McDonald Design Group provides inspired and unique design solutions for our clients.  This creativity paired with our value-added design/build model provides an unequaled value to our clientele.

Renovation Design

Comprehensive Golf Facility Master Planning

McDonald Design Group specializes in formulizing comprehensive improvement programs for golf facilities of all types.  These programs are often long-range improvement visions that can be implemented over a series of years improving the client’s cash flow, limiting golfing disruption, and to maximize the club’s staff involvement throughout the process.  Regardless of the implementation program selected, McDonald’s planning documents are rich in detail to best communicate the proposed improvements with the client.  Our Master Planning process is a truly collaborative effort between the membership, club staff, and McDonald’s team to ensure that the client’s goals and needs are met.

Smaller-scale Course Improvement Planning

A more narrowly focused study is often more beneficial for the client.  These studies may include single or multiple holes, tee, bunker, grassing, or drainage improvements.  McDonald has also completed many focused 18-Hole studies of specific agronomic issues, tree management issues, teeing grounds, cart circulation improvements, and clubhouse campus design.

Historic Research and Restoration Design

McDonald Design Group respects the designers of the past, as we work tirelessly to uphold the design principles for which they adhered to.  We enjoy researching the history of the facilities we work with to ensure that this history is respected and preserved when appropriate.

Practice Facility Planning

There has been an incredible increase in the value of a club’s practice facility as a means to attract and then retain new members given today’s market conditions.  Practice facility design is a specialized skill set, and McDonald Design Group is a leader in creating dynamic, attractive, usable, and maintainable practice facilities.

Field Design

Our design/build model offers an incredible level of control over all steps of the construction process. McDonald Design Group’s significant investment in time directly managing both the construction and design of our projects is invaluable to our clients, as it assures them the details of the work are being executed as planned.

Detailed Construction Documents and Specifications

While McDonald Design Group believes that extensive hands-on field design is required to successfully complete each project within our design/build approach, we also take great care in completing detailed plan sets and specifications that outline the proposed improvements.  These drawings aid in our communication with the client, outlining what will be constructed and also providing the baseline for our detailed computerized quantity take-offs and cost projections.

Project Consulting: Quantity Take-Off Analysis, Budgeting, and Scheduling

Long before ground is ever broken, McDonald Design produces detailed quantity take-offs, cost projections, and construction timetables for the completion for each project.  Our seamless affiliation with McDonald & Sons reassures our clients that they are receiving a realistic and the clear vision of their considered project.

New Course Design

Prior to the shift in the golf course design and construction industry that occurred nearly 10 years ago, McDonald Design completed five new 18-Hole golf course designs.  The unique strategic and stylistic design features of each facility is a testament to the inspired design principles that we bring to each project. McDonald Design Group’s award winning King Carter Golf Club is a fine example of classic, understated golf design providing a memorable and rewarding test of golf.

Surveying/Mapping

Green Surface Slope Analysis

With fast greens being a modern day standard, many greens built years ago feature slopes that are too severe to cut a cup.  With McDonald’s hyper-accurate surveying technology, we are able to perform slope analysis studies that provide a detailed, color-coded analysis of cupping potential given today’s green speeds.  This data allows us to create functional green surface adjustment plans if necessary.

GPS Base Map Creation

Designers of the past, such as Emmet, MacKenzie, Raynor, & Strong, undertook their own surveying and mapmaking of courses they admired and to create plans from which to work. Not unlike them, we have the capability to survey & map all existing features of a course, including topography, to create working drawings. Through modern means of GPS technology, we can construct a comprehensive and accurate digital map of a facility that is a useful tool in the design and planning of course improvements or can be beneficial for a Superintendent’s daily use and application calculations.

Irrigation and As-Built Mapping

Our GPS and Robotic Total Station technology can also be used to document irrigation, drainage, and other utilities.  Accurate as-built mapping is an invaluable tool for a Club and Superintendent.