DESIGN SPOTLIGHT: AGUSTIN PIZÁ

Anyone with a passion for golf can design a course. We’re trying to design functional works of art.

When you play a golf course, how much do you really take in? Most players will focus on the course design and layout without giving much thought to how the entire property is laid out. Most local courses have been swallowed up and surrounded by developments that were never part of the original project.

That’s where Augustin Pizá comes in.

“There’s a big difference between a course designer and a golf course architect,” said Pizá. “Anyone with a passion for golf can design a golf course, an architect will create a master plan that takes in the entire project and ties it all together.”

Pizá Golf, already recognized as a world-class architecture and golf course design firm, has now seen their founder named one of the top 100 most creative Mexicans in the world by Forbes Magazine. He has also been named one of the Nine Most Innovative People in Golf by Golf, Inc. Based on his body of work, these and other awards are well deserved.

“There are plenty of golf course designers, they’re honestly all over the world,” said Pizá. “Golf course architects, however, are more rare. I’m definitely the only one in Latin America with a Masters in Golf Course Architecture, and memberships in the European Institute of Golf Course Architects and American Society of Golf Course Architects.”

The edge that gives Pizá and his team is full control of a project from start to finish. That means he’s thinking about the balance between art and science in a project. That science includes studies of agronomy, irrigation, architecture, and technique. That science is mixed with the principles of art including balance, rhythm proportion, and melody.

“There’s no such thing as an ugly golf course. Every golf course is beautiful. You’re out there in the park, you’re walking, you’re listening to the birds and you’re playing the sport that we love. But there is such a thing as a bad design and bad maintenance.”

For Pizá and his team, choosing a project involves considering several things: sustainability, social impacts, economics, and ecology. Pizá said that regardless of the size of the project - resort, championship, or municipal course - he takes those things into consideration each and every time.

“In today’s world, a golf facility needs to have multiple revenue streams. It’s easier to think about adding things like a practice or training facility, a putting complex, or lodging and dining when you’re planning the project instead of trying to add them all later.”

Even though Pizá isn’t a household name - yet - the company’s portfolio is extensive. With projects throughout Europe and Latin America, Pizá has been busy. His latest project, in Mexico City, is “The Pit,” something Pizá calls a “grass sculpture, upon which beautiful golf can be played.”

The Pit is a ‘golf lounge’ centered around a putting complex with four bunkers. The central bunker, sunken with a firepit, makes the facility a place to play and practice, and then a place to relax with friends and family.

“I think my client had a regular putting and chipping green in mind, but I don’t do regular things,” said Pizá when asked about the scope of the project. Regardless, it was a hit and more such golf lounges are in the works in places like San Diego.

In addition to complete projects, Pizá Golf has also made itself available for restoration projects. That’s how the company got into the Cabo San Lucas area of the Mexican Baja. When a hurricane took out the backside of the Cabo San Lucas Country Club, Pizá was called in to help. The results were a major improvement.

“We came in on an emergency basis and re-worked holes 10 thru 16. It’s a big change when you go from the front nine to the back, and I hope we’ll be able to go back and keep working on the property.

Moving forward, Pizá Golf is looking to expand into the United States, having recently opened an office in the San Diego area.

“Designing in the United States will expose more golfers to our work, which we’re excited about.”

The next time you’re planning a golf trip and are trying to decide where to play, make sure you look for a Pizá-designed course. You’ll be pleased with whichever course you choose.

*In a sidenote, just before this issue was published, Pizá Golf was commissed to develop a restoration master plan for the Tijuana Country Club. The club, just 15 minutes from downtown San Diego, is a prohibition-era club originally designed by William P. Bell.