Architect #6 Donald Ross

Best Course: Pinehurst #2

Other notable work: Seminole, Oakland Hills, Scioto, Pine Needles, Inverness, Oak Hill

Overview: Under advisement of John Sutherland, Ross went to study club making with Old Tom Morris and eventually returned to Royal Dornoch becoming greenskeeper and head professional. Ross was later convinced to come to Boston to take the same position with Oakley GC where he would eventually meet the Turfs family who were members. Ross was soon asked to become the winter professional at Pinehurst which lead to a long and storied history with the resort.

The work at Pinehurst drew a great deal of attention and made him sought out for his designs services. His contacts throughout the north-east meant he was always added to the demand for his services. Despite this he managed to stay on with Pinehurst as the manager throughout his entire career.

His style was certainly influenced by the links and Royal Dornoch’s greens in particular, but too many have made the mistake of pointing to the similar greens at Pinehurst as typical rather than atypical of his work. Additionally too many people have simplified his work down to a style which is unfortunate since his work was more varied than most people realize. Just look at the early photos of a course like Seminole and you will realize he was more adventurous than given credit.


Seminle's 6th











Praise for the work: His courses are more subtle and understated than any other famous architects in history. The bunkering is often minimal and the flourishes are few, but his courses are just as strategic and just as interesting as any of the great architects in history. Where someone like Thompson found flamboyance, Ross discovered the value of restraint.

There are so much many areas to praise his work from the outstanding skill in routing courses through to his use of strategically placed bunkers. He seemed to revel in the placement of a key bunker in the position you most wanted to be, often leaving you with lots of room to go around, but the knowledge that you had to take on the bunker in order to take on the hole.


Pine Needle's 3rd












The lasting impression of Ross will be forever at the greens. His contours were some of the wildest I have encountered and many of the greens have burned a lasting impression in my head as the easiest way to defend a hole against length. The even greater legacy is his surrounds and the use of short grass as a defense. By keeping the areas around greens short he has opened up the ground options for players, but when the slope is sharp enough he has created the nastiest of all hazards. This one looks serene right up until your ball comes up short and turns around and heads back towards you - slowly enough to be agonizing and deflating. Where it gets worse is when an aggressive near miss hits the side slope careens the ball away further away and usually into a horrible predicament. The short grass slope is Ross’s greatest lesson to the rest of us.

Criticisms: There is little to criticize architecturally, although many of his greens have become way too difficult as the grass has become shorter. There are people that feel some of the courses like Pinehurst #2 are not good design because of the extreme nature of the slopes on and around the greens. Others have called his work dull and suggested that most of the holes look quite similar. The line between subtle and dull is so close that one person's boring is another person’s genius


Oakland Hill's 11th










Great Quotes: “Often the highest recommendation of a bunker is when it is criticized. There is no such thing as a misplaced bunker. Regardless of where a bunker may be, it is the business of the player to avoid it”

Favourite Course: Pinehurst #2
Where else can the professionals not shoot par and yet and average player can get around without losing a ball. The greens are the course and the slopes around them are the defense. Get aggressive and miss and you pay the price, manage your game and play short for position on occasion and you will win all bets. The course is an education in course management as well as design.



Pinehurst # 2 's 18th













What I take from him: Bill Coore praises him for “his simplicity and effectiveness for golf.” He teaches us all that one well placed hazard is often enough and that short grass is truly the architect’s best defense – not bunkers. Ross is more strategically effective in the smallest of contours than most modern architects are with the massive contours that they change.
He teaches me to simplify, to look for smaller and more effective details in design. He reminds me that the key attribute least used in current design is restraint.

Next Architect: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2007/07/architect-5-george-thomas.html

Architect #7 Stanley Thompson

Best Course: St. George’s G&CC

Other notable work: Jasper Park, Banff, Highland GL, Capilano, Kawartha, Catarqui

Notable Renovations: Beaconsfield

Overview: Stanley Thompson began his career working for his brother Nicol Thompson and George Cumming. He quickly found himself on his own with a large busy business designing and building courses when Nicol and George decided that they had too much work to do and retreated to their positions at their respective golf clubs.

St. Georges 12th hole














Stanley’s business continued to grow between all the new contracts he had for courses and the number of construction projects he had for building courses for other famous architects like Charles Alison. Stanley’s business continued to expand from coast to coast leading to larger projects and wealthier clients - which culminated in his work for the two great Canadian railroad companies. The course at Jasper was his first prominent commission, but it was the work at Banff Springs that would cement his place as one of the preeminent architects of his time.

At Banff he was inspired by the shapes of the mountains and the valleys around the site and set out to use those forms in his bunkers. The bunkers began to take on a style that would become a trademark feature for many of Thompson’s greatest courses. This new style of bunkering was so awe-inspiring it managed to compete on equal footing with the surrounding mountains for golfer’s attention. The work was so good that Thompson was rushed back to Jasper to make those bunkers just as inspiring!

Banff's famous 8th

Praise for the work: Very few architects can match Thompson’s flair for the dramatic. Thompson certainly had a sense of humor and combined that with a great deal of talent to come up with some of the most artistic and interesting features golf architecture has seen. He was not opposed to creating the odd horseshoe, man’s head or octopus in order to create a memorable feature – but also managed to place these flourishes in with a series of great bunkers so that the feature just blended into the picture to be found only though close inspection.

His bunkering that was so varied that no two bunker ever looked alike on his courses. They were so intricate that they changed shape and forms as you walk by and are often as interesting seen backwards as they are from the front. He believed in borrowing the scenery around the hole and often cleared the holes extra wide so that you can see more of the landscape beyond. There are very few other architects that can match the aesthetic of a Thompson course – he is perhaps without peer in this area.

