20 I was always pretty good at seeing an open door, walking through it and not looking back.” ASGCA President Brit Stenson has had a way of coming across open doors – and making the most of those opportunities – that would make Forrest Gump proud. From a community land planner to budding professional musician, from project manager on a golf construction project to 25 years designing golf courses around the world with some of the game’s most recognizable names, Stenson has approached each opportunity with an unwavering energy and attention to making a positive difference. When he stepped off the campus at the University of Virginia with a degree in city planning Stenson was unsure of the road ahead, besides being “drawn to environmental planning and land planning.” While working as Assistant County Planner for Fauquier Country, Virginia, he could not shake a latent desire to play professional music. Call to perform “I quit my job – to my wife’s chagrin – and played banjo professionally in a bluegrass band for three years,” recalled Stenson. Some 20-25 times each month, Coup de Grass appeared on stages around Washington, D.C., and Maryland. They even produced, in 1978, an album, “Rhythm and Bluegrass,” which can still be found on YouTube. About the time Stenson decided he no longer wanted to ride buses and live the life of a traveling musician, his interest in golf was rekindled. He had played on his college team, serving two years as team captain, but knew he could not compete at a professional level. “Golf course architecture was something I always wanted to do but did not know how to get into,” he said. “But I was taught in school how to look at property and understand drainage and soil and vegetation; things so important to golf course architects.” A turn to golf course architecture One of those “open doors” appeared in 1979. Stenson headed INTERVIEW Golf's renaissance man A critical, creative thinker, ASGCA President Brit Stenson has traveled a self-made professional road. Marc Whitney explains.
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