Virginia Golfer September / October 2014 | Page 32

The integrity of the natural terrain at a site influences Bill Kubly’s (right) on-site work. Mover and Shaper by THOMAS DUNNE M any golfers in Virginia would probably do pretty well playing the match game with some of the commonwealth’s best courses and their architects. That said, there’s another lesser-known name that all of these courses (and a couple dozen more in Virginia alone) have in common, and that’s the name of Bill Kubly. Kubly is the CEO of Landscapes Unlimited, the largest golf course construction company in the U.S. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1971 with a degree in landscape architecture, Kubly moved to Lincoln, Neb., and began learning the ins and outs of designing and building golf courses. He founded Landscapes in 1976, and 30 almost 40 years later it remains headquartered in Nebraska’s capital city, though it now has satellite offices all over the country. COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT Not every golfer is into architecture per se, but when we step onto the first tee of a T Fazio om or an Arnold Palmer golf course, we tend to know it. Their courses have a certain style, a unique aesthetic signature. Landscapes and other construction companies are the ones charged with translating architects’ wildly diverse visions into the field—while making them functional as well. What’s that process like? “We’ve pretty much worked with everybody in the business,” Kubly said in an interview. “So we’ve built up a rapport. We very carefully VIRGINIA GOLFER | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 select the right shapers and superintendent to go with each designer.” A whole story could be written on the technical side of Landscapes’ work—irrigation and drainage, soils and seeding—but as the Richmond-based architect Lester George points out, working with a contractor is also an artistic collaboration. “We spend a lot of time drawing plans, but the artwork is always going to change based on what’s going on in the field,” George says. “Landscapes knows me well enough to know they can take risks with my drawings. Maybe a bunker doesn’t quite fit because of a certain rock outcropping…they’ll do something intuitive. If I arrive and want to change it back, they’re good with that. But sometimes they hit the nail on the head, and we move on.” w w w. v s g a . o r g DICK DURRANCE II Bill Kubly has become one of the top landscapers in the industry by relying on a form and function model while working closely with clients to meet mutual goals