Thompson believed in playability and more than any other architect previously mentioned thought of the common man (“dub”) as a target in his designs. While he did create and plan holes for the finest players, he almost always created enough width for them to be comfortable, and often gave them an alternative way of avoiding the greatest of trouble. The only real exception to this was his occasional heroic hole where he asked the player to step up and hit there finest shot after a series of comfortable holes. The most common element of a Thompson course is they are fun.

Criticisms: While it pains me to say this, I think Stanley’s one weakness is that he often set up a hole for great dramatic effect but left the same holes with somewhat limited strategy. Thompson’s penchant for the dramatic often placed a bunker into a natural hillock because of the visual impact it made, but often left a key position largely undefended since it fell on lesser land. Some bunkers have become important through changes in equipment whereas many of his bunkers were never in play even for the wildest of players – but they look great.

Jasper's famous 18th, loved by Mackenzie









Great Quotes: "Nature must always be the architect's model. The golf course should fit the terrain. The lines of the bunkers or greens must not be sharp or harsh, but easy and rolling. Every now and then I get a mean streak and like to fool the boys a little. But, I never hide any danger. It's all out there for the golfer to see and study."

Favourite Course: Jasper Park
Give me one final round and I will pass on Cypress Point and Pine Valley to play Jasper Park. The golf course provides magnificent long views out to the mountains on every hole. The holes themselves give you plenty of room to enjoy the day, but Stanley also gives you a series of points in the round where you need to step up and make a great shot too. The par three’s are the best collection in Canada ranging from the long 4th to the tiny and diabolical “Bad Bay” at 15.

Highlands short 4th

What I take from him: He’s obviously my number one influence. I try to borrow from his artistry, his showmanship, his sense of humour, his ability to really mix things up, the occasional moment of restraint, the holes without bunkers, the opening up of views, the diagonal use of a hillside to climb a grade, the need for friendly courses, the use of the unusual as part of the design, and the desire to leave the fairways on native grade.
The biggest lesson is the playing experience; you enjoy playing his courses because he never set out to beat you – only to entertain you.

Next Architect: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2007/07/architect-6-donald-ross.html

Architect #8 Seth Raynor

Best Course: Chicago GC

Other notable work: Shoreacres, The Creek Club, Fishers Island, Camargo, Fox Chapel, Yeaman’s Hall

Overview: Seth Raynor, an Engineer, was originally hired by Charles Blair MacDonald to help him lay out The National Golf Links of America. MacDonald was so impressed with Raynor that he hired him to supervise the construction of the National. MacDonald had brought back a series of ideal holes and hole concepts while traveling all over the United Kingdom preparing for the National. All of these concepts had to be adapted to suit the terrain at the National and Raynor quickly displayed the skill in figuring out what land that needed to be altered to achieve MacDonald’s vision. It was Raynor’s ability to understand the cut and fills required and organize the men to carry out the task that made him indispensable to MacDonald. Raynor had also found something that was really exciting and knew this is what he wanted to do.



Yeamans Hall (courtesy of GolfClubAtlas)

MacDonald and Raynor continued to work together in this arrangement at a series of other courses including Piping Rock and Lido. Raynor dutifully followed every direction that the overbearing MacDonald gave and used this opportunity to learn a great deal about golf architecture. Raynor’s role slowly grew as MacDonald grew less interested in golf architecture and he began to make more and more adaptations on his own. In 1915, at MacDonald’s encouragement Raynor set out on his own. Through MacDonald’s wealthy contacts and through his recommendation he was able to create a string of great courses working with wealthy clients throughout the United States.

Praise for the work: Raynor’s routing skills was outstanding the consistent quality of his courses is a testament to that skill. He had a knack for finding great natural holes and combined them with concept ideas to make even more interesting holes. He also managed to find great natural location for full template holes and weaved these into the routing to become a highlight of the course. His past experience with adapting MacDonald’s holes was put to great use adapting his own holes into the land. The main difference being that Raynor was often more subtle than MacDonald with many of the adaptations being a little more restrained. The one great exception to this was Raynor’s desire and ability to combine one or two additional concepts onto one hole creating many of his greatest holes.

A great example of this is The Creek Club’s 6th hole where the hole tumbles naturally down the great hill with the Ocean in the distance. The greatness of the hole comes from the green site that he not only found, but manipulated in order to create a reverse redan and punchbowl green combined. It is one of the most unique and entertaining green sites in all of golf.

The Edan at Camargo (courtesy of GolfClubAtlas)

Criticisms: The criticism for Raynor will always be that he was always working from the design ideas of MacDonald, and while he created a few unique holes, he was largely working from a template. This approach means that Raynor courses can begin to feel similar, in particular the collection of par threes that sometimes follow the exact same formula for all the holes. The only reason I don’t have him higher on my list is the fact that I have trouble separating his skill from the architecture of MacDonald.

Favourite Course: Fishers Island
How many courses can boast the combination of an Alps holes, with a punchbowl green, all set along the oceans edge. There may be a greater collection of architecture at other courses, but the setting is certainly unrivalled in all of his work. There are great examples of many of the classic templates, but so often they are either along the ocean, occasionally over the ocean and at least looking out to the ocean. It does make you wonder what Cypress Point may have been like if he hadn’t died after his first visit to the course

The Alps Punchbowl at Fishers Island (courtesy of GolfClubAtlas)

What I take from him: The ability to adapt concepts is the foundation of great architecture. There was not a more skilled man when it came to taking a full concept and reintroducing it over new terrain or establishing it into a completely new setting. The holes manage to fit wonderfully over any terrain despite the often rigid nature of the architecture which is a testament to his awesome skill.
It has often been said there are no new ideas, just new adaptations of old ideas – perhaps Raynor is still underestimated after all this time.

