Lee Schmidt
Lee Schmidt is an American golf course designer who is currently co-principal of the golf architecture firm Schmidt-Curley Golf Design. The history of Schmidt-Curley Design dates back to 1984 when both Lee and Brian worked for Landmark Land Company in the California desert city of La Quinta.
During the initial years, Lee worked alongside Pete Dye on numerous courses including the massive PGA West Resort and Kiawah Island, the site of the 1991 Ryder Cup. Landmark was considered the leading builder of golf communities in the US and it was here that Brian was able to employ his skills as a master planner and began his venture into course design with the guidance of Lee and Pete Dye.
Schmidt-Curley Design was formed in 1998 following Brian Curley's buy-out of the Landmark Golf Company Design division and saw the reunion of Lee and Brian. During their initial years, most Schmidt-Curley course designs saw the joint efforts of both Lee and Brian but as the years have gone by and their design portfolio has spread across the globe, the pair have largely split their work efforts.
Through the many years of their successful partnership, Schmidt-Curley has garnered many awards including "Architect of the Year" by GOLF Magazine in 2011, a seven straight year stint as Asian Golf's "Architect of the Year" and being named by Golf Inc. magazine as the "fourth most influential architect in the world".