Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (June 20, 1906 – June 14, 2000) was a golf course architect who designed (or re-designed) about 500 golf courses in at least 40 US states and 35 other countries all around the world. It has been jokingly said that, "The sun never sets on a Robert Trent Jones golf course."
Born in Ince-in-Makerfield, England, Jones accompanied his parents to the United States at the age of five. The family settled in East Rochester, New York where young Robert took a job becoming the first golf professional at Sodus Bay Heights Golf Club which is located in the Sodus Point, NY area. He became an avid and skilled golfer as a youth, but health problems prevented him from joining tournament competition.
Jones attended Cornell University, where he designed his own course of study to become a professional golf course designer, taking courses in landscape architecture, agronomy, horticulture, hydraulics, surveying, public speaking, and economics. During his studies at Cornell, he designed the back nine of Cornell's Robert Trent Jones Golf Course. The course was not used until 1941. Jones later returned in 1954 to complete the front nine. At Cornell, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
After receiving his college degree, Jones formed a partnership with Canadian architect Stanley Thompson, and helped design several courses in Canada, including Capilano in Vancouver and Banff in the Canadian Rockies. In the late 1930s he struck out on his own and began designing and building local golf courses in America. Many of these, such as the 1936 course at Green Lakes State Park (see photo), were built using labor provided by the Works Progress Administration.
Shortly after World War II, Jones got his first big assignment designing the Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta in collaboration with golf legend Bobby Jones. Despite the similarity of their names, the two men were not related. In fact Robert began using the middle name "Trent" shortly afterward to avoid confusion.
Jones' courses are noted for their artistic landscaping, innovative use of bunkers, liberal use of water hazards, and deft placement of greens and hazards that encourage a high level of strategy. He believed that golf should be a no risk; no reward sport and his designs encouraged daring play.
Jones continued working well past usual retirement age, often working on several courses at the same time. Following a period of failing health, he retired to his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He died there peacefully just a few days short of his 94th birthday. His sons Rees Jones and Robert Trent "Bobby" Jones, Jr., have followed in his footsteps and are now course designers. He sometimes collaborated with his sons. For example, his last design, The Marshes in Ottawa, Canada, is a collaboration with Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and was finished after his death in 2000.
Jones received the 1987 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA's highest honor. He was also inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1987 as well.
Courses designed
Original
- Midvale, Penfield, New York, 1931
- Chamonix, France, 1934
- Green Lakes State Park GC, Fayetteville, New York, 1935.
- Amsterdam Municipal GC,Amsterdam, New York, 1937
- Pottawatomie Golf Course, St. Charles, Illinois, 1939.
- Punta Borinquen Golf Club, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, 1940.
- Casperkill Golf Course, Poughkeepsie, New York, 1944
- San Andrés Golf Club, Bogotá, Colombia, 1945
- Lido Golf Club, Lido Beach, New York, 1947
- The Patterson Club, Fairfield, Connecticut, 1947
- Tamiment Golf Club, Pocono Mountains, Tamiment, Pennsylvania, 1947
- Peachtree, Atlanta, Georgia, 1948
- Dunes G&BC, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 1949
- Raymond Memorial Golf Course, Columbus, Ohio, 1952
- Robert Trent Jones Golf Course at Cornell University, 1954
- Washington Duke Inn & Golf Course, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 1955
- Seven Oaks Golf Course at Colgate University, 1956
- The Tuxedo Club, Tuxedo Park, New York, 1956
- Portsmouth Country Club, Greenland, New Hampshire, 1956
- Houston Country Club, Houston, Texas, 1956
- Dorado Beach, Dorado, Puerto Rico, 1958
- Point O'Woods, Benton Harbor, Michigan, 1958
- Yellowstone Country Club, Billings, Montana, 1958
- Bellerive CC, Creve Coeur, Missouri, 1959
- Timberlane Country Club, Gretna, Louisiana, 1959
- North Hills, Manhasset, New York, 1961
- Wilmington Country Club (South Course), Wilmington, Delaware, 1960
- London Hunt Club, London, Ontario, Canada 1960
- Sugarbush Golf Club, Warren, Vermont, 1961
- Hazeltine National GC, Chaska, Minnesota, 1962
- Apollo Beach Golf and Sea Club, Apollo Beach, Florida, 1962
- Fallsview Resort and Spa.....nine hole 1963
- Golden Horseshoe (Gold Course), Williamsburg, Virginia, 1964
- Sotogrande-Old, Cadiz, Spain, 1964
- Mauna Kea Beach, Kamuela, Hawaii, 1965
- Link Hills Country Club, Greeneville, Tennessee, 1965
- Valencia Country Club 1965
- Broadmoor Golf Club, West Course, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1965
- Bel Meadow Golf Club, Mount Claire, West Virginia, 1965
- Spyglass Hill, Pebble Beach, California, 1966
- Mission Viejo Country Club, Mission Viejo, California, 1967
- Black Hall Club, Old Lyme, Connecticut, 1967
- Eugene, Eugene, Oregon, 1967
- Boyne Highlands-Heather, Boyne, Michigan, 1968
- Firestone-North, Akron, Ohio, 1969
- Ferncroft Country Club (formerly Topsfield Country Club), Middleton, Massachusetts 1969
- Lyman Orchards, Robert Trent Jones Course, Middlefield, Connecticut, 1969
- Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda, 1970
- The Southern California Golf Association, Murrieta, CA, 1970.