Next Architect: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2007/07/architect-7-stanley-thompson.html

Architect #9 Old Tom Morris

Best Course: Royal County Down

Other notable work: Muirfield, Lahinch, Royal Dornock, Prestwick (12), Carnoustie, Crail, St. Andrew’s (New), Cruden Bay

Notable Renovations: Machrahanish, Nairn, St. Andrew’s

Overview: The earliest architects laid out their courses right out in the middle of the field and often in a single day. They had no mapping or aerial photos to go by, the simply walked and looked for natural green sites. They plotted back and forth between the green sites until they had a rudimentary routing. They then provided some site direction to how to claim the course from the terrain. They had no ability to alter the natural terrain, so they concentrated on the best green sites and found the best holes that the land would yield. They were very much at the mercy of the men who followed and brought there courses to fruition.




Royal Dornock's 14th










Since there were few architects, they often were brought back to make modifications to improve holes and benefited on the ability to slowly evolve the course. They began to widen fairways, build new greens, add new bunkers and even add new tee areas in order to accommodate the increase in play and the improvement in the abilities of players. They started to add features to the courses that influenced the way holes were played which offered inspiration to the future architects.

Old Tom Morris had apprenticed under Allan Robertson at St. Andrew’s until a disagreement about the gutty caused a rift and Morris left for Prestwick to become head green keeper and head professional. He eventually returned to St. Andrews when Robertson retired to fulfill the same duties until his retirement in 1904. During this time he won the British Open four times, was an architect, and developed both courses through his extensive applications of topdressing sand that vastly improved the putting surfaces.

Praise for the work: The routing he did at Muirfield changed golf course design. It did not go out and back but instead returned to the clubhouse after each nine. The front nine turns clockwise and the back nine runs counter clockwise. As the holes turn the wind is encountered on each side on each nine with no more than three holes in a row are in the same direction. Royal County Down features a similar routing.




The routing for Muirflied









There is no getting around the quality of many of his green sites. He certainly had an eye for the most natural locations, particularly nestled between dunes. He also saw the advantage of plateaus and created some wonderful elevated green sites that were on the tops of dunes rather than in between. He produced most of the great early layouts and was certainly studied by many of the best architects yet to come.

Criticisms: For all the great ones, there are also some courses that were incredibly bad. The original layout at Royal North Devon had an excessive amount of holes that crossed over each other. There are so many blind shots at certain course that you are left to question his routing skills.

The major question comes from what can really be credited to Old Tom Morris. Most of the great courses that he is given credit for have undergone extensive renovations before becoming the inspiration they are today.

Great Quotes: “For true success, it matters what our goals are. And it matters how we go about attaining them. The means are as important as the ends. How we get there is as important as where we go.”



The 3rd at Royal County Down











Favourite Course: Royal County Down
The front nine is my favourite in all of golf. Many point out the number of blind shots, yet each one does not feel blind to me, and when you get over the dune the natural hole that lies out before you is worth the blind tee shot. Every hole ends in another intriguing and interesting green site well worthy of the adventure in trying to get there. Every tee shot is different and each green site presents its own unique challenge of how to best find the green surface. There are more options at County Down than you may first think and often the ideal shot is not the most obvious. After each hole you immediately say I wonder if that would be a better way to play the hole – and isn’t that after all the mark of a great course. And on top of all that Royal County Down is the most beautiful place I have ever played golf.

What I take from him: The selection of natural green sites is the foundation for a great routing.

Next Architect: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2007/07/architect-8-seth-raynor.html

Architect #10 Perry Maxwell

18th at Southern Hills

Best Course: Prairie Dunes

Other notable work: Crystal Downs (w/Mackenzie), Southern Hills, Dornock Hills, Old Town

Notable Renovations: Colonial, Augusta National, Pine Valley

Overview: Perry Maxwell was originally a banker who had an interest in golf and golf course architecture. After the death of his wife in 1919 he made a trip to Scotland to tour the top courses including the Old Course at St. Andrew’s. This happened to eb the time when Maxwell met Alister Mackenzie and arranged a partnership that would lead to quite a few great projects together. Maxwell returned and went into practice as a golf course architect full time using the contacts he made at the bank to help finance design contacts. It was those contacts, particularly with oil companies, that would keep him very busy even when the rest of the architects were struggling to find work.
He had actually built the nine holes at Dornock Hills before this trip, but the trip certainly changed everything for Perry. Maxwell also traveled to see other courses and was particularly influenced by the National Golf Links designing holes that were clearly influenced by what he saw.

Praise for the work: Alister Mackenzie said of Maxwell, “Mr. Maxwell speaks of my ability to make a good fairway or develop a worthy green, but I wish to tell you that in laying out a golf course and to give it everything that the science and art of golf demand, Mr. Maxwell is not second to anyone I know.”

Bill Coore mentions Maxwell as one of his four key influences beginning with the excellence of his routings and finishing with the quality of his greens. Maxwell’s greens were so well thought of that he was invited to rebuild greens at courses including Augusta National and Pine Valley. His use of interior contours was extremely original and it is fascinating how these rolls created really great interior and exterior pin positions at the same time.

