Graham Marsh

Graham Marsh, in full Graham Vivian Marsh, was born on January 14, 1944 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. He is an Australian professional golfer who also designs golf courses. He studied at the University of Western Australia and Claremont Teachers College, and taught mathematics before turning professional in May 1968. His younger brother was Rod Marsh, the wicketkeeper who played for Australia at cricket.

As a player he won 70 times across the Japanese, European, Australasian, Asian and American tours. Japan was where he did his best work: his 20 wins on the Japan Golf Tour are double his 10 on the European Tour. In 1977 he took the World Match Play Championship, then played as the Colgate World Match Play and one of the biggest occasions in European golf. He finished fourth at the 1983 Open Championship. In 1984 he was appointed MBE for his services to golf. Past the age of 50 he won six times on the senior tour in the United States, and two of those — the 1997 U.S. Senior Open and the 1999 Tradition — count as senior majors.

The design work began in 1986, while he was still playing, when he founded his own firm, Graham Marsh Golf Design. Ross Watson and Cameron Sinclair joined him the following year; Sinclair left in 1990 and Watson the year after, each to set up his own practice. The firm’s early work was concentrated in Australia through the late 1980s and 1990s — The Vines and Secret Harbour in Perth, Terrey Hills in Sydney, Palm Meadows and RACV Royal Pines in Queensland. Later came well-regarded courses in the United States, among them Sutton Bay Club in South Dakota and the Pines course at The Prairie Club in Nebraska. Planet Golf describes Marsh’s work as laid out with tournament standards in mind, long and demanding.

There is a good deal of work in Asia as well. Planet Golf puts it at around ten courses in Japan and China, and roughly the same number in Southeast Asia, chiefly in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Among the courses listed on GoGolf, four are Marsh designs: two in Indonesia and two in Malaysia. The two Malaysian courses are credited as joint designs with Ross Watson, his partner at the time. Of the four, the two in Indonesia can be booked through GoGolf.

Marsh courses you can book on GoGolf

• Klub Golf Bogor Raya (Bogor, Indonesia) — a par 71 opened in 1997, 18 holes spread over hills some 300 metres above sea level
• Gading Raya Padang Golf & Club (Tangerang, Indonesia) — a par 72 opened in 1996, close to the town of Gading Serpong and a venue for international amateur events

Courses listed for information only

The following two courses are not currently open for booking through GoGolf. They appear on the site as information pages only.

• Tropicana Golf and Country Resort (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia) — 27 holes opened in 1993, credited as a joint design with Ross Watson
• Staffield Country Resort (Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia) — opened 1994, another 27 holes credited as a joint design with Ross Watson

Tee times and rates for a given day can be checked on each course page or in the GoGolf app.

See the other golf course architects here.