- Chaska Par 30, Chaska, Minnesota, 1971
- Carolina Trace Country Club (Lake Course, 1971/Creek Course 1979)
- Springs Course, House on the Rock Resort, Spring Green, Wisconsin 1972
- Witch's Cove Golf Course, Lake Ozark, Missouri 1973
- Radisson Greens Golf Club, Baldwinsville, New York, 1978
- Crumpin-Fox, Bernardston, Massachusetts, 1978, 1990
- Troia, Setubal, Portugal, 1979
- Kananaskis Country, Kananaskis Village, Alberta, Canada, 1983
- Stonemont Course, Stone Mountain, Georgia, 1977
- Metedeconk National, Jackson, New Jersey, 1987
- MetroWest, Orlando, Florida,1987
- Robert Trent Jones, Gainesville, Virginia, 1991
- Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Alabama, 1992-2005 - 2 New courses added by his company after his death.
- Fox Hollow Golf Course, New Port Richey, Florida, 1994
- Celebration, Orlando, Florida, 1996
- Dominican Republic, Playa Grande, 1997
- Madeline Island Golf Club, La Pointe, Wisconsin
- The Marshes Golf Club, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Tanglewood Park (Championship Course), Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Gleannloch Farms County Club, Spring, Texas
- Santa Maria, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Royal Ka'anapali Golf Course, Maui, Hawaii 1962
- Carambola Golf Resort, St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands
- Dyrham Park Country Club, Hertfordshire, England, Date Unknown
- Masterpiece Course at Treetops Resort, Gaylord, MI
- Robert Trent Jones Golf Course, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
- Cacapon Resort State Park, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
- Costa Del Sol, Spain
- Marbella Golf CC, Marbella, Spain
- Los Naranjos, Marbella, Spain
- Las Brisas, Marbella, Spain
- La Cañada, Cádiz, Spain
- Valderrama, Cádiz, Spain
- Sotogrande, Cádiz, Spain
- Mijas Golf, Spain
- Los Olivos
- Los Lagos Mijas Costa
- Willow Lakes, Bellevue, Nebraska
- Hilldale Golf Club, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
- Spring Valley Lake Golf CC 1970
Re-designs
- Durand-Eastman Golf Course, Rochester, New York, 1933
- Valley View Golf Course, Utica, New York, 1939
- Champions of Columbus (Columbus, Ohio) (Formerly Winding Hollow Country Club), 1948
- Augusta National, Augusta, Georgia, 1947, 1950
- Oakland Hills-South, Bloomfield Township, Michigan, 1950, 1972, 1984
- Baltusrol Golf Club (Lower), Springfield, New Jersey, 1952
- Olympic Club (Lake), San Francisco, California, 1954
- Oak Hill-East, Rochester, New York, 1955, 1967
- Southern Hills, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1957
- Tavistock Country Club, Tavistock, New Jersey, 1958
- Rockleigh Golf Course, Rockleigh, New Jersey, 1964
- Rockland Country Club, Sparkill, New York, 1965
- Montauk Downs, Montauk, New York, 1968
- Firestone-South, Akron, Ohio, 1969
- Rio Rico Golf Resort, Rio Rico, Arizona
References
- ^ Cornish, Geoffrey S. and Whitten, Ronald E. (1993). The Architects of Golf (Harper-Collins) ISBN 0062700820. Online excerpt; retrieved December 11, 2006.
- ^ Welcome to the Official Home Page of Tamiment Golf Club
- ^ Timberlane Country Club | Established 1959 | A Robert Trent Jones Design
- ^ North Hills Country Club
- ^ North Hills Country Club
- ^ Bel Meadow Golf Club - Designed by Robert Trent Jones
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