Mike Clayton

Clayts could be viewed as the oracle of golf, a former high level amateur golfer in his home country of Australia (winning the Australian Amateur tiltle in 1978) Mike turned pro in 1981 and over the intervening years he forged a successful playing career throughout Australia, Asia and Europe.

Much like tyhe great Peter Thomson, one of his heroes, Mike had and has a way with words and it was through a written column for the Melbourne Age Newspaper that he was approached by Bruce Grant and John Sloan (Superintendent Greenkeepers of some repute) to see if he would be intersted in partnering with them in a new golf course architecture business.

Over the course of the next decade Mike, Bruce and John would influence the restoration of many of Australia's classic golden age courses such as Victoria, Kingston Heath, Kingswood and Royal Adelaide. They would also be centrally involved in the building of new courses at Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania and RACV Healesville in Victoria amongst others.

Mike Clayton Golf became OCCM (Ogilvy Clayton Cocking & Mead) in the late noughties and further new builds, renovation and restoration projects were secured both at home in Australia and farther afield.

Mike is now ensconced in CDP, a design collaboration/partnership with Mike De Vries and Frank Pont. In addition to working on the Seven Mile Beach development in Hobart, they are also restoring the classic Abercrombie/Colt design of the Addington in London, in addition to other high profile jobs at the Royal Dublin Golf Club, Royal Perth (with Harley Kruse) and a master planning project at the home of Stableford at Wallasey Golf Club in Merseyside.

We are tremendousy excited to welcome Mike to the show, he always has interestiing opinions and ideas that are based upon a lifetime spent in and around the game.... he knows more than most and sees the game through many lenses....we hope you enjoy our chats.

Mike wrote a series of articles for Golf Architecture Magazine during 2020, please find some links to these articles below:

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/brown-is-just-fine

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/tree-free-golf

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/rough-justice

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/design-rankings-or-beauty-contests

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/the-irresistible-variety-of-british-courses

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/rein-in-the-ball-or-prepare-for-bludgeon

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/uninspiring-venues-do-golf-no-favours

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/custodians-of-the-course