Don Herfort graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1951, earning a degree in Business Administration. Herfort then accepted a position working at a large corporation in the Minneapolis area known as 3M. While working for 3M, he was asked to design the 3M Tartan Park Golf Course, launching his career as a golf course architect.

During a career which spanned more than 40 years, most of Herfort’s work was in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, with other projects in the states of Iowa, Michigan, and South Dakota. Herfort hired Kevin Norby, ASGCA in 1991 and later named the firm Herfort-Norby Golf Course Architects, a name that still remains today.

Herfort was elected into ASGCA as a member in 1970 and was promoted to Fellow status in 1995. He served with the organization for 41 years until his death in 2011.