The Unparalleled Industry Leader in Dealing with Difficult Sites  02:20, 31/03/2022

The firm has made a significant mark on Asian golf over the past two decades with a large number of stellar projects including the project master planning and design of 22 courses at the storied Mission Hills Golf Club in China. Awards include being named GOLF Magazine’s “Architect of the Year” and being named the “Best Architect in Asia-Pacific” at the Asian Golfer Awards for seven straight years. Many of their designs have held significant events for the PGA Tour, LPGA, European Tour, World Cup of Golf and more.

Their completed Vietnamese designs include three projects for the FLC Group in Ha Long Bay, Quy Nhon, and two courses in Quang Binh. Each of these represent fantastic, natural properties with tremendous views to the sea resulting in some of the best courses in the Country. Other project - the stunning Stone Valley Resort, south of Hanoi, in Ha Nam is in a picturesque valley surrounded by towering rock formations. 

Schmidt-Curley Design excels at both golf design and developments throughout Asia that feature many differing residential product types and resort development.

Their vast, critically-acclaimed experience in China was driven by a strong commitment to the market and the establishment of a local office and staff. This is again the case as they have focused unparalleled effort and commitment to Vietnam with an office in Hanoi and a strong monthly presence by its Principal and Lead Designer, Brian Curley. Mr. Curley hails from Pebble Beach, California and brings a vast array of experience including all the work at Mission Hills.

While much of the firm’s work in recent Vietnamese endeavors has been on fantastic natural sites, however, the highlighting of this distinction proves their experience with difficult terrain is unparalleled in the industry. Many of their designs have seen the transition of steep, rocky, sometimes unwalkable sites into world-class golf courses. 

These sites include many of the fabled Mission Hills courses in China and Vietnamese courses such as Stone Valley, FLC Ha Long Bay and the one currently under construction on a difficult site in Viet Yen, Bac Giang which the firm expects to garner much of the Hanoi golf play when completed. “Many architects are very qualified to deal with easy properties”, states Brian Curley, “but very few are capable of transforming brutal sites into world-class golf experiences”. 

“Difficult sites can actually produce Epic golf if properly executed” states Curley, “they also can produce horrible golf experiences if left to the wrong hands”.