Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ed called this area home. A graduate of Columbia Technical Institute, he worked as an engineer for the local power company. During that time, he developed his game and became a scratch golfer – winning his club championship several times as well as many local and regional events. He even qualified through local and regional events and played in the U.S. Amateur Tournament at Baltusrol Golf Club. He also held several prominent roles when he wasn’t playing, such as serving on the USGA Green Section, and becoming president of the District of Columbia Golf Association.

Because of his love for the game, notoriety in the region, and his general engineering know-how, local clubs started asking for Ed’s advice regarding various aspects of their courses (how best to re-bunker a hole; fix a drainage problem; etc.). As these opportunities grew, and his time in service at the power company went past the 20-year mark, he retired and started in golf consulting and design in 1958. He enclosed a porch on the side of his house for an office, and his wife became his secretary. Through meetings with golf architects such as Fred Findlay and Robert Trent Jones Sr., Ed refined his design skills, and was soon working on new courses as well as the remodeling of existing courses. He rode the wave of the ‘golf boom’ of the 1960’s very well, designing several new courses in the greater Washington, D.C. area, and quickly expanded his list of projects into other nearby states.

Ed was very proud of becoming a member of ASGCA in 1973, and later headed up the Design Standards Committee. He reached Fellow status in 1984. During his time in the Society, he was always a strong advocate for the members to not hesitate to share their ideas and providing ways of handling various design situations. He hoped this would increase the general professionalism of the Society.

Ed brought Tom Clark into his business (Edmund B. Ault, LTD.) in 1971, and his son, Brian, in 1973. In 1986, they formed a three way partnership and renamed the firm Ault, Clark & Associates, where Ed worked until his passing in 1989.