Biography

For over four decades, renowned golf course architect, Clyde Johnston, ASGCA, has been offering bespoke golf course design services. Tailored to individual client's preferences and financial limitations, his solutions not only encompass construction of new golf courses but also remodeling of existing ones. Johnston upholds sustainable construction practices, favoring an approach that aligns with the land's natural contours and vegetation rather than imposing upon it. Diversified across public and private courses, resorts, military and residential community golf courses, his designs are recognized for their uniqueness, attention to the land’s features, and the owner’s aspirations.

Beyond golf course designing, Johnston specializes in reconstruction projects, asserting the importance of the golf course architect as the leader in the planning process. His company, Clyde Johnston Designs, Inc, has completed numerous redesigns and restoration works since its establishment in 1987. Johnston’s firm gained recognition after his design of the Old South Golf Links in Hilton Head earned a spot in Golf Digest's Top 10 New Public Courses in 1992. Prior to this, Johnston honed his skills at Willard Byrd and Associates and later at Ron Kirby and Gary Player's firm.

Johnston's remarkable contribution to golf course architecture is underscored by his membership in the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) since 1985, where he served two terms on the Board of Governors and as President in 2002-2003. Additionally, he has been a licensed Landscape Architect in South Carolina and an esteemed member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) since 1977. In March 2018, Johnston's exceptional body of work led to his induction into the Lowcountry Golf Hall of Fame.