Nicolas Joakimides

founder of " Off The Beaten Track Golf Design"

I am interested in creating original courses ,or great practice areas. I have a lot of ideas ( check the " Crazy ideas for the future" tab and the "achievement" tab).

Because I have been playing on Tour and also teaching golf for over 20 years, I am totally aware of how the game is played from beginners to Tour players and how a "fun"golf course could be designed for all.

I can design any type of golf courses. However I think the best course is the one that will closely respect the land... The environmental aspect is naturally integrated into the design and will be fully implemented if needed.

I have a Youtube channel about golf course architecture ( Off The Beaten Track Golf Design) and I am the founder of

the labels : Women friendly Golf Course and Nature-for-Golf ( more information below).

Designed golf courses for all ...

I would say : "No one has done it yet, but ...YES ! , it is possible to design a challenging golf course and a totally playable course for high handicaps, seniors, juniors and women ! ". In order to achieve that, we will need a 220 yards gap between the back tee and front tee on par 5's !

Do you see this frequently ?

Also , when I design the greens and the approaches , I have many features at my disposal to challenge the best while facilitating the average player .

Example : 18th hole of the old course in St andrews; good players are challenged by the depression called "valley of sin "; Average players don't see it as a problem because they can hit a low chip if they don't feel comfortable with a lofted club. And the bank behind the green might stop some long balls.

No problemo !

Women Friendly golf courses

About ten years ago, I was able to identify an anomaly that a lot of people now recognize about the women’s game. Courses are too long and sometimes too technical. Winter tee boxes are… non-existent.

All the courses I designed are "women friendly ".

I want to encourage golf courses to follow this movement. This is why I created WFGC, the label.

Women Friendly Golf Course label is attributed to golf courses under specific conditions, to enhance the overall women’s golf experience.

We want more women playing the game ! Meaning more money for the club.

Dedicated website: womenfriendlygolfcourse.com

Women Friendly golf club playlist on YOUTUBE : OTBTGolfDesign

website : womenfriendlygolfcourse.com

Eco-Friendly

golf courses

My secret life ...

I am not only a golf course designer !

I live in the heart of nature on a 7 ACRES plot of meadow and forest, completely self-sufficient in water, electricity and firewood.
I have created a forest garden at home and planted 200 trees including 50 fruit trees.
I built a permaculture garden and created two ponds for biodiversity.
I often buy products locally because I live in an eco-village.
I eat organic food and drink filtered rainwater that I collect.

Now that you know how I live , you can understand why I would like golf courses to take positive action for the environment. No golf course will be perfect, but small actions will benefit the environment, the plant and animal worlds.
I am someone close to nature who wants to continue playing golf.
On all the courses I have played (over 450), I have seen actions going in the right direction, and I believe it’s important to continue on this path, perhaps even moving to the next level.

Nicolas joakimides is the founder of Nature-for-Golf , a label attributed to golf courses which decided to respect nature and life in general ; Players can still fully enjoy their game; It turns out that they decide to act for the environnement...and they are happy to communicate about it.

However , each golf club will choose on wich criteria they want to improve depending on their location and priorities.

WEBSITE & LOGO are schedulded to be ready by April 2025