As a youth, Denis Griffiths played numerous sports—but golf was never one of them. In fact, his entrance into the golf world only came after a bum knee prevented him from entering the military and fighting in Vietnam. Once he began working, however, Denis' industriousness and intelligence earned him an increasingly respected position as an architect. After obtaining a degree in Landscape Architecture from Iowa State University, Griffith landed a job at Davis, Kirby & Player, Inc. When Davis and Player moved on, Griffiths and Ron Kirby continued to work together, even taking behind–the–scenes work for Jack Nicklaus' firm. Nicklaus Design later offered to absorb both men, and while Kirby accepted, Griffiths decided to buy the original Davis, Kirby & Player Corporation in 1987. Since then, he has been working from Atlanta as Denis Griffiths & Associates. DGA's primary premise for its designs is taking maximum advantage of the existing terrain and blending the routing into a site's natural character. The company has an industry reputation for completing challenging courses that are interesting and fun to play for players of all skill levels. Around the world, the firm has completed projects in England, Spain, South Africa, Japan, Thailand, and Scotland. Denis is one of only a few American golf course architects to complete course designs in St. Andrews, Scotland, the birthplace of golf. He now prefers to keep his projects closer to home, and in total, he has designed or renovated approximately two dozen courses in Georgia. Staying near home allows Denis to visit his projects more often, in addition to affording him more time to pursue his hobby of tinkering with cars and equipment.