Geoffrey S. Cornish (second from right with tie) as construction superintendent for Stanley Thompson at Cape Breton Highland Links in 1939.

Geoffrey S. Cornish (second from right with tie)
as construction superintendent for Stanley
Thompson at Cape Breton Highland Links in 1939.

MUNGEAM CORNISH GOLF DESIGN, Inc. was formed in the summer of 2006 following the departure of Brian M. Silva.

The patriarch of the firm is Geoffrey S. Cornish, renowned golf course architect and historian. Cornish began a career in course design in 1935 when hired to evaluate soils during construction of Capilano Golf Club outside Vancouver , British Columbia for Canadian architect Stanley Thompson. After apprenticing with Thompson and serving in the Royal Canadian Armies famed Hastings and Prince Edward regiment in Europe during World War II, Cornish settled in Amherst , Massachusetts where he taught at the University of Massachusetts. With his wife Carol's support, he initiated a practice in golf course design in 1952. He worked alone or with William G. Robinson for thirty years prior to taking on Brian M. Silva in 1983.

Among the over 230 new course designs to his credit, Cornish planned more courses in New England than any other architect in history. He deserves credit for working with landowners and contractors to enable the creation of numerous, low cost public facilities that generated thousands of new golfers. Most would not have been built without his support and clear guidance.

Now primarily retired from course design, Cornish continues to write and teach. Long a contributor to Harvard Universities Graduate School of Design class on Golf Course Design and the University of Massachusetts, Stockbridge Winter School for Turf Managers, he has had published numerous books on course architecture, including the widely read seminal "The Architects of Golf", which he co-authored with Ron Whitten, golf architecture editor for GOLF DIGEST magazine.

CORNISH IS THE RECIPIENT OF NUMEROUS HONORS THAT ARE DETAILED IN HIS RESUME.



Mark A. Mungeam and Geoffrey S. Cornish

Geoffrey S. Cornish and Mark A. Mungeam

Mark A. Mungeam joined Cornish, and Silva in 1987, following receipt of a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Massachusetts ) and 4 years working in golf course construction. One of Mungeam's first projects was the design and oversight of Shaker Hills Golf Club, in Harvard , Massachusetts, named by GOLF DIGEST as runner-up Best New Public Course in 1992. Elected to the American Society of Golf Course Architects in 1991, the former Board member of the Society was part of the Environmental Committee responsible for the publication of "Environmental Approach to Golf Course Development".

In 1995, Mungeam became a principal in the firm Cornish, Silva and Mungeam, Inc. Mungeam may be best known for his sensitive renovation of Olympia Fields Country Club outside Chicago in preparation for both the 1997 US SENIOR OPEN AND 2003 US OPEN.



Mungeam and Cornish are assisted by Timothy Gerrish, RLA, who began working with Cornish over ten years ago while doing postgraduate studies in Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts. Gerrish has played a key role in most new course and renovation projects and is involved with all aspects of the golf design and construction process. Gerrish is a registered Landscape Architect in Rhode Island. He has returned to the University of Massachusetts to teach the prestigious Winter School for Turf Managers in 2002. Gerrish follows Walter Hatch, Geoffrey Cornish and Brian Silva as the 75 year old courses' only instructors. Among other new course and renovation projects, Gerrish was lead designer on the dynamic Butter Brook Golf Club in Westford, MA.



MUNGEAM CORNISH GOLF DESIGN, Inc. are designers of such fine courses as: