenhagen, and completed his Executive Education from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

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