Robert E. "Bobby" Cupp Jr.

Robert E. “Bobby” Cupp, Jr. has been in the golf course design business for more than three decades. During that time, Bobby has been instrumental in the design of more than 80 golf courses across the U.S. and abroad.

Bobby began his career working for his father, renowned golf architect Robert E. Cupp. After some deep introspection and creating a career path, Bobby decided to take “the road less traveled”, and after three years, he relocated to South Florida where he gained an entry level design position with Gene Bates. Bobby quickly promoted through the ranks to the position of Senior Designer, where his proficiency for planning and design and his attention to detail refined his direction. It was also in this capacity that Bobby had the opportunity to work with tour players Johnny Miller and Fred Couples.

With a desire to expand his knowledge of golf course design, Bobby left the design world in 1992 to work for a golf course builder. His responsibilities included construction supervision, project estimating, as-built drawings and design consultation. In 1995, Bobby was called back to Cupp Design, where he integrated as a key member of the team, bringing hands-on experience designing and building golf courses. His experience and his prior relationship with Fred Couples (design consultant) landed him as the prime candidate as on-site design coordinator for an extremely complex 36-hole golf project in the Pacific Northwest.

From there, Bobby went on to design several golf courses, which included working with design consultant Tom Kite on two occasions. In 2010, Bobby returned to golf course construction to manage and co-manage more than a dozen golf course projects, including work at Reynolds Plantation (3 courses) and the restoration of the Tillinghast course at The Philadelphia Cricket Club.

Bob Senior and Bobby reunited in 2013 under the recently formed Bob Cupp, Inc. to continue the journey of a golf design family venture. During this time they collaborated on several high profile projects, including the preservation of Glen Arven Country Club – founded in 1893, one of the original 300 golf courses built in the USA. During this timeframe, the Bobby Jones Golf Course project, located in their home town of Atlanta, Georgia gained traction. The Bobby Jones Golf Course, originally built in 1932 and owned by the City of Atlanta, and became part of a land-swap transaction between the State of Georgia and the City. In a tragic turn in 2016, Bob Sr. was diagnosed with cancer and in the eighth month of that year, Bob passed away before the project would break ground. It is currently under construction and will open Autumn 2018. The new Bobby Jones Golf Course is a unique facility. The design is a 9-hole reversible golf course – something that has not been attempted in nearly 75 years (an 18-hole reversible course was designed in Michigan 3 years ago). The Bobby Jones Golf Course will include a state-of-the-art practice facility and will be home to the Georgia State University golf team. Additionally, the project includes constructing the Georgia Golf House, to become the permanent home for the Georgia State Golf Association, The Georgia PGA, the Georgia Junior Golf Association and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, as well as a flagship facility for US Kids Golf and venue for Augusta National’s Drive, Chip and Putt competition.

Over the years, Bobby has developed solid recognition due to his work ethic and design quality, which has provided him the opportunity to continue to work in very competitive markets. Bobby understands the demands regulatory agencies imposed on the development of golf courses and has been very successful incorporating the environmental issues into design concepts. Two projects in particular were nominated for national environmental awards. Bobby’s first solo venture (1994) played host to a large-scale NCAA event, which repeated to the venue for five years. He has also been involved with the First Tee program in his hometown of Atlanta, providing design and construction supervision services for the renovation of the John A. White Park golf facility. He has been involved in a wide variety of projects and approaches all of them with the same intensity. Bobby has the ability to satisfy the goals of his clients within the parameters and principles established. His attention to detail and knowledge of the axioms of golf course design and construction produce outstanding results, courses that fit beautifully into the land and are enjoyed by the full spectrum of today's golf market.

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