Niall Fraser, pronounced “Neil” to his American friends and associates, hails from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, but moved to Edmonton, Canada, when he was 6 years old. His older sister was born in Troon, Scotland, as were his mom and dad and many, many other family members. 

If the name Troon rings a bell, it should. Troon is a seaside town in Ayrshire, Scotland, known for its beautiful beaches, marina, and world-famous golf courses, including Royal Troon Golf Club, host of ten Open Championships, most recently in 2024.

The name Troon itself is a Gaelic word meaning “nose” referring to a geological point. The name Niall is also Gaelic, with its Irish spelling, is pronounced much differently in Scotland, but is what Niall’s friends and family call him when he returns “home” to visit friends and family in Troon. “I’ve only seen it spelled this way in the States twice,” he says. Troon and golf are synonymous, as is Niall Fraser. 

As Director of Golf at The Lakewood Club at The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Niall is a familiar, friendly face, always with a smiling, helpful attitude. When you spend a little time with Niall, you realize quickly that golf is a way of life for him. His golf roots run deep. When you dig a little deeper, you discover a rich history of someone who loves the game of golf as much as the people who are part of it: famous course architects, developers, players, and “shapers.”

After our recent conversation about his career, family, and course design and construction, he took me to the 18th hole on the Azalea course at Lakewood to explain what elements go into shaping a golf course. He used the term “nose” to describe a peninsula in a bunker, and how the 360-degree visual ties everything together. This is a carryover from years of working with world-famous golf course architect, Robert Trent Jones, Sr. 

“Robert Trent Jones, Sr. never used detailed architectural plans on paper to design courses. He just walked the course and sketched with a pencil on a napkin or piece of scratch paper, each tee box, bunkers, and the green complex after the routing plan, and the drainage plan were in place. That’s how I learned golf course construction.”

A multi-talented athlete, Niall tells me his mom played tennis, golf, and track and field. His dad was a great platform diver and played in several rugby leagues. His uncle was a great Scottish golfer. His grandparents grew up in Troon, Scotland, where they owned a dog track and a lumber company. His grandfather was the Mayor of Glasgow in the 1930s. His cousin, Linda, married into the largest jewelry business in Great Britain, Laing Jewelers. Hall of Fame Pro golfer Colin Montgomerie lived next door to Linda and her husband, Stewart.

Niall tells me that in the mid-90s, he took a group to Scotland to play golf. Cousin Stewart had joined the prestigious Prestwick Golf Club, which hosted the first Open Championship in 1860 and is considered the birthplace of the tournament. “Local golfers are known for not tipping well. When the caddies heard there was a group of 12 Americans playing, they came running from the pub to get on a bag.” 

“When we played Royal Troon, it was like a family reunion. Four uncles and six cousins joined our group of 24. Hole number one goes straight down to the beach. I hit my ball on the beach, and the tide was out, so I climbed down to hit. After a bit, my playing partners came looking for me. “Are you going to hit?” I was hugging my aunt, whom I ran into as she was walking her dog along the beach.”

As a multi-sport athlete, Niall excelled. He graduated from high school at 17 and attended the Canadian Football League Rookie Advancement Camp. He won three events, the 40-yard dash, the vertical jump, and the long jump, but decided he didn’t want to play football, much to his mother’s chagrin. Not only that, but he ski raced at two levels below the Olympics, and he won the Canada Dry Long Drive Golf Championship at age 18 for Western Canada.

“I liked the idea of playing golf in the United States.” At 19, he played golf for N.E. Oklahoma State. After a couple of years, Niall decided he didn’t want to play college golf anymore. “I was great off the tee, but was terrible around the greens.” He worked golf maintenance at a local course in Edmonton from daylight until almost 11 PM, and watered six holes at a time at night, pulling hoses after the course closed each day during the summer.

Niall worked this job as an assistant Golf Club Superintendent for three years. The Head Superintendent was 71 years old and was considering retirement. One caveat was that to be considered for the position of superintendent, Niall had to go to Turf School. In 1984, he chose Michigan State over Penn State and the University of Massachusetts. He was one of 40 students in the class, and the youngest.

“As part of our degree, we were required to do a 6-month internship in a climate exactly opposite to where we grew up. They sent me to Palm Springs, California, to work in turf management in 115 degree weather with Bent grass greens.” Throughout his Turf School education, top superintendents and architects from the best golf clubs in the United States would come to lecture. Robert Trent Jones, Sr. was one.

Jones’ boutique design-build golf construction company was growing, and Mr. Jones decided he needed to hire turf guys. “In November 1986, I had to decide what I was going to do. Mr. Jones hired five of us from Michigan State, and I went on the road building golf courses with Mr. Jones in 1986. It was old school construction. We learned to build from the ground up. The most important part was the finishing work. The icing on the cake.”

