Michael Clayton
"As a kid playing golf, you don't care where you play," says Michael Clayton, "but growing up in Melbourne you're lucky enough to be exposed to some great courses, and you realize that there is an extra dimension to the game in the architecture of the golf course."
And since founding his first company, Michael Clayton Golf Design in 1995 with John Sloan and Bruce Grant, Mike has excelled in this extra dimension of the game.
Playing at Melbourne's various sandbelt courses as a schoolboy sparked an interest in the young Clayton early on, and perhaps shaped his skills on the course. For before he carved a distinguished career as a golf course architect, Mike was a professional golfer for over two decades; he played 17-seasons on the European Tour, as well as playing on the PGA Tour of Australasia where he won seven titles.
Nowadays, Clayton's business has changed its structure with the addition of new business partners and a new name. Ogilvy Clayton Cocking Mead (OCCM) was formed by Mike and his partners Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking, and Ashley Mead. They are dedicated to, "designing, building and preserving wonderful golf courses around the world."
In Michael's eyes, there are two factors that make a golf course great. The first involves the architecture of the course, and how it plays - does the course ask interesting questions, and does it create more than just a place to hit the ball around?
"The other is the beauty of the surrounds you play in," argues Michael. "The best courses in the world are also very beautiful places to play. Which is what the average golfer judges most golf courses by, from the experience of playing the course - and not necessarily the architecture."
Website: https://www.claytongolf.com.au/