“Jaeger brings an incredible depth of knowledge on all aspects related to golf course architecture. He is well traveled, a student of the game, and is passionate...”

— Gil Hanse

Jaeger Kovich

Principal Architect

Born and raised in New York City, Jaeger caught the golf bug at the driving range as a teenager looking for something to do in the summer. When I could get a ride or eventually when he was old enough to drive, Jaeger would head across to the Met Area to play different public courses. There were a few courses that he liked, but there was a search for something different. That is when he started analyzing golf courses.

Jaeger’s “AH-HA” moment came during his junior year of high school. It was the Wednesday of the 2004 US Open at Shinnecock Hills that ignited his burning passion for golf architecture. The debacle at the 7th green captivated him and showed Jaeger that there was a lot more to golf courses than he had realized. That eye opening moment transformed golf into an obsession. For my high school honors project, Jaeger designed a new golf course on my boarding school’s campus and in college at Hobart he wrote a thesis on A.W. Tillinghast’s design theory. Jaeger now goes back to Hobart College as a guest speaker for a seminar on golf course architecture and has consulted at Clifton Springs CC where the school team plays.

After graduating college in 2009, Jaeger begged dozens of golf architects for a job, but most had recently let their employees go due to the downturn of the economy. He was supposed to intern for Tom Doak, but the project that he was slated to work on fell through. Jaeger knew that Tom and Bill Coore had upcoming projects in China so figured if he spent the time to teach himself some Mandarin and learn how to run a bulldozer, they couldn’t say no when the time was right. Jaeger shipped off to Virginia to learn how to operate a bulldozer, got hired by a golf course contractor and studied Mandarin at night. Two years later, opportunity finally knocked when Tom Doak hired him.

Jaeger’s time with Renaissance Golf Design started with a place on Tom’s team for the Rio Olympic proposal and learning minimalism first hand working on the crew of Dismal River in the Sandhills of Nebraska in 2012. The next two years of his life were spent on a bulldozer and excavator turning a gigantic sandbox into a golf course on the Chinese island province of Hainan. The Mandarin lessons paid off! When he returned from China in 2014, Jaeger founded Proper Golf and quickly had the opportunity to take on his first solo project as the consulting architect for The Village Club of Sands Point, on Tom’s recommendation.

While working with The Village Club and a small, but growing list of clients over the last few years, he spent 6 years restoring some of the games more revered courses, and creating exciting new ones with Gil Hanse. Jaeger is very lucky to have two of the games best architects as mentors. His time with Gil and his partner Jim Wagner allowed Jaeger to grow as an architect and shaper. ‘Seeing their dedication to the craft, and the professionalism they bring to all their projects both in the planning and in the field is something I have model myself after.’ The years he spent working for them allowed Jaeger to take his passion for golf course architecture to a whole new level and gave him all the tools he need to be a successful architect on his own.

If nothing else he has worked tirelessly in building a career in architecture the old fashioned way, working in the field for the best architects, and studying hundreds of golf courses around the world. He’s eager to bring his take on fun and artistic golf courses to interesting projects around the world. As a culmination of his relentless pursuit and passion for golf architecture, he hopes Proper Golf can bring the thoughtful, fun, and artistic golf he loves so much, to your project.

NICKLAUS MILLS

Design Associate

Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Nick learnt the game of golf from his father (Ian) and grandparents (Ted & Barney) at the Croydon Golf Club, before moving down to the Mornington Peninsula to further develop his game.

The game of golf has afforded Nick experiences amid many facets of its broader industries. He’s played competitively in junior and amateur fields both in Australia and internationally, worked in golf retail, studied landscape architecture with a specific focus on golf course design, produced written content for digital and print media’s, followed international tours in golf television production and a caddy at the Capital Golf Club for over a decade. It has helped Nick understand a player's constant endeavor to improve their game and the industry's attentiveness to help them do so for many years to come.

Nick has been working with Jaeger since 2021 and share his passion for sympathetic restoration and attention to detail to produce the best outcome possible.

Jaeger Kovich

NICKLAUS MILLS

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