List of golf course architects 1 A 2 B 3 C 4 D. Ben Davey, Australian golf course architect. 5 E 6 F 7 G. Jonathan Gaunt, golf course designer & architect, and a member of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects - www.gaunt-golf-design.com 8 H 9 I 10 J. Robert Trent Jones, Jr. More items...
Building courses with strategy in mind likely started during the golden age of golf architecture. Architects began looking at famous courses and holes that they enjoyed and tried to build holes with similar strategy. Strategy is all about options — providing players with multiple ways to attack the hole, but no clear best route.
As the times changed, so did the art of golf course architecture. Back in the day, there were no bulldozers and heavy machinery, so courses were built with shovels and mules. Architects, however, were often able to pick the land of their choice.
No. 12 at Augusta National features elements of several schools of golf architecture. Welcome to A Beginner’s Guide to Golf Course Design, where we’ll dig into the history, design and meaning of golf course architecture terms you’ve probably heard before but might not fully understand.
1. Pete Dye. Born into a family of golf course designers, Pete Dye followed in his father's footsteps to become one of the most famous golf architects in the country.
Old Tom Morris, the “Grandfather of Golf”, was an innovator in greenskeeping and many modern golf course design techniques. Old Tom Morris got his start apprenticing for Allan Robertson and the pair worked together on a ten-hole design Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland in 1842.
architect Pete DyeWorld Hall of Fame golf course architect Pete Dye was a legendary figure in the history of golf course design and creator of KOHLER Golf venues Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits. He built four courses, all in the top 100 in the United States.
architect Pete DyeMaster architect Pete Dye designed both golf courses, with The Stadium Course being the most recognizable thanks to the intimidating par-3, 17th hole that features the famed island green. Dye's Valley Course was recently recognized in Golfweek Magazine as one of the “Best Courses You Can Play” in the state of Florida.
Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio. Always being worked on and tweaked by Jack Nicklaus and his team (including a complete restoration ahead of the 2021 Memorial Tournament), Muirfield Village is a dream realized for Jack, who wanted to bring a great club to his hometown of Columbus.
Tom Morris Andrews and has won the Open Championship many times over. Back in the day, 1800's, he was the most prolific golf course designer. Some of the courses that are associated with him are: Royal County Down, Muirfield, Royal Dornoch,and Lahinch.
Pete DyeDesigner: Pete Dye designed both courses at Whistling Straits, as well as both courses at Blackwolf Run. Size of the site: 560 acres. Configuration: Whistling Straits is comprised of two 18-hole courses: The Straits and The Irish.
architect Pete DyeA creation of legendary golf course architect Pete Dye, Whistling Straits is a links-style course situated along a two-mile stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline that features open, rugged and windswept terrain.
Pete DyeHerb Kohler and Pete Dye had big expectations for Whistling Straits when they built the course 23 years ago. Kohler sat down and shared how their vision came together and just how the Straits will give golf fans an experience unlike any other venue in Ryder Cup history.
Dr. Alister MacKenzieEven sports fans from other planets know that Dr. Alister MacKenzie designed Augusta National, in collaboration with Jones.
How much does a round of golf cost?COURSE NAMESEPTEMBER – MAY RATEJUNE – AUGUST RATETHE PLAYERS STADIUM COURSEStarting at $600 PER PLAYER*Starting at $450 PER PLAYER*DYE'S VALLEYStarting at $275 PER PLAYER*Starting at $175 PER PLAYER
between seven and 10 million dollarsThis whole golf course was built for somewhere between seven and 10 million dollars.
One hundred pages contain biographical profiles of golf course architects who have positively impacted golf course design. From the pioneers, such as Allan Robertson and Old Tom Morris, through the "Golden Age" of design when the likes of Colt, Alison, MacKenzie , Tillinghast and Raynor left us with a cornucopia of classic courses; to the modern architects such as RTJ , RTJII, Nicklaus and Fazio, whose global portfolios are literally bursting at the seams.
Consequently Morrison, in particular, is underrated. The same can be said for Charles Banks who completed a good number of Seth Raynor ’s courses after his death, and Arthur Croome who assisted Tom Simpson, Herbert Fowler and John Abercromby, but received little or no credit. Donald Ross and James Braid have hundreds of designs to their names, but both architects left much of the physical work to others.