The 9th at Dornick Hills










Maxwell’s skill in routing is best illustrated on the front nine at Southern Hills. The first four holes play counter clockwise making an interesting use of both the hill and creek. The next five holes are clockwise around the outside finishing again on the main hill. No two holes in same direction because of the winds and no two holes anything alike. He realized that strong winds limited the player’s options, so even in his architecture he created opportunities for players to still hit fairways and green with a lower flight. The bunkering was also brought to the side to catch the wayward, rather than in front tp penalize the short.

Maxwell believed in moving as little as possible and building his courses at minimal expense. He took what the ground offered and made that a key element in the design, understanding that the rolls and undulations would be enough to confound most good players. Most of his work was limited to the bunkering and greens that would emphasize the strategy that he had prepared in the routing.

Criticisms: There have been a few suggestions that his architecture was too simple and that he may have developed better courses by manipulating a little more of the land. It is has been pointed out that the bunkering can be a little too plain and that a few flourishes of style would have added a great deal to the aesthetics of his courses. I think these opinions come from forgetting where he practiced and (most importantly) “when” he practiced. The mid-west did not have the money or pretense of the big cities in the North-East or West Coast. The architecture reflects the region and its people and likely Maxwell’s values as well.

Great Quotes: It is my theory that nature must precede the architect, in the laying out of links. It is futile to attempt the transformation of wholly inadequate acres into an adequate course. Invariably the result is the inauguration of an earthquake. The site of a golf course should be there, not brought there.

10th at Prairie Dunes













Favourite Course: Prairie Dunes
There is no course that embraces its site quite like Prairie Dunes. It is hard to tell where the prairie ends and the golf course starts. The course features one of the best routings in golf, some of the best bunker work the game has ever seen and a great set of greens to finish the course perfectly.

7th at Old Town at opening












What I take from him: That even when you take a minimalist approach, you still can build the best courses by seeking out the best undulation to create strategy, avoid moving dirt beyond greens tees and bunkers, limited the bunkers required, fit the course to the land, and build great greens that create strategy all by themselves. He also teaches me superior results come from a little more time and a little more work done by hand.

(Thanks to Chris Clouser for inspiration and images, he has also written a book on Maxwell called The Midwest Associate: The Life and Work of Perry Duke Maxwell)

Next Architect: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2007/06/architect-9-old-tom-morris.html

Architect #11 William Flynn

(image courtesy of Geoff Shackelford)

Best Course: Shinnecock Hills

Other notable work: Cherry Hills, Huntingdon Valley, Philadelphia, Rolling Green, The Country Club (Squirrel 9), Lancaster, Cascades, Lehigh

Notable Renovation: Merion

Overview: He began his career as the construction supervisor at Merion and remained on as superintendent for a short time helping establish the course. He would continue to be involved with Merion assisting Wilson in 1924 with a major renovation and eventually would make his own modifications to series of holes leaving the general layout we know today. There are many who feel Flynn should get a co-design credit at Merion.

Flynn partnered up with Howard Toomey just after WW1 with Flynn the designer and Toomey handling the engineering side of the work. They remained partners through to 1933. Flynn hired and trained a series of great assistants and future architects including Red Lawrence, William Gordon and Dick Wilson. Flynn was particularly active around Philadelphia producing a series of solid golf courses which compete with each other for attention. The culmination of an excellent career had to be Shinnecock Hills where he had his finest site and certainly produced his greatest work.

Shinnecock Hills 5th hole

Flynn was more than a designer, he wrote extensively on the issues that effected design and the game including the problems with the ball (in 1927!). He also produced a series of articles on turfgrass and design for the USGA Green’s Section.

Praise for the work: William Flynn was one of golf architectures greatest strategist. His routing skill was certainly one strength of his work and varied to working with the land or running intentionally hard against the contour when he wanted to increase the challenge. He is one of the few architects to really embrace the intentional use of hard cross-slopes and reverse cants to really ratchet up the pressure and difficulty on his courses. While some would dismiss this as a poor choice in the routing, this is far cleverer than most would give him credit for.

Philadelphia CC 3rd hole, notice the use of carry angles

He meticulously planned out his courses from the routing through to detailed design on paper. Flynn’s drawings were certainly the most detailed of any architect of the time and it’s still quite amazing to go out to one of his courses and see how well his plans translated to the field. Flynn also was made site changes or came back to make improvements to his courses often providing more detailed drawings which make following his intent easier than just about any architect from that era.

Criticisms: Flynn certainly knew how to make a course tough. His use of reverse cants to make the player have to work the ball just to stay on the fairway adds a great deal of difficulty to many tee shots. When he follows this up like the 16th at Huntingdon Valley with a green that requires a draw approach from a fade lie, you have one of the toughest holes in golf. Flynn understood the strategic possibilities of the land, the tendencies of side hill lies and often would use this against the player to challenge their ability to hit shots. Many don’t like this, but others like me see this as a brilliant technique – and the way to build for the PGA Tour players without resorting to length.

My personal criticism of Flynn comes from the presentation of the holes themselves. Flynn’s architecture, while extremely well thought out, tends to look very similar. The courses can be hard to distinguish when you see a lot of them – the fact that so many are located around Philadelphia hurts rather than helps his legacy. There is no question in my mind that he should be called the father of modern architecture for how much he controlled the way the player must play his courses. His work is so carefully planned and thought out that it lacks the touch of whimsy or unusual that in my mind creates a more memorable experience.