Niall's first course with Mr. Jones was at MetroWest Golf Club in Orlando. Then to Massachusetts to build the Crupin-Fox Club in Bernardston, MA, as well as The Legends Country Club in St. Louis. “Things were changing. Players were hitting the ball much farther, and courses needed to adapt to the new realities. Landing areas needed to be adjusted, keeping in mind the recreational golfer and the desire to attract major tournaments at the most famous clubs.”

Bellerive Country Club in Town and Country, Missouri, near St. Louis, is known for hosting major championships, including the 1965 U.S. Open. It has a rich history dating back to 1897, and it was time to renovate. The board wanted Robert Trent Jones, Sr., the original designer, to do the design-build. To demonstrate his thoughts on course changes, Mr. Jones took the board to the course and asked Niall to hit a tee shot. “Mr. Jones loved the long ball,” says Niall. “He made his point to the board as to why they should accept the changes he was suggesting. “If my guy on a bulldozer can hit a driver 30 yards past the fairway bunkers, think of what the pros will do,” he told them.

In 1991, while renovating the Crumpin-Fox Golf Club in Bernardston, MA, new owner Bill Sandri called Niall, who, at the time, was working on a Trail course in Birmingham. “I have a surprise for you. Come to Tampa and play.” The surprise was his cousin’s husband, Stewart, whom Niall had introduced Bill to when he took the group to Scotland. Stewart brought three diamonds for Bill to choose from to mount for a ring for his new fiancée, Beth. Upon seeing Stewart, Niall said incredulously, “You are the surprise?”

“Golf brings a lot of people together from all walks of life. Owners are very attached to designers and shapers. To know people like that makes you very popular.” 

He tells the story of Bill Sandri inviting him on a golf trip to Europe. “We played the best courses, stayed in the best hotels, and ate at the finest restaurants. Bill picked up the tab for everything. A month or so after we got back, I received the bill for my portion. I had to take out a loan. It took me four years to pay it off. Never go on a trip like that with millionaires if you are a shaper!”

We talk a bit about the famous golfers turned designers like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and others, and what goes into a golf course design. “It starts with the contour of the land. Is it hilly or flat? How much dirt and sand are you going to need to shape the course? If the land is flat, there will be ponds and lakes, so you will have fill dirt to build tee boxes and greens. We were more interested in the finished “shaping” of the course, the visuals. That’s what makes a course special.”

One day, Niall gets a call from golf course developer and manager Bobby Vaughan. “I got a guy who wants to build some courses in Alabama, and he has the financial wherewithal to make it happen.” It turns out it was Dr. David Bronner, CEO of Retirement Systems of Alabama. The vision was for the Robert Trent Jones Trail in Alabama. SunBelt Golf Corporation was formed to build and manage the courses owned by RSA.

Working with Vaughan, Robert Trent Jones, Sr., and Roger Rulevich, Mr. Jones's chief architect for 34 years, Niall was responsible for overseeing the design-build of 468 holes on 26 courses at eleven sites throughout Alabama. This project lasted 13 years and has become a major tourist attraction for golf aficionados throughout the world. 

By the project's conclusion, RSA had purchased the Grand Hotel and Lakewood Golf Club in 1999 and began renovation of Dogwood (2002) and then Azalea (2005) courses, which was Niall’s final project with Robert Trent Jones, Sr’s boutique design-build golf construction company.

“After more than 20 years with Robert Trent Jones and Roger Rulewich, the business was closing. Mr. Jones, Sr., had passed away. I was looking for the next chapter when Dr. Bronner and Bobby Vaughn approached me and said they were looking for a director of golf for Lakewood. I accepted immediately, and never left.”

Niall’s presence in the community has had a tremendous impact. From the charity tournaments he helps host at Lakewood, the high school golf teams that practice there, and the major State Amateur, Alabama PGA, and USGA events he has been able to attract are a testament to the excellent reputation both Lakewood courses have earned throughout the golf world.

He has embraced the Eastern Shore community enthusiastically, making friends with everyone he meets. You may run into Niall at a pick-up paddle ball game, watching a sunset, or posting photos of his 8-month Bassett Hound, Jackson, but it’s a good bet he is assisting a Lakewood member or Grand Hotel guest to enjoy a competitive round of golf on one of the best two golf tracks in the Southeast.

A visit with Niall is an experience, a taste of a rich relationship with the game of golf. There are so many more stories he shared with me about his career of building courses all over the world with Robert Trent Jones, Sr., that we may have to revisit them another time. He’s still passionate about his home in Canada as well as his extended family in Scotland. I’m just happy he found a home here in the Scenic 98 Coastal community. We are so much better for it! Thanks, Niall.