Bob Harrison
In 1988 Bob Harrison joined Greg Norman Golf Course Design and spent over 21 years in Australasia as its lead designer in the region. His major projects included:
- Ellerston
- Moonah at The National
- The Grand
- The Glades
- Nirwana Bali
- Pelician Waters
- Brookwater
- The Vintage
- The Sanctuary Lakes
- New South Wales (partial redesign)
- Stonecutters Ridge
Both Ellerston and National Moonah are ranked among the top 6 courses in Australia, while Brookwater, The Grand, Pelican Waters, The Glades and The Vintage have all featured within Australia's Top 40.
Harrison was also lead designer on a number of GNGCD projects in China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and other parts of Asia. His work included Nirwana Bali, which has been described as 'The Best Golf Resort in the Pacific Rim' and is consistently ranked 'The Best Course in Asia'. It also included the routing and design drawings for Sugarloaf in Atlanta and Wente Vineyards in California.
In his younger days Bob was Dux at St Ignatius College in Sydney, and then studied Physics at the University of Sydney before graduating in Civil Engineering. He did his final year Thesis on a golf-residential project in conjunction with the Lend Lease Corporation, and then spent 11 years on golf-residential projects and commercial project management.
Harrison has worked on beautiful natural sites such as Moonah and Ellerston, and on difficult flood-prone sites such as The Glades, Pelican Waters and Sanctuary Lakes. At Nirwana Bali he successfully combined the spectacular ocean-side holes with a manufactured inland landscape, which gave the impression that the holes were constructed through operating rice fields.
Harrison is the most experienced person in Australia at combining the needs of golf courses and residential subdivisions to maximise the opportunities for both. His experience and practical design capabilities have made him one of Australasia’s most prolific and sought-after golf architects.
