Golf Architects/Designers: Dimitri Van Hauwaert

Dimitri Van Hauwaert is fast becoming one of Europe’s most prolific golf architects; his reputation up there amongst the best in the field. Despite only trading as Diamond Golf Architects for 5 years, Dimitri has been involved in over 40 projects to date. These range from small renovation briefs to complete course re-designs in prestigious clubs across Belgium, The Netherlands, Bulgaria, The Czech Republic and more.

With close to 15 years experience and winner of several industry awards, including Student of the Year and a finalist in the world design competition Lido Price, Dimitri is extremely knowledgeable across all areas of golf course architecture, from turf consultancy and maintenance to design and build. Being well connected he has a talent for recognising the specialist skills required and bringing in the ideal people for the job to work alongside him. He has also consulted with some of the best in the industry to create some very successful collaborations.

One of the things that makes him stand out is his willingness to take on renovation work on world renowned courses designed by some of the industry’s greats. While some may be fazed by courses created by designers such as Harry S Colt and Tom Simpson, Dimitri is able to show respect for their acclaimed design features but also bring something fresh and innovative to each project and fulfil the brief set out by the client. It is these creative skills, his ability to work on a range of projects and a commitment to maintaining competitive rates that ensure he is always in high demand.

Diamond’s client portfolio is certainly impressive to date, including Royal Belgium, Royal Antwerp, Royal Zoute and the new 27 hole championship course in Knokke. Looking forward, Dimitri feels certain that there are many more prestigious projects and exciting challenges yet to come and he is certainly the face of the future of cutting edge golf course design.