TPC Summerlin’s Architect: Bobby Weed
Bobby Weed began cultivating his passion for golf course design as a precocious teen, when he transformed his father’s soybean field into a driving range. Since that time, he has distinguished himself as one of the country’s most respected golf course architects.
After studying agronomy in college, Weed became an assistant golf course superintendent at Amelia Island Plantation and then apprenticed under Pete and Alice Dye in 1980 at Long Cove Golf Club in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Two years later, he was named head superintendent at Dye’s famous TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, home to THE PLAYERS Championship and the renowned 17th Island Green. Weed was subsequently promoted to construction superintendent for the PGA TOUR’s TPC Network of clubs.
In 1987, Weed became chief designer for PGA TOUR Design Services, Inc., where he created a variety of high-profile layouts in collaboration with PGA TOUR players including Raymond Floyd, Jack Nicklaus, Mark McCumber, Arnold Palmer, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen, Roger Maltbie and Fuzzy Zoeller. In addition to TPC Summerlin, Weed designed TPC Las Vegas, TPC Tampa Bay, TPC River Highlands and the Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass, championship layouts which have hosted over 40 TOUR events.
In 1995, Weed established his own design and construction business, Bobby Weed Golf Design. In addition to original designs, the firm has undertaken numerous restoration projects – all underscored by an emphasis on classical strategic value and keen attention to detail, which he learned from Pete Dye. His company motto is, “design complements maintenance, and maintenance complements design.”