Jim Hardy

Few in the golf industry can boast the breadth of experience and record of achievement in as many diverse fields as Jim Hardy, who has made separate, lasting marks as a player, course builder, architect, teacher, and author. An All-American player at Oklahoma State University in 1966, he served as a club Pro before earning his PGA Tour card in 1968 and playing full time on the Tour through 1974.

Over the next four years, he taught at both the Golf Digest and GOLF Magazine schools, then co-founded, along with Shelby Futch, the John Jacobs Golf Schools, and the Carol Mann Golf Schools, serving as director of both enterprises. During the 1980s, Hardy moved toward course development, forming a course-construction management company that helped develop some of America's leading golf communities and resorts. This led naturally to the formation of Jacobsen Hardy Golf Course Design in the 1990s.

Having grown up playing one of the world's most revered, classic golf courses, Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson, Kansas, Hardy understandably incorporated this traditional approach into his own design philosophy. His construction management company developed more than 60 golf course-related properties, including Bonita Creek, Ventana Canyon, Shadow Hawk, Conway Farms, and Bonita Bay.

Through these experiences - and by working alongside the likes of Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Arthur Hills, Robert Trent Jones Sr., and Rees Jones - Hardy combined with his own traditional leanings a thorough understanding of key environmental concerns, timeliness, construction budgets and the general challenges associated with creating a golf course.