How is AI changing the way that golf course architects work?

At the NFL Combine, team scouts no longer have to spend time digging through binders or running their own calculations to get data on the performance of athletes. Via a virtual assistant on the Combine app, they can find out about physical traits, event-day stats, comparative potential and more, as if they were talking with someone who knows every detail about every player.

“I just ask a question as I would ask you a question – and get what I need in seconds. It used to take hours, sometimes not even possible until after the Combine,” says Jacqueline Davidson, director of football research for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This is just one example of how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way people work. In healthcare, it is being used to detect potential cancer cells, and create personalised treatment plans. In business, AI ‘agents’ are being deployed as virtual workers, handling administrative tasks in a fraction of the time it would take a human. Law enforcement agencies are using AI to flag suspicious activity and uncover criminal networks. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

But how might it impact golf course design?

“AI can never achieve what a human can sense from Mother Nature,” says one sceptical golf course architect. “Nor can it strap its butt to a bulldozer and sculpt the earth.”

On the first count, they may be right, but autonomous bulldozing is already possible, combining AI, GPS and LiDAR to handle clearing and grading with minimal human involvement. It may be some time before it can achieve the precision and artistry of a skilled shaper, but in an age where driverless taxis are on our roads and robots are performing complex surgery, anything seems possible.

Most golf course architects are already using AI, even if they haven’t fully appreciated it. Type a question into Google now and you will typically receive a detailed response, generated by AI, rather than just a series of links to resources where you might find the answer. And that could be the primary benefit of AI, in the short term, for golf course architects: helping to save time spent on simple or repetitive tasks.

AI features are already integrated into software that is widely used in the industry. In Photoshop, for example, if you want to see what a photo of a golf hole would look like with a bunker or some trees removed, you can simply highlight the relevant area and ask the software to remove the hazards. What might previously have taken some skill and time to do manually can now be done easily and in a matter of seconds.

Spot the flaws: there may be several obvious issues with this single-prompt AI-generated sketch, but refinements are easily made (Image: Tudor Rose/ASGCA)

Design visualisation is one of the most immediately obvious applications of AI. “I’ve been experimenting with platforms that can take a hand-drawn sketch, a plan-based composition, or a photo montage and translate them into more photorealistic images,” says Jeff Danner, of Pangaea Golf Architecture. “In my experience, the platform itself is less important than the input. The more architectural structure and intent you provide, the more useful and accurate the result.

“Everything still begins with a sketch, a plan or a composition that establishes scale, landforms and design logic. From there, AI can enhance the image – refining light, texture and atmosphere to create something that reads more clearly to the client. What’s become apparent is that AI is most effective when it’s interpreting something that already has architectural structure behind it. Without that, it tends to produce imagery that looks convincing at first glance but lacks coherence when studied more closely.”

John Aherne of golf visualisation company Golfgraffix adds: “AI will become a very useful tool for golf course architects, particularly when it comes to communicating ideas more quickly and cost-effectively. That said, the real value is not in the AI itself. It is in the underlying data, technical know-how, and experience needed to make sure the output accurately reflects the architect’s design intent.

“In our case, AI sits on top of a workflow and a large library of golf course models that we have built up over many years. Used properly, it allows us to produce high-quality visuals much faster, which should make this type of presentation more accessible to projects of all sizes. I see AI as a very powerful tool, but one that works best in the hands of people who already understand the design and technical side of the process.”

Architect Todd Quitno has used AI to optimise imagery for his website: “I’ve been taking some of my more mediocre project imagery and running it through AI filters to enhance the quality,” he says. “Basic prompts may be ‘enhance this photo to make it portfolio worthy’ or ‘add late morning or early evening light to this photo.’ For before-and-after imagery, Quitno has used Photoshop for the initial layout and then plugged in AI tools to provide more detail, “like adding leaves on trees or recolouring with richer lighting.”

Read more: ‘The making of the cover’ – the cover image for the Summer 2026 issue of By Design was created in just ten minutes using Adobe Firefly via a series of prompts.

