‘Modest’, ‘Dedicated’, ‘Perfectionist’ are all words that describe EGD’s Stan Eby. Known almost as much for his moustache and pony tail as for the quality of his work Stan is the man behind some outstanding golf courses.

A graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in Landscape Architecture, Stan began his golf design career working for the Chicago based firm of Golf Course Architect Dick Nugent (Past President of the American Society of Golf Course Architects). He joined European Golf Design in 1992. His Professional credentials included professional registration of the United States National Landscape Architecture Licensing Board and continuing education certificates in Project Management and Construction Administration from the University of Wisconsin.

PGA de Catalunya in Spain was designed by Stan in association with Neil Coles & Angel Gallardo. The course is recognised as one of the top 100 golf courses in the world not only by the golfing press but also by amatuers and pro’s alike. Golf Monthly recently named PGA de Catalunya No. 3 in ‘Top 20 European Courses’. Shortly after the course opened in 1999 Golf World awarded it the “Best New Course in Europe”. The course rapidly created an impression and was rewarded by hosting the Sarazen World Open and Spanish Open. This year the Open de Espana on the European Tour will visit the course at the end of April.

At Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, Stan worked with Thomas Bjorn to redesign the course and transform it into a golfers’ paradise. The following year Golf World named the course one of the “Top 100 Golf Courses in the World”.

In association with Nick Faldo, Stan designed the Faldo Course at Sporting Club Berlin. The course opened in the summer of 1996 and played host to the German Open in 1998 and 1999. The course was complimented by many Tour players and Golf World voted it “Best New Course in Europe” in November 2007. Stan went on to design the third course at Sporting Club Berlin and no higher acclaim could be paid to his efforts than when the course was named ‘The Eby Course’.

At Portmarnock Links in Ireland, Stan worked alongside Bernhard Langer. The course is nestled in coastal duneland and was designed in the true tradition of links golf with rolling fairway and unforgiving rough. In 2008 the course hosted the Ladies Irish Open. Golf World has said of the course “it’s tough and uncompromising into the prevailing wind, tricky when the wind is at your back – everything a links course should be”.

With design partner Colin Montgomerie, Stan designed the Montgomerie Course at Carton House. The inland link pays tribute to the traditions of the game with sweeping fairways, cavernous bunkers and impeccable greens and has become a ‘must play’ for golfing enthusiasts.

It has received many top awards including:

- ‘Best Course of 2006′ by the readers of Golf Punk Magazine

- Joint winner of prestigious ‘Committed to Green Award’

- ‘Best New Design of the Year 2004′ Award – Golf World, January 2005

- Ranked 10th in Ireland by US Golfers Digest magazine – April 2005

- Home to the 2005 & 2006 Nissan Irish Open

- Home to the 2004 AIB Irish Amateur Open Championship

Stan’s most recent work is Euphoria Golf Estate Hydro in South Africa which was designed in association with Annika Sorenstam. Set in the beautiful Waterberg mountain range the course has been designed with a serious commitment to the preservation of the indigenous fauna and flora. Already the course has been awarded a Compleat Golfer 5-Star Golf Experience.

Stan’s Favourite things:

Sound: Silence

Colour: Shades of grey

Art: The world of Walt Disney

Golf Course: Whatever is on the drawing board

Book: (latest) Team of Rivals

Movie: Das Boot

Food: Cajun

City: Chicago

Drink: What’s on offer?

Place: ‘In the sun’

Gadget: The delete button

Quote: “I CAN ONLY PLEASE ONE PERSON A DAY AND TODAY AIN’T YOUR DAY (Tomorrow Ain’t Lookin Too Good Either)” Anonymous

Music: The Band

In the ‘developing’ Saudi Arabian Golf market, it is fundamental to create a golf course that is challenging, fair and enjoyable for golfers of all ability. It must ensure that golf holes have an alternate means of play and that the golfer is constantly confronted with different options and decisions as to how to play a particular hole with respect to their skill level of play.

Thus, the Golf Course at King Abdullah Economic City – Resort Cove will embrace the classic strategic elements of the world’s most enduring golf courses and bring them together in a layout filled with risk-and-reward choices and opportunities for creative and varied shot making.

The Golf Course is a par 72 layout with two loops of nine holes. Both nine hole loops start and finish at the centrally located Clubhouse. The course will be played from a Back Tee length of 6906 yards. Medal Tee, Regular Tee and Forward Tee positions would play from 6464 yards, 5960 yards and 5173 yards.

A feature element of the Golf Course development will be the Golf Course Academy, featuring a ‘state of the art’ teaching facility, accompanied by extensive fully-lit practice areas for the Long and Short Range Tees, Practice Fairway, and Putting, Chipping and Bunker green complexes.

The golf course design elements will be characterized by relatively gently undulating fairways and deep grass-faced style bunker hazards. A special landscape feature will be the design of large expansive waste bunkers and ‘wadi-like’ hazards that exhibit a ‘desert character’ on the golf course, reflecting the similar desert character of the Saudi Arabian landscape. The waste bunker and ‘wadi’ features have been designed to encroach into the fairway, and the interface between grass and desert will be detailed to give the utmost aesthetic appeal to the golfing landscape.

Water features on a golf course can provide the most dramatic moments in golf and are featured on both nine hole loops. There will be no ‘forced’ carries across water, but rather a heroic design intent, always providing an alternate route around the water hazard, but at a significant disadvantage or challenge for the next golf shot. The four prominent water features, constructed out of the most beautiful natural dark ‘volcanic’ rock, will be one of the ‘stand – out’ features of the golf course.

To further complement the natural beauty of the site’s magnificent setting on the Red Sea coast line, the landscape character across the golf course will be characterized by special areas of treatment. The Clubhouse and Academy will be characterized by a landscape setting rich in indigenous tree and shrub plantings similar to the surrounding built development. A desert landscape setting will be developed for the golf holes that feature the waste bunker hazards while golf holes with water features will provide an ‘oasis’ setting of relevant landscape plantings.

‘The Golf’ at the King Abdullah Economic City – Resort Cove will be exciting and challenging.

‘The Golf Course’ will be bold and beautiful.

But most importantly, for golfers of all abilities, ‘The Experience’ will be enjoyable and fun!

Spending two days stuck in a hotel reviewing project plans with investors, master planners, financial analysts and other consultants is part of the job, but not always the most fun way to spend time. But, when that hotel is in Istanbul, on the bank of the Bosphorus, and the project team just happens to be red hot, then there are certain benefits.

Istanbul is one of the most vibrant cities in Europe although, technically, less than half of it is actually in Europe – the city itself straddles the divide between east and west, between Europe and Asia. As a result, the mix of culture, food, people and architecture makes for an amazing experience every time. The weather this week was cold and rainy, which meant that we weren’t really missing anything during our daily meetings, but we did get out a little at night.

If you need a great business hotel in Istanbul, then try the Radission Bosphorus in the Ortokay district – very modern, very comfortable and perfectly located. And if you like live music, there’s a great Jazz club right next door.

European Golf Design have signed a contract to design a new golf course in Portugal at Herdade das Fuezeiras, a short distance from the city of Evora, about an hours drive east of Lisbon.

The project includes an 18 hole course with practice facilities, a 150 bedroom hotel, a mix of high quality residential units and an equestrian centre in open countryside.

Evora is a UNESCO World heritage site and is capital of the Alentejo region of Portugal. The city centre is beautifully preserved and dates back to Roman times but its unique quality stems from its whitewashed houses decorated with azulejos (ceramic tiles) and wrought-iron balconies dating from the 16th to the 18th century. The buildings had a profound influence on Portuguese architecture in Brazil.