Golf Legend Creates $50K Scholarship for Young Designers

A famous golf course designer is opening doors for the next generation the same way someone opened doors for him decades ago.

Tom Doak has created the Doak Award, a scholarship offering up to $50,000 every two years to young golf course architects under 30. What makes it special is simple: winners get to design their own education based on exactly what they need to learn.

"It is really a write-your-own-award setup, so that it's tailored to the gaps in each applicant's experience, whatever they think they are," Doak explained. The scholarship will support both travel to study world-class courses and hands-on practical training.

The idea comes from Doak's own story. At 21, he won the Dreer Award at Cornell University, which gave him nine months to study golf courses across the UK for $10,000 in 1982. That experience launched one of the most celebrated careers in golf course design.

Now he wants to give others that same chance, even though the world has changed. "I am keenly aware that it is much more expensive to see great courses today," Doak said. His solution shows the generosity rippling through the golf community: he's recruited former clients to provide free lodging and meals, and fellow architects are volunteering to host students.

The scholarship is funded by Doak and Childress Hall, a new Texas golf club that opened courses designed by Doak and Gil Hanse in 2024 and 2025. A three-person committee will award the full amount to one person or split it among up to three winners.

The Ripple Effect

This scholarship does more than fund travel. It recognizes that the best education isn't always in classrooms or textbooks. By letting young architects propose their own learning paths, Doak trusts them to know what they need most.

The award also builds community. When established architects open their offices and courses to scholarship winners, they're creating mentorship networks that will strengthen the entire field. Those connections often matter as much as the destinations.

Applications are open to anyone committed to golf course design, with a slight preference for those under 30. The first deadline is November 1, 2026, with winners announced in early 2027.

One scholarship changed Tom Doak's life at 21, and now he's making sure it won't be the last.