Mill Valley, California B Award Recognizes Nelson's Superlative Work in 2000, Including projects in California, Alaska and Florida.

Golf course architect Robin Nelson was named BoardRoom Magazine's "Golf Course Architect of the Year" at the golf-industry publication's annual Excellence in Achievement Awards program on Saturday in San Diego.

The awards are bestowed in conjunction with the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) annual World Conference on Club Management. The CMAA endorses
BoardRoom Magazine as a beneficial source of information to its membership. Nelson and other award recipients will be featured in the next issue of the magazine.

A panel of judges scrutinized the work of several nominees in this category before singling out Nelson for his excellent work in 2000, which included eight course openings.

Nelson, who has designed more than 100 courses worldwide, had five courses open in the United States last year and three overseas. His U.S. projects were Dragon at Gold
Mountain and Mare Island in California, Creek Course at Moose Run in Alaska, Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, and Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia. His international opening were Warren Club in Singapore, Shenzhen Golf Club in China, and Punta Fuego Island Golf Course in the Phillippines.

Illustrating Nelson's design versatility and dexterity, those courses range in type and typography from military-owned and flat to high-end and mountainous. A dedicated environmentalist, Nelson's Dragon design is certified in the Audubon International Signature Program for its sound wildlife habitat preservation, water conservation, recycling and integrated pest management initiatives.

Voted a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects in 1984, Nelson relocated his headquarters from Honolulu to his native Bay Area last year. After almost two decades of traveling the globe to design international projects, Nelson made the move to spend more time with his family.

While he continues to work outside North America, where his work is widely known, his focus on doing more U.S. projects is just beginning to garner recognition here. For instance, his Dragon at Gold Mountain design in Graeagle, Calif., was recently listed as one of the top 15 new U.S. courses to open in 2000 by Ron Whitten, Architecture Editor for Golf Digest.

Having designed or redesigned nearly 30 of Hawaii's roughly 90 courses, Nelson is that state's most prolific architect. Two of his designs there - Dunes at Maui Lani and Coral Creek - opened in 1999.