Great Quotes: “The principle consideration of the architect is to design his course in such a way as to hold interest of the player from the first tee to the last green and to present the problem of the various holes in such a way that they register in the player’s mind as he stands on the tee or on the fairway from tee to green”













Favorite Course: Huntingdon Valley
While I can’t deny Shinnecock is better, Huntingdon Valley is still my favorite for how he chose to route his way through the site. I happen to love the high banked holes on the front nine that either force you to work the ball into the slope to stay on fairways or give you opportunities to occasional “use the grade” to make a shot. I love the contrast on the back nine where he takes you through a variety of holes featuring some great carry angles, clever use of the creek and a dynamite reverse cant hole, all ending on the spectacular uphill 18th. The variety and unique nature of the course make this a must study for architects.

What I take from him: Flynn is a great example of how to use land to influence play. This begins with the value of a cross-slope and the infinite ways it can be used to influence play. His heavily sloped greens teach us how they can be used to add options like the redan style greens or force an approach angle through a stiff green slope. Flynn used carry angles about as good as anyone ever has and is a great study for how to set up a risk and reward shot with hazard placement.

(Wayne Morrison and Tom Paul are currently writing a book on Flynn due out fairly soon)

Next Architect: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2007/06/architect-10-perry-maxwell.html

Architect #12 – Charles Alison

Best Course: Hirono

Other notable work: Hirono, Kasumigaseki, Kawana, Knollwood, Milwaukee, Fresh Meadow, and Sea Island

Notable Renovation Work: assisting Colt at: Sunningdale, Wentworth, Royal St. George’s, Royal Lytham and St. Annes

Overview: Charles Alison is better know as H.S. Colt’s partner than as a great golf course architect, but the body of his work clearly indicates that he was an outstanding designer in his own right. He met Colt while he was building Stokes and Pages and later joined as a construction superintendent. Later on he was made a full partner in the firm with Colt handling most of the work in the British Isles and Europe while Alison became a globe trotter building from North America to Japan. It is the work in Japan that clearly indicates how good Alison was as a designer to the point where he set the standards for all future Japanese architects.

Charles Alison likely had seen more examples of great work than just about every other architect before or after him. He was able to watch Park, Colt and Fowler first hand transform the Heathlands into excellent golf. He was also able to watch contemporaries such as Ross, Tillinghast and Thompson produce some of their best and most influential works. Think about this - he was familiar with all the great links of the British Isles and all the landmark courses in the United States from the National Golf Links through to Pine Valley.



7th at Hirono (all photos courtesy of Tom MacWood)







Praise for the work: All these influences contributed to create the Alison style. This style begins with his distinctive bunkering that was not only grand in scale but deep and intimidating at times. Bunkers were occasionally as large as the greens that they were guarding. They usually featured high flashes of sand and irregular lines in both the bunkers and the surrounding mounds, providing a very unique a beautiful line to his courses. He preferred his bunkers to encroach upon play and loved to create very distinct carry angles for players to consider. He believed that risky lines should be justly rewarded with exceptional position.
He loved to reinforce that idea by tilting the green to one side or the other to emphasize a preferred line. His greens were exceptional the way he used the surrounding mounds as the basis of contour that flows into and through the greens.

He certainly found great routings and made wonderful use of natural undulations but he was one of the earliest architects who was not afraid to push a little dirt around to change a fairway or create a better green site. Often his skill to blend grades into the surrounds hid the work that he did so well, leaving most people to admire a seemingly natural plateau.


Sea Island's use of marshlands






Criticisms: Most criticisms come from the features that make him unique. Some have questioned the depth and amount of bunkering at some projects, but the more common criticism is his occasional use of cross-hazards and forced carries. Many feel that even on a diagonal that Alison relied too much on water to be a critical hazard in his work. From the ponds at Hirono to the use of marshes at Sea Island, it seems an odd choice for a man who had spent quite a great deal of time denouncing the water hazard as to severe a penalty.

Great Quotes: “Water is a bad feature in that the ball cannot be played from it, and in consequence it does not test the golfer’s skill. Its hideous charm lies in the fact that it is inexorable, and its landscape effect is often very valuable.” In regards to Japan he observed, “The Japanese love of ponds and lakes, and their exquisite skill in making them, is known throughout the world. Their love of water-hazards, were it not for their self-control, might develop dangerously.”

Favourite Course: Hirono While I have not seen the course personally, I do have multiple images of all eighteen holes just after completion providing me with a stunning window into what he built. The course makes tremendous use of the natural undulation particularly on the par threes. The bunkering is stunningly beautiful featuring high flashes that work beautifully in the landscape of Japan. The water features created by damning the valley and to the tranquility of the setting making this feel somewhat like a Japanese Garden as well as a golf course.



The famous Timber Point, one of the three or four best in its day





What I take from him: Alison reminds me of the great landscape designers of England, where you are left guessing where nature ends and the architects hand begins. Very few architects can match his ability to provide so rich and beautiful a composition, and yet underneath find a course so rich with playing options and compelling lines. He inspires me towards perfection.

Next Architect: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2007/06/architect-11-william-flynn.html

Architect #13 Willie Park Jr.

Best Course: Sunningdale (Old)

Other notable work: Olympia Fields North), Maidstone, Huntercombe, Notts, La Boulie, Formby, Montrose, Weston, Laval-Sur-Le-Lac, Mount Bruno

Overview: Willie Park was one of the famous Parks of Musselburgh. He was an outstanding player and club maker by trade who gradually lost interest in the business choosing to concentrate on his design business full time in 1910. He is generally thought to be the first “golf course architect” through his work at Huntercombe where he made a series of modifications to the land in order to improve the holes. The influence of what he did at Huntercombe changed the face of golf design immediately with the other great architects of that era embracing his approach and designing their own great courses using modifications to achieve greater holes. Their collective work would have far reaching implications to the future courses in Canada and the United States since they and other architects influenced by them would design the new landmark courses through the same approach of manipulating the land to achieve more strategic and interesting holes.

