Meet the Greenville-based busiest golf course designer in South Carolina

Greenville native Beau Welling fell in love with golf when he was just 6 years old, when he made his first hole-in-one on the ninth hole of the Pines Nine par-3 course.

“I immediately dropped my clubs out of excitement and ran up the hill to find my mother at the pool,” Welling shared.

After that, his passion for the game continued to grow and he was able to learn under the watchful eyes of Greenville Country Club’s PGA professionals. Then, he graduated to the big courses – Riverside and Chanticleer before playing collegiate golf at Brown University.

While he was in college, Welling became increasingly interested in golf design. So, he enrolled in classes in landscape architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design – which was right across the street from Brown’s campus. He secured a summer internship with famed golf architect Tom Fazio and held the role throughout college. Welling earned his undergraduate degree and then went on to complete a graduate degree at the University of South Carolina before he accepted his first job in investment banking.

But golf kept calling him – and so did Tom Fazio.

“He coaxed me back into golf design and I worked for him for a decade before setting out on my own 17 years ago,” Welling said. “When we founded Beau Welling Design, we really set out to be a different kind of firm. We wanted to be holistic in our approach to design and so that meant getting involved with what happens around golf. We are big believers in golf being a driver of community and human moments. How we organize spaces and places, on and off the golf course, becomes very important in helping create those special moments.”

Over the course of his career, Welling has combined innovation and creativity to create an array of stunning golf course architecture projects across the state, including the practice facility work for the University of South Carolina’s men’s and women’s NCAA teams. Currently, Welling and his team are gearing up to do a new 18-hole Orange Hill course for the Kiawah Island Club on Johns Island.

They’re also in the process of assisting The Reserve at Lake Keowee with a new short course for the Club as well as campus and master planning for the development. Another recent project is for Forest Lake Club in Columbia where they’re creating a master plan to identify possible future course and club improvements.

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Welling was also recently chosen to renovate his hometown course, Greenville Country Club. He says that without a doubt, he would not be doing what he’s doing today without his experience of learning the game at this special course. Because of that, he feels a deep sense of responsibility toward the club.

Michael Fletcher, president at Greenville Country Club, shares that Welling’s unparalleled expertise in golf course design and his personal connection to the club made him an ideal partner for the renovation project.

“Beau has an ability to balance creative vision with the practical demands of course maintenance and playability,” he said. “Additionally, his collaborative approach and commitment to meeting our club’s goals gave us confidence that the renovation would modernize the course while honoring its storied history.

“What started as a greens-only renovation project, thoughtfully evolved to a full course renovation when Beau helped us realize the best approach was to address the entire course at one time. Simply put, the course will look better, and it will play better.”

While Welling has certainly made a name for himself in the world of golf, he’s also actively involved in another sport: curling. In fact, he’s the president of the World Curling Federation.

“Curling is an ancient Scottish sport just like golf,” he said. “Both are based on honor and integrity, angles are important, each sport has weird terms and jargon, and both are fundamentally camaraderie based. Again, for me it’s all about people. I’m convinced that if the world had more curlers, then the world would be a better place – and I think the same is true for golf.”

Looking toward the rest of his career, Welling said he is thrilled to be a part of what’s coming.

“I am truly excited about the future of golf,” he shared. “It is growing, innovating and becoming more accessible, which are all things that the game needs.”

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