In golf, a "break" is the slope of the green that causes the ball to deviate from a straight line. It’s a term that also defines Jim Engh’s career as the country’s premier golf course architect.

The words “it can’t be done” often fuel his dogged determination. Or is it stubbornness?

“Some say stubborn, I say focused,” quips Engh. “I am pigheaded. My nickname is Muley. It’s my best and worst trait.” Determination came from growing up in North Dakota. “The cold weather and hard work didn’t affect you,” he said. “I learned there’s not much you can’t fix with baling wire and a pair of pliers.”

Engh’s parents nurtured his creative talents and passion for Colorado. His father, the local John Deere dealer in Dickinson, N.D., supplied equipment and time to help build a community golf course, which opened in 1958, the year Engh was born. Also during the 1950s, his mother and a friend went to the Black Hills of South Dakota and tried out skiing. She brought that passion back to the family, and they enjoyed frequent ski trips to Steamboat, Colo. That connection pointed him to live and go to school in Colorado after high school.

Ironically, a golf-cart accident when he was a child left him with one kidney. “That’s why I’m stubborn -- from being on a deathbed when I was 2 years old,” he said. He didn’t realize how serious the accident was until he saw the medical records years later. “My mom spent months with me in Rochester. After she died, I found letters she had written to my dad during that time. Pretty sad stuff.”

Big break #1: CSU

“Everyone gets the same number of breaks in life,” said Engh. “It’s up to each person to be aware and acknowledge the opportunities – then act upon them.

"My first big break was getting accepted at CSU," he said. During his first week of classes, Engh learned golf course design as a career is fiercely competitive. But instead of derailing his dream, it challenged him.

Engh graduated in 1985 with a degree in Landscape Architecture. Four years of design and construction experience during college years helped land his first job heading up a couple of design firms in Europe, sometimes working in five countries in five days.

Big break #2: Monie

“I met my wife, Monie, in 1986 and we were married six months later. She turned me into someone. She gave me a solid base and keeps me on the right track,” he said. “We’re complete opposites, but we have the same moral fiber that ties us together.” They are devoted parents to a son and daughter.

Big Break #3: The Sanctuary

In 1991 Engh moved back to Colorado. “A couple years later, Dave Liniger (c hairman and founder of RE/MAX) and I played together in a tournament,” said Engh. “He had a dream. Dave bought some land near Sedalia, Colo., f or horses but found it wasn’t suited for them, so he decided to build a golf course.” Some turned away from the impossible task. Engh saw it as a big break. “Others said it couldn’t be done on that land,” said Engh. “Fortunately I didn’t know that, so I forged ahead.”

In 1996 Engh designed and built Liniger’s new course, The Sanctuary, an exclusive private club that offers a place to hold special events and charity tournaments. When the course was named first on the list of “ America 's Best New Private Courses” in 1997 by Golf Digest, a floodgate of other awards and projects opened for Engh.

Pushing the envelope

Today his company, Engh Golf Design Group, Castle Rock, Colo., has grown to three employees including Engh. He still sketches out his designs on paper “in the dungeon” – his basement – where he does his best work from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

“I have a strong visual memory, so I’m able to go through the creative process from concept to sketches,” he said. His colleagues transfer his designs to electronic representations. Designing requires him to looks at things creatively, but also in consideration of limitations such as water, utilities and natural areas.

Engh’s signature creative element is to “push the envelope,” and try things no one else has done. Case in point: On one of his current projects, the Reynolds Plantation in Georgia, he sketched three great green sites on one hole. “I told the developers ‘let’s build all three and let the players decide.’ After they all stopped laughing, they thought it was a good idea,” he said.

“I’ve found that even when you do something perfectly, 15 percent of the people will say you did it wrong,” he said. “But the 85 percent are going to go for one hell of a ride. Achieving success is not being afraid of the 15 percent.”

The more challenging and difficult the project, the more appealing it is to Engh. A few years ago, he played Carne, a links course a mile outside of Belmullet, a fishing village in northwestern Ireland. It’s difficult to get to, but the golf and the Guinness are well worth the trip. “The first time I played it, it blew me away,” said Engh. “It’s a wild and crazy place over there. Ireland expands my mind – tells me what’s possible.”

Engh developed a brotherly bond with the locals. They were equally inspired. The merging of passions motivated Engh to design and add another nine holes to Carne’s existing 18 as a project backed by local economic development and tourism.