Brian Costello of JMP Golf Design Group has also started to use AI to enhance photos and sketches to convey a concept. “With more practice, I can see where AI could become a useful tool to assist with our graphics that are folded into a presentation,” he says.

In the short term, AI may be more focused on the business, rather than creative, aspects of the profession. Anyone who uses Microsoft products like Word, Excel and Outlook, for example, will have noticed a Copilot icon, where AI help is at hand. In preparing this article, I have resisted Copilot’s temptation to ‘refine this to be clear and professional’, but for a golf course architect preparing a proposal for a client, that could be a simple method of helping to articulate ideas in a way that clients can easily understand.“It can be very effective in drafting proposals, organising research and handling certain administrative or marketing tasks,” says Danner. “In a field like golf course architecture, where many of us wear multiple hats, those efficiencies can be quite meaningful. Used properly, AI can take some of the back of-house burden off the architect and allow more time for design, client interaction and construction observation.”

It is clear to see these tools generating significant time savings when prospecting for new business, too. If a golf course architect wants to promote their services to all of the golf clubs in their local area, for example, AI tools can help gather together contact names, addresses and email details in a fraction of the time it would take an architect to do that same task themselves.

Andy Staples says: “AI will begin to replace a lot of writing, not only in terms of quick emails or newsletters, but in contracts and specifications.”

Staples warns that as you delve deeper into the technical aspects of the profession, AI must be used with caution. “I have seen some calculations not working out quite right,” he says. “For example, I tried to lay out a wedge range from three separate teeing areas, attempting to make all the targets equidistant from each other. The program gave me a solution, but in the field, the dimensions didn’t work out.”

“What I’m anticipating the most is the streamlining of production,” says Quitno. “I’m already hearing about its ability to take pencil line drawings and turn them into AutoCAD polylines, which would eliminate a very time-consuming step. I could also see AI being able to take a hand sketch or a photo of a project and turning it into a workable plan with the proper prompts – this is actually a scary thought in terms of potential plagiarism.”

Issues like copyright and quality control are likely to be unearthed with increasing frequency as more people begin AI tools. At the same time, endless possibilities will emerge too: “I can’t really wrap my head around AI’s potential,” says Quitno. “I’m sure it’s going to impact us in ways we don’t even realise yet, for which I’m equally intrigued and apprehensive.”

For now, though, there are lines that most are not willing to cross. “I haven’t explored AI in routing and, candidly, that’s probably the area where I would be most hesitant,” says Danner. “Routing is fundamentally about judgment, how a course unfolds across a piece of land, how it responds to topography, and how it balances strategy, flow and environmental considerations. Those are decisions made with experience and time in the field. If we begin outsourcing that level of thinking, then we’re moving away from what we’ve been trained to do as architects. At that point, you’re no longer designing; you’re directing.”

“Golf course design blends engineering and art,” says architect Kevin Norby. “AI will be able to help with renderings and maybe conceptual layouts, but I don’t think it will have a great impact on the routing of new courses. As golf architects, we have to consider the somewhat more intangible concepts like strategy, shot options, aesthetics and safety as well as drainage, cart circulation, playability and agronomic issues. These considerations don’t show up on an aerial photo or topographic map.”

Danner adds: “Could AI eventually reach a point where it can generate viable routings? Possibly. But even then, interpretation and decision-making would still be critical. For now, I see far more value in using AI to support the process, improving efficiency and communication, while keeping architectural judgment firmly in the architect’s hands.

“It allows us to test ideas more quickly and communicate them more effectively. But it doesn’t replace the architect’s role. If anything, it sharpens the distinction. AI can generate an image, but it doesn’t understand whether that image represents something that works from a golf course architectural standpoint. Understanding how a golf hole functions, how landforms read in the field, and how decisions affect playability still requires professional judgment and experience. That’s not something you arrive at through prompts.”

This article first appeared in the Summer 2026 issue of By Design. Read the full issue here, and subscribe for free via the ASGCA website.