[7] While he was still an undergraduate at Ohio State University, Hurdzan was an Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) student.

[6] Hurdzan was commissioned ROTC Second Lieutenant into the United States Army in 1966, and was serving in the Chemical Corps until 1967 when he had a break from active duty to attend graduate school at University of Vermont.

Hurdzan continued to serve with the United States Special Forces, and held many commands before retiring in 1996 at the rank of a Colonel.

[2][7] A senior writer and equipment editor for WorldGolf.com (powered by Golf Channel), Kiel Christianson wrote that "[Hurdzan] served for 23 years as commander of Green Beret[s] and Psychological Operations units in the U.S. Army Reserve, specializing in survivalist tactics.

As a commander for the U.S. Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets, Hurdzan prepared his unit in case it needed to be called to action in theaters of war or conflict, such as Vietnam.

Richman also wrote that an architecture editor for Golf Digest, "[Ron] Whitten is convinced that Hurdzan, who chose not to pursue the rank of general, earned his stripes.

Twice Hurdzan's orders to join the fighting in Vietnam were canceled (he was supposed to go there to spray jungles after he was schooled in chemical, biological and radiological warfare).

Richman concluded that, "convinced he has lived a charmed life, [Hurdzan is] thankful now that Vietnam wasn't in the cards for him so long ago.

According to Howard Richman in the December 2012 issue of the Golf Course Management (GCM) Magazine, Hurdzan said, "I looked around, thought, 'There's no way I'm going to beat those guys.'

[6] Hurdzan is a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, and was once on its board of governors; he is a member of its Environmental Impact and Professional Development Committees.

[7] In 1995, at Golf and the Environment initiative of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, he was a member of the national steering committee and was on its board of directors too;[14] he was also on the agronomy advisory poard of the PGA Tour in 1998.

[14] Bradley S. Klein wrote in the Golf Magazine that "Until recently, Hurdzan was an Army Colonel (Special Forces Branch).

[18] Hurdzan is an author of many books and articles "covering from turf selection, construction technique and wetlands management to risk and liability assessment.

[14] One of his books, Golf Course Architecture: Design, Construction & Renovation, which was translated by Georg Boehm in German,[21] has been described as "one of the definitive modern volumes on the subject.