Finishing what he started

If you want something done right, do it yourself. This wasn’t the driving force behind golf course architect Denis Griffiths’ decision to add construction to his resume, but that’s the result.

Crystal Lake in Henry County, Ga., a design-build project by Denis Griffiths and Associates, is scheduled to open in September 2005.

In 1988, Griffiths, front man for Denis Griffiths and Associates, spoke with developer Don Panoz, who wanted to work with just one man – architect and builder – on the Chateau Elan Golf Club in Braselton, Ga. That proposition led to several other ventures with Panoz and a new way of conducting business for Griffiths.

“It was a perfect call,” he says. “It mandated that we had to get into construction.”

With his love of tinkering with cars and equipment, this was a perfect match.

“I already having the best job in the world – golf course design – and I got to throw in my hobby,” Griffiths says. “I love to start from scratch and take a project to fruition. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward.”

Glenn Boorman, a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, joined Griffiths shortly after the company began its foray into design-builds and likes what that provides.

“You have ultimate control of the project,” Boorman says. “We’re the point man for the owners. We only do it for the owners who we have a trust with.”

He admits working for certain developers or public projects probably wouldn’t be options for the company, but if time is money, Griffiths can provide a savings. While projects are done without the delays of change orders and the fact that any haggling with the contractor is done internally, Boorman says the design-builds are value engineering on the fly. He defines value engineering as the ability to make appropriate alterations in something to complete the task more economically.

Additionally, Boorman says combining the design-build can be cost effective for the owner because Griffiths might be able to discount the design fees if he’s handling the construction.

Near and far
Griffiths, a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, spent the first 15 or 16 years of his career (with Gary Player and Ron Kirby) out of country – working in South Africa and Philippines. He says he had to be creative to get golf courses built because the lack of equipment available made it difficult.

The company was active in Thailand and Japan in 1990s until the economy slowed, according to Boorman. Governmental regulations also played a part in the tapering off of overseas work.

Now, with much of his work in Georgia, Griffiths enjoys much more control while being able to visit the projects often.

“We have our limitations,” he says about the company’s size and desire to stay near the Braselton, Ga.-based home. “I get nervous as a cat if I’m not on site at least every three days.”

Future of the industry
Though design-builds have been successful for Griffiths, he isn’t about to say this is the future in the industry.

Crystal Falls, in Dawson County, Ga., is the most recent project in a growing list of design-builds by Denis Griffiths and Associates.

“I don’t know,” he says. “It’s a bit unique for our company and myself.”

The chance to lose a lot of money on the construction end is enough to keep some design companies out of the game, according to Griffiths.

“If you don’t have that love for equipment and the construction process, you can get yourself in trouble real quickly,” he says.

“I don’t know that it’s a trend, though there are some other architects with a construction arm to the company or a shaping business,” Boorman adds. “We’ve been fortunate to diversify to help us through the slower times.”

Griffiths is comfortable with the construction end, but it’s the design side that fuels his passion.

“He’s an architect first,” Boorman says of Griffiths. “That’s the vision that creates. You put the two together to come up with the ultimate project.”

Risk vs. reward
Though Griffiths admits there’s a risk on the construction end of the business – with the cost of purchasing and maintaining equipment – he derives a much greater satisfaction at the end of the day with design-builds.

Griffiths' design-build projects

· Chateau Elan Golf Club, Braselton, Ga., opened 1989 · The Legends at Chateau Elan, Braselton, Ga., opened 1993 · Georgia National Golf Club, McDonough, Ga., opened 1994 · Chateau Elan executive par-3 course, Braselton, Ga., opened 1995 · St. Marlo Country Club, Duluth, Ga., opened 1995 · Woodlands Course at Chateau Elan, Braselton, Ga., opened 1996 · The Ranch Course at Diablo Grande, Patterson, Calif., opened 1997 · The Georgia Club (original 18 holes), Statham, Ga., opened 2002 · The Georgia Club (9 hole addition), Statham, Ga., scheduled opening September 2005 · Crystal Lake, Henry County, Ga., scheduled opening September 2005 · Crystal Falls, Dawson County, Ga., under construction.

“What’s really special is I’m outside more and get my equipment time,” he says. “It’s great satisfaction to get out there and finish a green. I’d rather not be behind a table. I’d rather be out here solving problems.

“Being able to massage it and adjust it to get exactly what you’re looking for,” he adds is the most rewarding part of the job. When a course is finished, I know it’s exactly the way I wanted it.”

When Griffiths and Boorman first began with design-builds, the risk was greater because it was a new endeavor. Now, however, what Griffiths has learned in the past serves him well.

“The education process is key for us,” he says. “The more time spent doing this, the better we’re able to maintain costs and become more efficient.”

Though Boorman says design-builds are 75 percent of what the company handles, Denis Griffiths and Associates also works with as-builts, provides grow-in and maintenance services to its clients, and completes renovation projects on areas such as bunkers and greens. GCN