Central grad has designs for success
Daniel Smith can trace his fascination with golf course architecture back about 15 years, to his first real round of golf.
Smith was playing 18 holes with his father, Matthew, at the Red Course at Cedarbrook Golf Course when he noticed a map of every hole on his scorecard. About 7 or 8 years old at the time, he was entranced.
“On the way home, Daniel was passed out sleeping in the seat with a scorecard and a pencil in his hand because he was sketching on it,” Matthew Smith said. “I remember him scribbling on it and talking about, ‘Oh boy, it’d be neat if they put a bunker here or put water there.’”
Daniel Smith, a Central Catholic product who graduated from Penn State in May, is now pursuing a career as a golf course architect. Last year, a detailed sketch of his dream par 4 won the inaugural design challenge presented by Golf Magazine and Nicklaus Design, Jack Nicklaus’ company. Smith’s submission, titled “Coastal Creep,” will now serve as the blueprint for a hole in a future Nicklaus Design course.
Since his introduction to the sport 15 years ago, Smith has set himself on a direct path toward golf architecture; he discovered the career path not long after that round at the Red Course. But the niche field isn’t easy to break into, and Smith knows he might encounter bumps along the way.
So he chose his major and summer job strategically, visualizing a line for his future as deliberately as a golfer on a putting green.
Engineering a career
After careful consideration, Smith decided to study civil engineering with a minor in landscape architecture at Penn State. He described the major as “the almanac of the engineering disciplines,” adding that it still gave him the chance to study how to design land. He was also inspired by Seth Raynor, a civil engineering student turned renowned course architect whose works include Fox Chapel Golf Club.
Smith grew familiar with the engineering industry long before college; he worked at his father’s civil engineering company, Red Swing Group, as a teenager. While studying calculus in school, he learned how to use AutoCAD Civil 3D, a drawing system used by engineers and architects.
Meanwhile, Smith played golf at Central Catholic, a strong WPIAL program that exposed him to a range of courses around Western Pennsylvania. His dreams began to converge more concretely, melding his growing golf expertise with technical engineering training.
“Being from an engineering and construction and design family, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree,” Smith said. “I just combined my interest in golf with my skills and ambitions in designing something and boom, there you go: golf course architecture.”
Smith went on to play golf at Penn State New Kensington during his freshman and sophomore years, but he ultimately turned his college focus toward designing courses instead of playing them competitively. Entering his final year of college, he added the minor in landscape architecture, a popular area of study among golf course architects.
Throughout college, Smith submitted entries to the annual Golf Digest Lido Competition, which challenges amateur architects to submit their dream par-3 hole. Then, in 2020, Smith decided to enter the inaugural Nicklaus Design competition of the same nature.
He crowdsourced ideas, showing family and friends potential drafts of his par-4 design. Smith said he designed the hole with the intent that it could be played numerous ways and altered the hole accordingly after receiving feedback.
“While it was my design, I also had the opinion of others put into it, to try to make something that not only did I believe was a good golf hole, but others believed was a good golf hole,” he said.
Smith was named one of 10 finalists, at which point the contest solicited voters. Central Catholic coach Corey O’Connor said Matthew Smith shared the voting information with the school’s golf community and that many participated in the vote.
“I think it’s pretty cool that a lot of people went online, looked him up, saw how cool it was and voted for it,” O’Connor said.
Matthew looked at his son’s sketch from an engineering perspective, evaluating the grading and slopes of the design, which he believed to be the most important aspects of the entry. Daniel’s drawing was done without color to allow for a greater focus on those technical details.
Matthew knew other applicants’ colorful drawings looked appealing, especially to voters, but hoped the results of the competition would reflect a deeper practical understanding of golf course design.
“He was consistently in fourth place. The top three were color drawings,” Matthew said. “But I knew, not just because he’s my son, that his design was the most technically competent.”
It seems the contest’s panelists agreed, and Daniel was notified that he won the challenge. Matthew said the family is still waiting to hear which future Nicklaus course will include a version of his son’s design, but they are excited to visit it when the time comes.
Chipping away
Daniel Smith is constantly studying courses, whether he’s playing, caddying or simply walking them. He says he remembers every hole of golf he has ever played — and adds that multiple people can vouch for that.
Clearly, Smith sees the course through a unique lens.
“I just look at it, and I’m like, ‘OK, so what is great about it? What was the designer’s intention? How does it fit the land? How does it make me feel when I’m on it?’” Smith said. “I assess what those feelings and characteristics with that golf course are.”
Along with those feelings, Smith ponders how he could improve public courses, either through design or maintenance.
“Other golfers, they’re probably just trying to play well,” he said. “Sometimes they remember their favorite holes. Sometimes they are like, ‘ Oh, I remember that hole, but I forget this hole.’ That’s not necessarily me. I’m looking at the entire 18: How does it fit together? Like an architect would look at a building.”
Smith has traveled to do that, including on vacations with family and friends. To celebrate his high school graduation, Smith and his father went on a trip to California to play Pasatiempo, Spyglass Hill, Spanish Bay and Pebble Beach. Last week, Smith visited Shoreacres in Chicago, another Seth Raynor design.
As his job search continues, Smith said he decided to buy himself time by caddying at Oakmont for another summer. He has a few job prospects on the horizon, including with golf course construction companies in Philadelphia, Florida and California. He shies away from being more specific than that but says he hopes to start work this winter.
It’s all in the spirit of breaking into the competitive field of golf course architecture. Smith will do anything to be in its orbit while honing his architectural skills however he can.
In the meantime, he’ll spend his days at Oakmont Country Club, a job that will culminate with working the U.S. Amateur in August. He hopes the golfer he’s paired with will be in contention when the match-play field narrows, but if not, Smith will join the grounds crew and help mow the greens in the morning instead.
“From my golf course architecture perspective, I’m going to definitely draw up the golf course, put in the best spots for my guy to hit it, show him all the slopes and the greens,” Smith said. “Definitely be the caddie that everyone else wishes that they have.”