Ever wished you could move that pesky bunker a little to the left? The Arnold Palmer Design Company can help. Leslie Billera finds out more about the team that dreams the greens we play

"Golf course architect" may not be the most obvious entry on the "things I want to be when I grow up" wish list, but with golf courses popping up all over the world, perhaps it should. Ohio, Indonesia, Texas, Italy… Since 1979, the Arnold Palmer Design Company has created more than 300 golf courses worldwide, and there's plenty more on the way. Senior golf course architects include Erik Larsen (executive VP and managing director), Harrison Minchew (VP and director of design services) and Victoria Martz (VP and director of environmental design). All have years of experience and top–drawer resumes. Newer to the game are APDC's four young designers. Of them, Larsen says, "They're so good, and so much further along than I was at their age, that I'm just letting them run." But just who are these guys and where did they come from? Kingdom headed to APDC's new office at Bay Hill to find out…

THAD LAYTON, Golf Course Architect

A trip to Vegas as a teen opened Layton's eyes to the world beyond his native Mississippi where he played as a kid on municipal courses. On Sin City's courses, "I saw that a golf course could be turned into an art form," he says. Believing that the best experience is hands–on, Layton worked with the golf construction team at Bridges at Hollywood Casino (formerly Casino Magic), a Palmer–designed course, while attending junior college. He went on to attend the University of Mobile on a golf scholarship, but despite best efforts, playing on the professional circuit was a no go, so Layton focused his energies on the next best thing: A career in golf course design. He earned a degree in landscape architecture at Mississippi State and interned with Palmer in '97. Full time since 2000, he's seen changes along the way. "Golf equipment technology affects the game," he says, citing the difference between the 7,000–7,200 yards previously shot to the 7,600 yards that are now possible with today's high–tech clubs. Layton is currently working on the 18–hole Seven Falls golf course outside of Asheville, North Carolina (complete with 50–foot waterfalls) and Owl's Head in Freeport, Florida, a gently rolling site with sandy soil. "Seeing the course you've worked on for people to enjoy is fulfilling," says Layton. "Getting there on a private plane is great too," he jokes. "I feel very fortunate."

ERIC WILTSE, Golf Course Architect

When Eric Wiltse moved as a kid with his family from Michigan to Ponte Vedra, Florida, he found himself across the street from the PGA Tour. His fate was sealed. As a volunteer at the PGA, Wiltse met Harrison Minchew, one of Arnold Palmer's first architects and a pioneering force behind Palmer Course Design (now APDC). After high school graduation, Harrison offered him a position doing "stuff no one else wanted to do," recalls Wiltse. Fast–forward 17 years, and Wiltse is a vital part of the Palmer team. "I learned in the field," he says, citing Senior Golf Course Architect and Director of Environmental Design Vicki Martz and Minchew, Senior Golf Course Architect and Director of Design Services, as key influencers. Recalling a time when ink pen was still placed on Mylar plans, Wiltse started as a draftsman. By 1993, however, automated design software was becoming the norm. "I was given the program and told to ‘figure it out,'" Wiltse recalls jokingly, a great opportunity to delve in to the AutoCAD technology that would make him the team's go–to guy for all things technical. Beyond mastering the art of AutoCAD, Wiltse went on to create the entire IT infrastructure at APDC and is involved in design and project work. "Seeing the course through to inception, and watching people enjoy it," Wiltse concludes, "That's really the best part."

DAVID COUCH, Design Associate

The youngest member of the team, 26–year–old David Couch interned at APDC as part of an environmental architectural design program at his high school. Not only did it get him a "leg up" for his career, it put him on a path to golf course design from which he's never veered. After high school, Couch studied landscape architecture at the University of Florida, although he counts his work at APDC as his true education. "I'm more interested in reality versus theory," he says. He is currently working with lead Palmer designers on international projects including a course remodel just outside of Paris and a new course in St. Lucia. Exciting travel opportunities have come hand in hand with his professional growth. "It makes a big difference to see projects in the field," he says. "It's a long process from bubble diagrams to teeing off…. But seeing the project through to completion is a great reward." Attending last year's Ryder Cup in Dublin, on a course designed by APDC, alongside his colleagues and Arnold Palmer himself? In a word: priceless.

BRANDON JOHNSON, Golf Course Architect

"Love of golf." A simple answer to the question of why Brandon Johnson got into the golf course design game. Johnson says art, a love of the outdoors and a talent for landscaping also factored into his chosen career path. The self–described rookie of the team (hired in 2006), Johnson earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in landscape architecture. During his undergraduate work at UNC he learned design fundamentals, enhanced his artistic ability, studied grading, plants, urban design, residential design, park planning and more. At Harvard, where he earned his master's, projects included combining technical aspects of landscape design with a personal, artistic touch. Sophisticated degrees aside, Johnson started as an intern, like many of his colleagues. As an intern at the PGA Tour, he met and played golf with future colleague Thad Layton. Johnson's current projects include the AtlanticA, a course that's part of a 2,200–acre real estate development in the Dominican Republic with breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean. "It's exciting because of the ability to put golf holes close to water and blend two visions," he says.