However, we’ve been ranking and rating golf courses now for more than fifteen years and by doing so we subconsciously evaluate the architecture involved and therefore the architect or architects who fashioned each course.
Then there’s a small group of architects who are creating a new Golden Age revival, such as Coore and Crenshaw, Doak, Hanse and DeVries, who all took inspiration from those early 20th century masters and also, perhaps, the likes of Pete and Alice Dye .
For instance, Pete Dye designed the Teeth of the Dog course at Casa de Campo; so allocating those points was easy. However, we found it trickier to work out how to allocate the architectural points for collaborations and for courses that have been altered down the years through restoration, renovation or extending an old nine-hole course to eighteen holes.
But we’ve tried our best to unearth evidence and give credit where we think it’s due.
Lee Schmidt & Brian Curley. Schmidt and Curley might be the most prolific golf course architects you've never heard of, as they have built dozens of golf courses around the world. In fact, the greatest concentration of their work can be found in China - at its two massive Mission Hills complexes, in particular.
Lester George. George is perhaps best known for two private golf club designs in Virginia - the outstanding Kinloch Golf Club in suburban Richmond, and the wild, wonderful Ballyhack Golf Club in Roanoke. But his public designs and redesigns are what earn him a place on this list.
The green on the short, par-4 7th hole at Sweetens Cove is one of the smaller and more severe on the course. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
The opening hole is a par 5 at Sweetens Cove. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
A new deck is nearly installed overlooking the 9th green at Sweetens Cove. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
With Tom Doak, Coore and Crenshaw and Gil Hanse earning recent acclaim for their minimalistic and rustic aesthetics, Eckenrode and his Origins Golf Design firm may be the next to join that pantheon. His highest-ranked course to date is the terrific Barona Creek Golf Club east of San Diego, and his Country Club of the Golden Nugget in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which opened last year, has received rave reviews as well.
The 6th hole is a long par 4 that wraps around a pond. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Donald Ross. Ross , who grew up in Scotland, has more than 400 golf course designs to his credit. As one of the preeminent golf course architects of the early 20th century, he designed such notable courses as Oakland Hills Country Club, Oak Hill Country Club, Seminole Golf Club and Inverness Club.
"Tillie" (as the noted architect was often called) has created masterpieces such as Winged Foot Golf Club, Quaker Ridge Golf Club, Baltimore Country Club, San Francisco Golf Club and Baltusrol Golf Club. His best layout accessible to the public is the infamous Black Course at Bethpage State Park in New York. Obsessed golfers regularly sleep in their cars to get a tee time for the next morning. Bethpage Black, which hosted the U.S. Open in 2002 and 2009, is a tribute to the "Golden Age" of golf course design. A word of caution: The course is extremely challenging, and it isn't too easy to walk (golf carts are not permitted).
The "good doctor" is famous for laying out three of the best golf courses in the world: Cypress Point Club, Augusta National and Royal Melbourne. One course that is often overlooked is Pasatiempo, where MacKenzie spent the last years of his life (he had a home right off the sixth hole). This par-70 layout might be the longest 6,500-yard course on the planet. A number of holes play uphill, and MacKenzie's trademark "finger" bunkers and undulated greens are featured throughout the round.
Dye is infamous for moving "heaven and earth" -- using plenty of railroad ties and laying out sadistically difficult courses such as the Stadium Course at PGA West, Whistling Straits and the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. I have tortured myself on a number of Dye's evil layouts. The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island received worldwide recognition when it hosted the "War by the Shore" -- the 1991 Ryder Cup -- shortly after its inception. The punishing Dye creation features a number of bunkers, water hazards and gorgeous ocean views, and it brought the world's best players to their knees at the 2012 PGA Championship, when the winds were howling.
The course boasts picturesque dunes, pot bunkers and a number of holes situated right along the Pacific. The 16th, a shortish par 4 situated right on the beach, is among my favorite holes anywhere on the planet.
His best layout accessible to the public is the infamous Black Course at Bethpage State Park in New York. Obsessed golfers regularly sleep in their cars to get a tee time for the next morning. Bethpage Black, which hosted the U.S. Open in 2002 and 2009, is a tribute to the "Golden Age" of golf course design.
Stephan Guertler is a golf writer and a member of the Golf Writers Association of America. He is based in Vienna, Austria and travels the world to review golf courses, destinations and resorts.