Willie would end up coming to North America where he would build a series of great courses before having to return home due to his poor health. He was forced to leave commissions like Scarboro behind for Tillinghast and Weston for Charles Alison to complete. He was far more prolific in Canada than the United States.
One fascinating side not about Huntercombe was it was planned as a residential golf community, with Willie having a financial involvement, the lack of rail access made it fail with Willie losing much of his wealth.




Laval's 10th












Praise for the work: Sir Guy Campbell wrote that Park had laid 'the foundation stone of golf architecture' and 'set the standard by which the famous architects who followed.”
While I talked about his important decision to manipulate the land to make improvements, in reality most of his courses were built out of the natural ground. He agreed with Hutcheson assertion that ‘Nature can always beat the handiwork of man.’ He spent far more time modifying green sites than he ever did changing fairway contours. The feature that makes me think of Willie Park is the table top greens, whether natural or built up, he certainly looked for them in routings – even choosing to make them more pronounced with a little extra work at the green site. His greens varied from simpler pitch greens through to some really wild rollercoaster greens at other courses.

Willie’s architecture was influenced by his appreciation of the great links courses, using many of the strategic concepts and features found on links courses, but he also allowed the nature of the Heathland properties to create its own unique bunker style that seemed to fit wonderfully into the site. The bunker style he and others developed have had a huge impact on the foundation of what we think of as a modern bunker in a parkland setting.

Criticisms: There are some courses like Calgary G&CC where holes simply don't work in difficult terrain. Some of his greens are excessively large and limit strategy. Through his Canadian work there are quite a few courses that look remarkably similar in aesthetics and routing techniques.




Maidstone's 9th










Great Quotes: “If a bunker is visible to the player, and there is sufficient room to avoid it, it is the player’s responsibility to steer clear of it.”

Favourite Course: Maidstone
Park's routing masterfully incorporates a series of marshes, tidal pools, ponds and some really fantastic dunes to create a wonderfully diverse and interesting layout. The use of the ponds to create carry angles is particularly compelling at times. The dunesland stretch is one of the greatest stretches of holes in North America with the ninth being one of the greatest holes in golf – the fun part is that is not as natural as you might first think – kudos to Willie for fooling all of us.





Calagary's 2nd












What I take from him: The value of a green site. I’ve always looked at his green complexes with admiration – particularly the plateau style greens he often created. I love the back bunkers set tight and below the back of the green, the use of sharp slopes and even the occasional false front to place a premium on getting to the green (without taking out the average players ability to run the ball in. I particularly like the way he manages to place the natural role right in key landing areas – so that the land more than the bunkers becomes they key determinant of the hole.

Next Architect: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2007/06/architect-12-charles-alison.html

Architect #14 Tom Simpson

Baltray's 5th from behind














Best Course: Morfontaine

Other notable work: County Louth, Chantilly, Royal Antwerp, Cruden Bay (w/Fowler)

Notable Renovation: Ballybunion

Overview: Tom Simpson, the eccentric, was never short of opinion or style. When he showed up to visit a new commission he would often arrive in a Rolls Royce to show the members that he did not need them and thereby was one up in an argument. He was very fond of the saying - being critical is far easier than being correct – of course he was always correct in his own mind. He certainly cut quite a presence showing up to a site wearing a beret and occasionally a cape. It makes you immediately think of Frank Lloyd Wright – only working with golf holes rather than buildings. The personalities and talent are very comparable.
Tom Simpson was particularly prolific in the mainland of Europe designing and renovating a number of very high profile courses. Simpson also had a hand in many major changes to famous links courses including some important changes to Ballybunion. His partnership with Fowler provided him with a great mentor and a string of terrific courses to illustrate his skills.

Praise for the work: Simpson has often been pointed at as a key figure in the development of strategic golf course design. In his book, The Architectural Side of Golf (written with Wethered) he talked about the ideal course and the strategies of golf hole design. He was highly critical of the penal school, calling it the dark ages. His courses were full of options from the tee often with the opportunity to try and take shorter routes or play for ideal position. While many of his hazards required strategic decisions, often it was his green sites that really dictated play. His love of sharp slopes, often combined with some really wild undulations, made the position of the approach paramount. The addition of many short grass slopes around green sites often made the need for accuracy even greater and also added wonderful recovery options around greens.

His routings were magnificent and seemed to flow through the site with ease. He always managed to place a hole or two in a magnificent natural setting that left the player breathless from tee to green. Often these were the holes full of intrigue that required a little more thought - coming at a time when you wanted to soak in the surroundings.

Criticisms: Tom Simpson was not shy and he certainly was not subtle. He often pushed his architecture right to the limits often eliciting complaint from the players that his designs were unfair or two difficult. He often left in natural features or added quirky little knobs or rolls around greens that would infuriate the player who seemingly had hit a perfect shot and then watched it bound into trouble. There are many who have dismissed his architecture as too quirky.

Great Quotes: The point, however, which we have to consider, is that although golf architecture may be a curious and irregular form of architecture, it is architecture none the less. It has to do with building, planning, constructing in as true sense as the most ambitious works of genius with which the art is usually associated. Cathedrals, bungalows, gardens and golf courses may appear to be conflicting examples of constructive ability, yet the principles governing them follow precisely on the same lines.

