My 10 favorite golf course architects and their standout layouts. 1 Tom Doak. Doak has been the talk of the golf world ever since his Oregon coast meisterwerk Pacific Dunes created worldwide attention. Golf is Bandon's ... 2 Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore. 3 Tom Fazio. 4 Pete Dye. 5 Jack Nicklaus. More items
The English architect has been involved in the design of over 300 golf courses, 115 of his own creation, including the mentioned redesign of Royal Portrush Golf Club. He did many relevant modifications such as the two new holes in an area known as “The Triangle”, and the 5th hole, called “WhiteRocks”.
Her work at The Springhaven Club made her part of golfing history as the first female architect of golf courses in the world. The master architect of the world-famous golf course St. Andrews was mother nature. Besides her though, we have to credit the amazing work of Allan Robertson.
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.
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.
Dick Wilson (golf course architect)Louis Sibbett "Dick" WilsonBornLouis Sibbett Wilson 1904 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United StatesDiedJuly 5, 1965NationalityAmericanOccupationGolf course architect1 more row
Jack Nicklaus DesignJack Nicklaus Design Considered by many the best player of all time and one of the world's leading course designers, his firm Nicklaus Design has over 310 courses opened to date.
His basic concept is simple: to leave a lasting legacy that is “challenging fun.” Mickelson National Golf Club is Phil's first golf course design in Canada and the centerpiece of Harmony, a 1,700-acre community built by partners Qualico Communities, Bordeaux Developments and Windmill Golf.
Alan Robertson, of St. Andrews, Scotland, was paid to layout out golf courses in the mid 1800s.
HS Colt. I think a strong case for making Mr. ... Pete Dye.I believe it is fair to say that Mr. Dye is the best of the modern era golf designers. ... AW Tillinghast. ... Tom Doak. ... Tom Morris. ... Perry Maxwell. ... CB MacDonald/Seth Raynor.
1884Old Works is situated on one of the largest Federal EPA Superfund waste sites in America. From 1884 to 1902, the Old Works area was the original site of the first copper-smelting facilities that were built in Anaconda to process ores from Butte.
Deer Lodge CountyDeer Lodge County, MontanaDeer Lodge CountyCountryUnited StatesStateMontanaFounded1865SeatAnaconda18 more rows
111 milesYes, the driving distance between Anaconda to Missoula is 111 miles. It takes approximately 1h 36m to drive from Anaconda to Missoula.
"We were very impressed with the Arcis leadership team and their commitment to their members and guests, and we look forward to continuing our business relationship." Arcis paid $9 million for the private Stone Canyon Club in Oro Valley, according to Vizzda.
Mickelson, who at the age of 50 became the oldest major champion in history at the US PGA, has decided to sell three private courses (The Stone Canyon Club, The Golf Club at Chaparral Pines, The Rim Golf Club) and three pay-and-play courses (McDowell Mountain Golf Club, Ocotillo Golf Club, Palm Valley Golf Club) to ...
Designed by 1981 U.S. Open and 1979 PGA Champion, David Graham, and golf course architect Gary Panks, Grayhawk's Talon course is one of the most exciting and dramatic tests of Sonoran Desert golf in the Southwest.
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. But Pinehurst No. 2, which will host the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women's Open in 2014, is widely considered to be his legacy.
David McLay Kidd. Kidd, a Sco tsman, gathered worldwide attention after his inaugural design at Bandon Dunes on the rugged Oregon coast. This seaside gem located on pure links land put the village of Bandon on the golf map and helped make Bandon Dunes a first-class golf resort.
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.
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.
Jack Nicklaus. While the Golden Bear is arguably the best golfer of all time, his course designs are a constant subject to criticism -- especially his earlier designs. They were described as too hard and demanded players to play a number of high fades -- Nicklaus' trademark shot.
Architects, however, were often able to pick the land of their choice. They did not have to work around home sites, and there were no environmental restrictions. Today's designers often have enormous budgets and can move all the dirt they want, but there are many other challenges they have to deal with.
Jim Engh. I would argue that most golf course architects are artists, but Engh is a real artist in the truest sense of the word. He really thinks outside the box, and many of his creations aren't without critics. His "love it or hate it" style surely polarizes.
1961: Pine Tree Golf Club | Boynton Beach, Fla. - Dick Wilson, who worked with great Canadian architect Stanley Thompson, turned the profuse flanking bunkering and runway tees that marked "Dark Age" golf course design into high art. The tee box on the par-5 16th at this private club in Boynton Beach is 147 yards long. Sam Snead used to bet visitors that they couldn't hit a 7-iron from end to end. He cleaned up. Hogan called the course "maybe the best flat golf course in America." He's not far off; it's a wonderful example of post-war architecture.
1990: Troon North Golf Club (Monument) | Scottsdale, Ariz. - Troon North helped accelerate the development of high-end golf in the desert surrounding the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, and it also helped institute the country-club-for-a-day model, where daily fee golfers started to be treated to perks like cushy locker rooms, personalized service, immaculate course conditions and triple-digit green fees. Architects Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, who had considerable success in the last two decades of the century and the early 2000s, added to their successful Troon North debut with the 1995 opening of the Pinnacle Course.
Nicklaus and Fazio, they're signature designers too. Presales are the key. Players get people to come out, but once the golf course opens I don't think they care so much. Once the golf course opens, it doesn't matter who the architect is.
Former ASGCA president Jeff Brauer has gone on record as saying that few golfers even know who designed their course. If this is true, then maybe, as Brauer suggests, the money that went to pay the signature designer should be spent on the physical plant of the golf course.
The giant Mission Hills golf complex in China has ten courses, each of which is attributed to a different name designer. Large, well-known design firms such as Fazio Designs and Robert Trent Jones II hoover up projects that might otherwise have gone to up and coming architects.
The signature is a front man for some young apprentice or project design architect who might have only a few years' on-the-job training and limited experience. These factors generally lead to stereotyped, common results.". A common complaint from architects is that the involvement of signature designers forces up costs.
In most businesses, marketing is just as important as product quality, and there's no reason to surmise that the golf industry should be any different. Golf is a marginal economic proposition. Not all new golf developments survive and make money; indeed, probably a majority fail.
Jack Nicklaus too, for all that his is probably the ultimate signature in marketing terms, is widely respected for his architectural ability: others may not always appreciate his firm's work, but no-one doubts his professional compete nce. Other examples, though, are less clear cut.
Nicklaus' appetite for golf course design might have come as early as the mid-60s when Dye asked him out to the look at The Golf Club near Columbus, Ohio, Nicklaus' home town. A few years later, the two would collaborate on the now classic Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head, S.C, and a few other courses before Nicklaus would strike out on his own.
The 15th hole at PGA National's Champion Course kicks off the infamous "Bear Trap," which is one of the most challenging stretches of holes on the PGA Tour. Courtesy of Getty Images
So far in this decade, Nicklaus has shown a great deal of versatility in his design, including reclamation projects built on brownfields. But he's also on the short list when luxury golf communities on prime coastal property begin looking for an architect.
The golf course boom had really taken hold in the 1990s, not just domestically but also around the world. During these years, he landed some of the most spectacular tropical oceanfront property on the planet.
Shortly after collaborating on Harbor Town, Nicklaus landed his first solo gig, and would soon after design what many consider the best course of his entire portfolio. Speaking to his design longevity, his top designs in this decade remain PGA Tour hosts.