Jim Engh received a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture with a concentration in Turfgrass Science from Colorado State University. He also received certification in project management from the University of Wisconsin. Upon his graduation, Jim spent several years learning from established golf course architects such as Dick Nugent, Ken Dye, and Joe Finger. Jim also worked for two prominent golf course construction companies–Landscapes Unlimited and McCumber Golf Construction–where he learned to understand how golf courses can most efficiently and economically be constructed, maximizing and monitoring clients' overall budgets. In 1987, Jim joined the British golf course design organization Cotton Pennick as its Director of Golf Course Design and Construction. During his tenure with Cotton Pennick, the firm was acquired by Mark McCormacks' International Management Group, and Jim became the Director of Golf Course Design for IMG Developments at its European headquarters in London. Jim chose to start his own firm in 1991, James J. Engh Golf Design. The company provides efficiency, professionalism, creativity, and dedication to its clients, and its work has not gone unrecognized. In 2003, Jim garnered his third straight win in Golf Digest's annual survey of "America's Best New Courses," and Jim was named Golf Digest's Architect of the Year for 2003.