Favourite Course: Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay is one of the more odd and interesting layouts in golf. It has everything from blinds shots, hazards in the centre of play, punchbowl greens, spectacular carry angles, natural links holes, back to back par threes, a key burn, transition holes through to plateau greens. The variety from start to finish is stunning, from the settings changes through to the mixture of strategies. There are many average holes but often they are important transitions to the next series of spectacular holes – and some are unbelievably good.

What I take from him: I’m going to buy my cape next week. It is the green sites that stand out to me. I love the incredible amount of contour on the surfaces, the use of short grass as a primary defense particularly on green sites on natural plateaus. I find it fascinating how short grass can be a primary defense and the bunkers being a secondary defense. Finally the knolls and rolls around the green (often in front) that really have an impact on play and recovery.

Next Architect: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2007/06/architect-13-willie-park-jr.html

The Conflict Between Architecture and Maintenance

The tee shot on the 8th hole at Jasper Park

I’m still on the road for one last day, so the architect countdown returns on Tuesday. I wrote these thoughts while on the plan today.

I’ve just spent the last couple of days at Jasper Park Lodge playing golf with the Director of Golf Allan Carter and the Golf Superintendent Perry Cooper. The chance to talk with both men about the merits of my favorite Thompson course was a real treat. The moment that stuck with me the most was the two completely different conversations that took place on the 8th hole. To set the stage I will explain the 8th hole. The tee shot is from an elevated tee aimed directly between a 30 high foot ridge on the right and another 30 foot hill on the left both featuring very steep banks where the fairway passes between. The aiming point is made clearer by the narrow band of fairway that flows between these spectacular slopes. The approach shot is then about 30 degrees to the right with the green set on the same angle as the fairway. The green is sloped sharply from back to front with a large treed hillside behind and a sharp drop off on the front left. It is one of the best holes on the course, and one of the best reverse cant holes I have seen – period.

With Allan the first day, we talked about the natural aiming point between the hills, the fact that the land falls sharply left requiring pin point accuracy to try squeeze a ball between the hills, the need for a new back tee to return the correct landing zone, the extra fairway on the left short of the hill that still provides a great line in (just longer), the way the 8th green requires a draw approach from a natural draw lie, the fact that Thompson placed the green so naturally under the massive slope in a natural amphitheater, the deep hollow on the front left that gobbles the short aggressive approach leaving a tough recovery, the fact that he used no bunkers (nor were any needed) and finally the steepness of the green which is hard to see due to the greens proximity to the hill. In short, the hole is flawless.

The approach shot taken from low on the left hill

The next day I played with Perry Cooper and Perry had a completely different view of the hole. The area that Thompson chose for the tee limited tee surface and had the morning sun blocked by the mountain and trees. The natural valley where the fairway is built is directly on top of rock making the turf always wilt in the heat. The carts have to run on the fairway due to the rolls and hills on both sides and are forced through a neck 20 feet wide between the two ridges leaving the turf always stressed out (it was a walking course). The green itself is below a large bowl where water and ice all congregate at the green causing this to be a tough site for winter damage. The trees and mountain beyond are both in a location that limits the early morning sun which makes the spring particularly tough. Add in this is the coldest spot on the course through elevation and location and you can have frost issues up at the 8th green while the rest of the course is easily playable. Perry has his hands full.

The fascinating part of this is the conflict between the two professions. I’m sure Perry would love to move the hole or at least the green site just to give him a fighting chance of dealing with the tough conditions he has to deal with and the expectations that he has to meet. Anyone knowing anything about turf grass in the mountains will know the idea of great turf at Jasper early is a Herculean task for even someone as experienced as Perry. People have the nerve to complain about a bit of winter kill, when the course (in my opinion) was in great shape and will be in magnificent shape in a very short time – the time when they used to traditionally open due to weather. I feel for Perry’s situation at Jasper and this hole in particular. I say this but I could never support any change to the architecture of this hole since it is one of the highlights of the course.

That said I do think they need to: build a new back tee to return the correct landing area for the better players, route a new path left through the trees and around the back of the large hill on the left to take cart traffic out of the middle of the fairway, sand cap the fairway to help the wilting issue, remove trees from above the green, and (without the aid of research) return the feeder slope on the right of the green that should be there to feed the ball into the green. Architects will always find great holes that create tougher situations for superintendents, the trick is to limit the amount they have to deal with and alleviate as much of the potential problems as you can. In restoration and renovation the ideas are the same, you make all the possible improvements to the maintenance issues while keeping the architect’s vision..

Golf Canada Article

I'm unable to continue the Top 25 list this week since my schedule for the rest of the week will keep me from the computer. I'll continue next week when I have time again. I did write an article for Golf canada that was published this month and I thought I would provide it to tide you over.

click on image to enlarge and read

Architect #15 – William Langford

(Courtesy of Geoff Shackelford's "Golden Age of Golf Design")

Best Course: Lawsonia

Other notable work: Wakonda, Harrison Hills, Skokie and Happy Hollow

Overview: William Langford was a civil engineer who graduated from both Yale and then Columbia University. There have been many suggestions that his work was heavily influenced by his exposure to the work of MacDonald beginning with the National Golf Links of America. Others have pointed specifically to Raynor’s work at Chicago Golf Club since it was in his home town. No matter if any particular course influenced him Langford’s work certainly is reminiscent of Raynor, Banks and MacDonald.

Lawsonia's 5th (Courtesy of GolfClubAtlas.com)

William Langford and Theodore Moreau formed their design partnership in Chicago in 1918 and went on to build around 200 courses throughout the Midwest leaving a legacy of excellence and influence in particular for Pete and Alice Dye.

