Golf course architect Mark Hollinger, ASGCA, dies at 70

Mark Hollinger, ASGCA, died Dec. 24, 2024, near his home in Winter Garden, Fla. He was 70 years old.

A native of Pennsylvania and raised in Warner Robins, Ga., Hollinger earned a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia and practiced landscape architecture, resort development and planning for 13 years on Hilton Head Island, S.C. At Hilton Head, Hollinger developed an interest in golf architecture, and he went to work with Willard Byrd & Associates in 1986 before joining JMP Golf Design Group in 1990.

Hollinger served as a partner and principal at JMP, serving clients in the United States and internationally. With JMP, he focused on environmental responsibility and designs that respond to site conditions and existing landforms. The firm became known for creating extraordinarily beautiful courses that featured strategic design principles.

According to the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), when Hollinger’s design at Juizhaigou Golf Club in Sichuan Province, China, opened in 2014, he said, “This site is the culmination of my career designing golf courses throughout China. We carefully constructed this project within very difficult terrain and under difficult circumstances, but did it in a way as to protect, embellish and emulate the rugged mountain theme of the golf course.”

Other noteworthy designs from Hollinger include:

• Dongzhuang Beach Golf Club, Shanghai, China
• Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Club, Hainan Island, China
• Wildhawk Golf Club, Sacramento, Calif.
• Iwate Numakunai Golf Club, Iwate, Japan
• Las Lomas Golf & Habitat, Guadalajara, Mexico

“Mark retired from JMP in 2021, but his legacy will live on, in particular, with the significant number of highly regarded golf courses that he designed for the firm in China,” said Brian Costello, ASGCA, president of the ASGCA and a former partner of Hollinger’s.

Hollinger became an ASGCA member in 1999 and served a term on the ASGCA Board of Governors. He is survived by his wife, Kimbo, and two daughters.

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