Dana Fry brings unique, multidimensional talents to his golf course architecture. His formal education, field training and artistic bent combine to produce a capability at once practical, aesthetic, variable and dynamic.

Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Fry amassed an impressive junior golf record before attending the University of Arizona, where he competed on the Wildcats’ Division I golf team from 1980-83. Playing at the highest collegiate level still helps Fry visualize great golf holes from the player’s perspective, but the Arizona connection also launched his career more formally. The summer before his senior year, Fry made the acquaintance of Andy Banfield, a lead designer for architect Tom Fazio. During construction of the golf course at nearby Ventana Canyon Golf & Racquet Club, in Tucson, Fry assisted Banfield by flagging saguaro cacti for transplanting. By summer’s end he’d settled on a new career path.

Fry spent five years as a full-time shaper with Fazio Golf Course Designers, Inc. Equipped with this on-the-job PhD in earthmoving and shaping, Fry joined the firm of Dr. Michael Hurdzan, as a golf course architect. He was named partner in 1997. In 2012, Fry and colleague Jason Straka formed Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design.

An ASGCA member since 1992, Fry was once considered something of a prodigy: In 2001, Golfweek named him to the magazine’s “40 under 40”, up-and-comers who were “likely to shape the golf business for years to come.” Today, while Fry, Straka and their shared portfolio have clearly met those expectations, Dana in particular is keen to project those talents around the world. In Asia and the Middle East, he has taken a leadership role in promoting sustainable, world-class golf development in these important emerging markets.