TULSA, Okla. — The Rotary Club of Tulsa welcomed award-winning golf course architect and author Colton Craig as its featured speaker on Wednesday.
An honors graduate of Oklahoma State University in Landscape Architecture, Craig received the university’s largest undergraduate scholarship to study the economic impact of renovating golf clubs.
The Rotary Club of Tulsa said Craig’s career took an international turn when he earned the prestigious World 100 Club Architectural Fellowship, which allowed him to study more than 50 links courses throughout Scotland.
Craig is also the author of Miles of Maxwell, a biography celebrating the life and work of famed golf architect Perry Maxwell.
FOX23 spoke with Craig on the impact of Maxwell’s work, and how it has paved the way for the industry.
“He really paved a path that didn’t exist yet. Myself and my peers get to follow that path today. There was not near as much information and there was only a handful of golf courses that were even in the United States whenever he decided to go into the profession, even if you even want to call it that at the time. He’s definitely a trailblazer and created beautiful designs and naturalistic designs that are timeless and half of his body of work is the State of Oklahoma, which is really exciting because a lot of the small towns have kind of cherished creations from one of the all time greats of the industry,” said Craig.
In 2019, Craig launched his own design firm, which has since merged with an industry leader to form Smyers Craig and Coyne, a company now designing golf courses across the United States and around the world.
You can learn more about the Rotary Club of Tulsa by clicking here.