Lester George is an internationally renowned
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
who was born in
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in 1955 while his father was stationed there by the United States Air Force.
After attending The
University of Richmond, where he founded the school's
orienteering
Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...
team, George settled in
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
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. Following college graduation in 1977, he spent four years in the army as an artillery officer, subsequently received his master's degree from the
United States Army Command and General Staff College and remained in the Army Reserves until retiring a
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
in 2003. This military career coincided with the development of his career as a golf course architect.
Prior to opening his own firm in 1991, George studied with other golf course architects at Golf Services International learning all aspects of golf course design and construction. He attended the Harvard Design School, Golf Course Architecture in 1992, which launched his solo career. George's company, George Golf Design, Inc., is located in Midlothian, Virginia, just outside Richmond. George is a member of the
American Society of Golf Course Architects.
George has developed a niche in renovating and restoring classic golf courses designed by some of the most revered golden age architects such as MacDonald, Raynor, Tillinghast, Ross, Flynn, Tull and Wilson - and he has worked with many of the most historic and well-regarded golf facilities on the
East Coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
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(see project listings below).
Lester George donated much time and effort to the First Tee Program designing and overseeing construction of The First Tee of Chesterfield, the premiere 18-hole First Tee course in the United States.
Using abandoned
landfill
A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
s as a canvas, George successfully transforming two
brownfields into golf courses—converting overgrown hazardous areas into plush, green recreational turf. One of these courses, Lambert's Point Golf Course in Norfolk, Virginia, won an Affinity Award for Environmental Stewardship from the Golf Course Builders Association of America.
George's renovation of the Raptor course at Langley Air Force Base posed a challenge when thousands of unexploded bombs were discovered on the site once excavation began.
George's projects have won numerous awards:
Ballyhack Golf Club, Roanoke, VA
* #3, Best New Private Course of 2009, Golf Magazine
* Top Ten Best New Courses, Golf Magazine
* Top Ten Best New Courses, Links Magazine
* Top 20 Premiere Clubs in American Golf, Links Magazine
The Colonial Golf Course, Williamsburg, VA
* The Top Ten You Can Play, Golf Magazine One of The Best New Courses in America, The Golfer Magazine
* Top 100 Reasons to Play Golf, The Washington Golf Monthly
Kinloch Golf Club, Manakin‐Sabot, VA
* Hosted US Senior Amateur in 2011
* Best New Private Course of 2001, Golf Digest #1 Course in Virginia, Golf Digest #4, Readers Choice Awards, Golf World
* # 9 ‐ # 23, 100 Greatest Modern Golf Courses, GolfWeek #13, Top 100 Modern Courses, GolfWeek
* #33 of 100 Greatest Courses, Golf Digest
* #48, Top 100 in America, Golf Digest
* Top 18 One‐Time Collaborations in Golf Course Architecture, Links Magazine
* Top 20 Premiere Clubs in American Golf, Links Magazine
The James River Course at The
Country Club of Virginia {{Short description, Country club in Richmond, Virginia, USA
The Country Club of Virginia is a private club in the Richmond, Virginia, area, with three eighteen-hole golf courses.
CCV, which was organized in 1908, has always been one of the larges ...
, Richmond, VA
* #5, Best New Remodel of 2005, Golf Digest
Lamberts Point, Norfolk, VA
* Environmental Stewardship Affinity Award, Golf Course Builders Association of America
Lakeview Golf Course, Harrisonburg, VA
* Best Places to Play, Golf Digest
* Valley's Best Golf Course, Daily News Record
The Newport Bay Course at Ocean City Golf & Yacht Club, Berlin, MD
* Top 100 Reasons to Play Golf, The Washington Golf Monthly
The Old White Course at The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, WV
* Best New Public Remodel of 2007, Golf Digest 2006 Legacy Award #12 Resort Course, Conde Nast Traveler
* Best Restoration, Golf Course Builders Association
* One of 100 Greatest Classic Golf Courses, GolfWeek
* Hosting the PGA Tour's Greenbrier Classic
Providence Golf Course
* Rated 4 ½ Stars by Golf Digest Magazine
* Rated Second Best Golf Course in Richmond Area, Richmond Times Dispatch
Rock Manor Golf Course, Wilmington, DE
* Best Public Golf Course, Delaware Today
Willow Oaks Country Club, Richmond, VA
* #8, Best New Remodel of 2008, Golf Digest Magazine
* Hosted State Open Tournament
Lester George
* One of the Course Architects of Year, The Board Room Magazine
* Achievement in Golf Course Design, ING Industry Honors
* One of the Leading Young Architects in the Country, Golf World
* Design Excellence Award, American Society of Golf Course Architects
Lester George's golf course designs include the following:
External links
George's ASGCA biographyGeorge's company websiteThe Colonial Golf Club referenceLambert's Point Golf Course referenceBallyhack Golf Club referenceThe First Tee reference
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Lester
1955 births
Living people
Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni
American architects
Landscape architecture
University of Richmond alumni