CLIENTS
“Jay is an excellent golf architect who excels in creative ideas and concepts. Jay helped create a world class golf course for us, Chambers Bay. Chambers has received international attention and has been awarded a US Open. Jay was central to making it happen and making sure that every detail was correct.”
John Ladenburg – Former Pierce County Executive and Project Visionary
“Jay and I worked extensively during the design and construction of the Chambers Bay Golf Course, site of the 2015 U.S. Open. Jay is an outstanding golf architect. His vision and passion to create something special at Chambers Bay helped transform a former gravel pit along the shores of Puget Sound into a world class golf course capable of hosting our country’s national championship. It was a pleasure working with Jay at Chambers Bay.”
Tony Tipton – Former Pierce County Special Projects Manager / Chambers Bay Project Manager
“One of the best decisions our family has ever made was to put a practice area with a green in our backyard. We use it every day. The only better decision we made was choosing Jay to design and construct the facility. Jay is incredibly talented but most importantly a great listener and partner. It was a pleasure to work with him throughout the process.”
Ron Johnson – Founder of Enjoy (Private Estate Client)
GOLF ARCHITECTURE WRITERS
“I’ve now had the pleasure of seeing and playing four of Jay Blasi’s courses (two new, two total redesigns) and been witness behind the scenes on two of his Master Plan proposal projects. As someone who has been writing about architecture for 40 years now, I count Blasi among a very few who combines immense imagination when it comes to routing and aesthetics with a tremendous technical regard for structural aspects of stability, safety, drainage and maintainability. He is an up-and coming force in the golf design/redesign industry.
Bradley S. Klein — 2015 Donald Ross Award winner for lifetime achievement from the American Society of Golf Course Architects
“Having followed Jay Blasi’s career from the beginning, and having played or toured every one of the projects in which he’s been involved, I have a good perspective on his abilities. I feel comfortable saying that he clearly had influence on Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Bruce Charlton in the unconventional look and playing qualities of Chambers Bay. His work with them at The Patriot and SentryWorld indicates that he shares their desire to produce site-specific designs, and Jay’s intensive involvement with Stanford University’s practice facility, a marvelous project that originally emulated different architectural styles encountered during a Pac 12 season of golf competition, demonstrates to me that he fully understands the architectural differences of classic architects. But Jay’s solo work at Santa Ana Country Club has impressed me the most. There he was able to convince a well-established club membership to trust his vision of a brand new layout that emphasized options, the ground game, rub-of-the-green and, most importantly, environmental sustainability. His rerouting, tree removal, reduction in turf, treatment of hazards, expanded roll-ons and roll-offs around greens, even his use of a novel surface for cart paths, resulted in a course that is startlingly different in look yet enjoyable to play. To me, Santa Ana Country Club is ahead of its time, and should someday be considered a role model for future golf development in the Southern California ecosystem. I look forward to seeing what Jay can imagine in other areas of the globe.”
Ron Whitten — Co-author, The Architects of Golf / Co-designer, Erin Hills Golf Course
CONTRACTORS
“Heritage Links worked with Jay Blasi during the construction of Chambers Bay, an award winning golf course project and venue to the USGA’s US Amateur and US Open. Jay was very hands on and worked with well our staff during all phases of the construction of the golf course. A lot of time and careful planning and design work was put into the project. Jay’s creativity on this very challenging site was “one of a kind” – Very creative architect and easy to get along with”
Jon O’Donnell – President of Heritage Links (Builders of Chambers Bay)
“I had the pleasure to work with Jay at The Patriot, SentryWorld and Santa Ana CC. Under very different circumstances Jay was able to get the most out of each site. His clear and concise design intent was simply outstanding. As a shaper I depend on the architect’s communication. His drawings and explanations make my job easy. I sincerely hope I get the chance to work with Jay in the future.”
Derek Dirksen — Lead Shaper at The Patriot, SentryWorld & Santa Ana CC
OPERATORS
“As an operator, I had the distinct pleasure of working with Jay in the very earliest stages in the design of Chambers Bay. Our mutual client requested a design worthy of consideration for a major championship event. Jay’s dedication, creativity, and architectural skill resulted in a world-class golf venue selected by the USGA to host multiple championships, including the 2015 US Open Championship. While Jay had a unique vision for Chambers Bay, he worked exceptionally well with the client, operator, and the builder to ensure a memorable golf experience sure to garner continued accolades and awards. No doubt he’s one of the brightest young talents to come along in the golf architecture industry in quite a while.”
Mark Hoesing – Senior VP of Operations for KemperSports (Operators at Chambers Bay)
“I had the opportunity to work closely with Jay from 2005 through 2009 during the creation of Chambers Bay a course in which he was the project architect for Robert Trent Jones II. Throughout the planning and construction of the course, Jay was a nearly constant presence working closely and with Pierce County, Heritage Links and KemperSports teams to produce a truly world class golf course. Early on in the process Jay embraced the vast potential of what Chambers Bay could become, a host site for the US Open, and worked tirelessly to make this vision a reality. The extreme and impressive level of detail he provided to the construction of the course is one of the primary reasons the course was named as the host of the US Open and has earned countless accolades since it opened. He is a passionate professional with an immense talent for golf course architecture.”
Mark Luthman – COO for Touchstone Golf / Former Regional Director of Operations for KemperSports