Welcome to A Beginner’s Guide to Golf Course Design, where we’ll dig into the history, design and meaning of golf course architecture terms you’ve probably heard before but might not fully understand. We’ll explain all of the above, and better yet, teach you how to identify these features and plan your attack for the next time you see one, saving you strokes along the way. In this installment, we’re breaking down the different types of golf courses.
Short courses are great because they take up less land (which makes them cheaper and environmentally friendly), are quicker to play and can be playable even for a first-timer.
Some of these courses include The Old Course at St. Andrews, Royal Troon, Lahinch, and several of the courses at Bandon Dunes golf resort. The 18th hole at the Old Course at St. Andrews. But this doesn’t tell the whole story.
The terrain is often undulating in a similar way to links and the sandy soil is similar as well. Many of the best courses in Britain are heathland courses, including Woking Golf Club, Sunningdale Golf Club, and Alwoodley Golf Club. Woking Golf Club in the UK. Woking Golf Club.
When most people think of links-style golf, they are picturing golf that can be played along the ground with lots of undulation, plenty of dunes and little to no trees. These courses also usually feature pot bunkers as opposed to the larger sprawling American-style bunkers.
Augusta National is among the most famous parkland courses in the world.
Most of the time a club saying they have a “Championship Course” doesn’t mean much other than it is 18 holes, fairly long and fairly tough. The phrase “championship” is often used to distinguish courses if a club has more than one to choose from.
Golf course architecture is a specific discipline of landscape design, with many architects represented in the United States by the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Some architects are highly successful professional golfers who went on to design golf courses.
Steve Ritson, golf course designer & architect, and a member of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects - www.greentygerdesign.com
Pete Dye captained the college team in his youth before going on to qualify for the US Open in 1957. He won the Indiana State Amateur, took part in The Amateur in 1963 and played in five US Amateurs.
For instance, Pete Dye designed the Teeth of the Dog course at Casa de Campo; so allocating those points was easy. However, we found it trickier to work out how to allocate the architectural points for collaborations and for courses that have been altered down the years through restoration, renovation or extending an old nine-hole course to eighteen holes.
Tom Doak studied Landscape Architecture at Cornell University where he won a scholarship to travel to the British Isles, he then spent seven months on the road, literally living on the links.
Harry Colt studied law at Clare College, Cambridge. Twelve months after his 1887 enrolment, he joined the committee of the Cambridge University Golf Club and in 1889 became the club's first captain.
Donald Ross worked with Old Tom Morris at St Andrews in 1893 then spent part of the following season at Carnoustie before returning to serve under the Dornoch club secretary John Sutherland.
We have enough golf courses rating data to sink a small battleship. All we had to do was to add up the points and at first we thought the task would be relatively simple. But, as always, the devil was in the detail.
Welcome to A Beginner’s Guide to Golf Course Design, where we’ll dig into the history, design and meaning of golf course architecture terms you’ve probably heard before but might not fully understand. We’ll explain all of the above in an accessible Q&A format, and better yet, teach you how to identify these features and plan your attack for the next time you see one, saving you strokes along the way. In this installment, we’re breaking down the different schools of golf architecture.
One example is the par-4 17 th hole at the Old Course, known as the road hole. Many holes have been designed with a similar strategy.
Penal holes are some of the most memorable in the world. They can still be dramatic, intimidating, and striking. Having success on a particularly penal hole can be a great thrill. A beloved penal hole in the golf community is the par-3 12th at Augusta National.
These holes earn their name from their tendency to “penalize” the worst golfers without providing them with an avenue to escape.
The hallmark sign of a penal hole is a shot that must be hit correctly with no chance at recovery for a miss. Part of the intrigue of a penal design is that it should make golf more “fair.”. Some argue you should be penalized if you don’t hit a shot properly. But this can make golf, well, kind of boring.
A heroic hole makes you think about risk and reward even more than a strategic hole because the penalty for missing is severe, but the reward for pulling off a great shot is prominent. On these holes, good players can take high-risk shots, while weaker players still have an easy path to the hole, just with less chance for a great score.
A heroic hole makes you think about risk and reward even more than a strategic hole because the penalty for missing is severe, but the reward for pulling off a great shot is prominent.