Praise for the work: His work is unmistakable particularly when he used very muscular forms to emphasize a green site or a bunker location. His boldly contoured plateau greens stand out in golf course architecture for their scale and when defended by deep bunkers became intimidating and beautiful at the same time. What makes the green sites so incredible is how he softened his transitions more than Raynor which made his green sites blend in better with the surroundings.

His routings were terrific in the way he would identify the most interesting land for fairways and have the holes tumble up and down the landscape until they would end at either a natural green site or one that he would create. He incorporated ravines, hilltops, and valleys but could also create features that were just as interesting. One particularly effective technique of his was to use bunkers to curve the fairway back and forth like an “s” to create very strategic holes, where a player was asked to consider working the ball both directions to succeed.

The greatest characteristic of his work was the monumental scale he used and how appropriate it was for the mid-west landscape. Where he worked with large open sites he produced features large and powerful enough to compete with the long views and the endless horizon.

Harrison Hills amazing 15th (Courtesy of GolfClubAtlas.com)

Criticisms: Many of the greens are on high plateaus with bunkers or banks so deep that the average player almost has no way to recover. The severity of his features makes them penal. There is also the question about the volcanic appearance of some green sites and whether a more lay of the land green site would have been more natural and more appropriate. Like many others I have brought up, most questions come through the severity of his forms.

Great Quotes: “Hazards should be placed so that any player can avoid them if he gauges his ability correctly, so that these obstacles will make every man’s game more interesting, no matter what class player he is.”

Favourite Course: Lawsonia From the tee you are asked to skirt cavernous bunkers to gain position, the fairways roll up and down an to and thro, the green sites test you nerve and skill with the certainty of trouble if you miss, and finally the wild undulating contours of the greens are some of the more dramatic in golf. From short threes to long muscular fours and fives, the course offers it all from beginning to end. This may be the best course that few know.

Lawsonia's 18th, the flag is the only clue to the massive scale (Courtesy of GolfClubAtlas.com)

What I take from him: Very few can work in a large scale successfully and Langford was one of the very best. He built landforms and features that were able to compete with the vast spaces that he was often asked to design a course over. He knew that in this case size mattered.

Next Architect: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2007/06/architect-14-tom-simpson.html

Architect #16 – George Crump

Best Course: Pine Valley GC

Other notable work: none

Overview: George Crump felt that the only way Philadelphia area golfers were going to compete with other cities like New York was if it had a true championship course to produce and develop the best players. He used his fortune, and the backing of many other prominent investors’ money, to build his dream course in the sand barrens of New Jersey. Crump put the rest of his life aside and moved to the property to continuously walk the property in order to find the best possible routing for the course. In fact he walked the alternatives over and over till he was certain that he had only the best routing and then moved onto the next set of holes to do the same again. He engaged Harry Colt to spend a week on site part way through the process to help him with the routing, and while he followed some advice like the 5th, the course is largely his routing and design. He also brought many other architects including AW Tillinghast to seek ideas and alternatives. This has lead to Pine Valley being called the greatest collaboration in golf architecture, but I personally still see this as Crumps’s master work where he was smart enough to seek and use advice when he needed the assistance.



courtesy of Tom MacWoods article on Crump in GolfClubAtlas.com











Praise for the work: There is not one single weak hole on the course, with many of the holes being among the finest the game has ever seen. He not only set out to build a great course but laid out a plan for certain hole types and a planned mixture of lengths and challenges. The interesting thing is he walked and walked the property until he found the exact mixture he set out to have. There is everything here from the insurmountable hole through to a short and drivable par four. Just look at the first four green sites: a peninsula, a skyline green, a drop shot and a fall away – it continues throughout - no course is as consistently interesting and diverse as this one.

The second reason Pine Valley is special is the setting, which while sometimes compared to Sunningdale, is unique because of the open expanses of sand and scrub. Many architects have copied the idea of islands of green surrounded by expanses of sand and a backdrop of trees but nothing has ever compared favourably to Pine Valley’s magnificent character.

The use of the fairway slopes, green contours and the severity of the hazards leaves the player with one of the toughest tests in the game. The intimidation he feels to execute shots that is punctuated by holes that force you to only hit you best really affects the psyche of the player all round. The interesting thing about the course is after a few plays you realize the fairways are quite wide and there are alternatives on occasion that make the course far more playable than it first appears.













Criticisms: The penalty for missing shots is seen as too severe and many of the holes are felt to be too exacting to be fair. The fact that the areas between tee and fairway are unkempt and usually forced carries is seen as too penal. The bunkering often does not allow anything but a short recovery and occasionally leads to an unplayable lie is seen as unfair.

Great Quotes: “I think I have landed on something pretty fine. It is 14 miles below Camden, at a stop called Sumner, on the Reading R.R. to Atlantic City—a sandy soil, with rolling ground, among the pines.”













What I take from him: There are many things from mixing the green settings, to aesthetics, the use of cross-slopes in the landing areas, green contours, the need for a diabolical hazard on occasion, etc. etc. As you can see this course is an educational institution for an architect - full of so many great lessons on how to plan and design a golf hole. The 13th alone teaches and architect about the use of land to create optional routes and how to use bunkering to emphasize the passive and aggressive lines appropriately – pure genius.

The real lesson from Crump is greatness takes patience. Dedication to one course at a time has shown to be one of the keys to excellence. He never settled for the first routing and kept looking and looking till he found exactly what he wanted the course to be and then spent the time on site getting everything the way he wanted. Greatness lies in the obsession with the details.

Next Architect: http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2007/06/architect-15-william-langford.html