EGD Office Sunningdale, 10am, the front door opens and then slams shut, in comes Michael King. Coffee cup in hand, bundles of papers under his arm, and occasionally accompanied by a minute dog called Elvis.

Michael is a Director of EGD. Affectionally known throughout the world of golf and Sunningdale, as Queenie.

Known also for his larger than life personality and colourful dress sense, he certainly adds an extra dimension to the office.

An ex professional golfer, and member of Sunningdale there isn’t a lot Michael doesn’t know about the world of golf. After attending Millfield School, Michael had a successful career in amateur golf, playing at every level, representing England several times. He tied for first place in the Lytham trophy in 1972 and played in the Walker Cup in 1969 and 1973. After a career in the city as a stockbroker he decided to change direction and with a successful amateur golf career behind him he took the plunge to turn pro. He enjoyed success, his finest season being in 1979 when he won the TPC and finished in the top six eight times to earn a place in the 1979 Ryder Cup team. Having never lost his tour card, his golf career was bought to an end in 1987 when he was forced to retire with Spondylitis.

Michael now concentrates his time on design work with EGD, sponsorship for the European Tour and social golf at Sunningdale with great friend Sam Torrance.

Projects he has worked on with EGD include Marriot Worsley Park, Marriot Hollins Hall and Ribagolfe 2 in Portugal.

There is never is a dull moment when Queenie is around.

We get many requests from people with diverse backgrounds wanting to get into the industry and become a Golf Course Designer.

What is Golf Course Design: Golf Course Design is golf couse routing & strategy, detail design, drainage, irrigation, turf–grass selection, planning, construction, and environmental considerations.

Being such ‘niche’ profession it can be very difficult to break into and stand out from the crowd

The typical route would be to obtain a degree in Landscape Architecture. This would give a wide brush of skills in design, planning, the environment and plant species.

That being said coming from a design background in Architecture or Civil Engineering is also starting point to go onto further studies or enter the industry (or like both me and Jeremy, we have backgrounds in greenkeeping & construction and degrees in Turfgrass Science).

The European Institute of Golf Course Architects offer a Diploma course in Golf Course Architecture. Visit www.eigca.org for more information. Also look at the American Society of Golf Course Architects website www.asgca.org

We would also advise people to try and get a work placement with a reputable golf design company.

Another route in would be to have CAD (Computer Aided Design) skills in a relevant dispiline and enter at a support level and study while you learn the business from the bottom up.

You can have all the qualifications available but natural ability is also needed when it comes to laying and designing a golf course.

Good reading material:
- The Golf Course: Planning, Design, Construction and Management by F.W. Hawtree

- The Anatomy of a Golf Course: The Art of Golf Architecture by Ben Crenshaw and Tom Doak

- Golf Course Architecture: M Hurzdan

- Routing the Golf Course: Forrest Richardson

- Grounds for Golf: Geoff Shackleford

- Golf Course Design: R M Graves & G Cornish

Magazines:
- Golf Course Architure – www.golfcoursearchitecture.net

Seminars:
- Look out for seminars, exhibitions and golf shows.